Help car won't start!
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
If you follow the recommendations in my post you will find your problem. I have one more recommendation. It is possible that the start enable relay contacts are dirty/pitted and will not pass enough current to pull the starter solenoid in fully. If you measure the voltage on your clutch safety switch when you hit crank position on the ign sw, you should see 12v. Also, if the battery or its connections won't hold up above 9.0 volts during cranking attempts, jumping the battery may not allow cranking either because the resistance of the jumper cables and the connection resistance is too high to provide the 100+ amps the starter requires.
If you want to truly find your problem, you MUST make some measurements while someone holds the ign sw in the crank position. Read my post and stop doing things that don't show where the problem is.
If you want to truly find your problem, you MUST make some measurements while someone holds the ign sw in the crank position. Read my post and stop doing things that don't show where the problem is.
Last edited by jfb; May 2, 2008 at 11:28 PM.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,723
Likes: 11
From: Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada
Jimmers,
Based on the above, I would say you have a bad ground connection or positive connection at the terminals on the battery. My guess is corrosion on the ring connectors. Either, that or at the frame. Take them apart and check for any corrsion and clean them. You said another battery did not work, did you actually jump from the spare battery directly to the starter ? You could determine if it is a starter , battery or cabling problem. DB
Based on the above, I would say you have a bad ground connection or positive connection at the terminals on the battery. My guess is corrosion on the ring connectors. Either, that or at the frame. Take them apart and check for any corrsion and clean them. You said another battery did not work, did you actually jump from the spare battery directly to the starter ? You could determine if it is a starter , battery or cabling problem. DB
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,723
Likes: 11
From: Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada
If you follow the recommendations in my post you will find your problem. I have one more recommendation. It is possible that the start enable relay contacts are dirty/pitted and will not pass enough current to pull the starter solenoid in fully. If you measure the voltage on your clutch safety switch when you hit crank position on the ign sw, you should see 12v. Also, if the battery or its connections won't hold up above 9.0 volts during cranking attempts, jumping the battery may not allow cranking either because the resistance of the jumper cables and the connection resistance is too high to provide the 100+ amps the starter requires.
If you want to truly find your problem, you MUST make some measurements while someone holds the ign sw in the crank position. Read my post and stop doing things that don't show where the problem is.
If you want to truly find your problem, you MUST make some measurements while someone holds the ign sw in the crank position. Read my post and stop doing things that don't show where the problem is.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
No information indicates you did anything wrong, HOWEVER, you haven't measured even ONE voltage in your electrical system. You can buy a digital VOM (voltmeter, ohmeter, milliameter) from Harbor Freight for $3 and it is a pretty good instrument, I'm an EE and I have one! Follow my diagnostic procedure and stop randomly trying this that and the other thing and finally find out what is causing your no crank condition.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,723
Likes: 11
From: Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada
No information indicates you did anything wrong, HOWEVER, you haven't measured even ONE voltage in your electrical system. You can buy a digital VOM (voltmeter, ohmeter, milliameter) from Harbor Freight for $3 and it is a pretty good instrument, I'm an EE and I have one! Follow my diagnostic procedure and stop randomly trying this that and the other thing and finally find out what is causing your no crank condition.
Last edited by jimmers; May 3, 2008 at 12:46 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
You have a dead battery. Car batteries are considered discharged at 12.0 volts. Your electronics goes crazy when the battery voltage gets low. Batteries are considered fully charged at 12.9 volts and above and linear in between. After charging, turn on your headlights and measure the battery voltage, it MUST be above 12.0 volts, fully charged it will read 12.9 v or higher.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,723
Likes: 11
From: Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada
You have a dead battery. Car batteries are considered discharged at 12.0 volts. Your electronics goes crazy when the battery voltage gets low. Batteries are considered fully charged at 12.9 volts and above and linear in between. After charging, turn on your headlights and measure the battery voltage, it MUST be above 12.0 volts, fully charged it will read 12.9 v or higher.
Last edited by jimmers; May 3, 2008 at 01:19 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
A brand new battery fully charged will read 12.9 volts, but the older they get the lower the voltage even fully charged. Your battery should easily read higher than 12.0 volts when you take it off the charger. Leave it on charge for as long as you can before you attempt a crank. Any wires in your car that are touching will blow a fuse, all circuits in your car are fused except the large cable going to the starter motor. Since you didn't measure the other battery, we cannot be sure it is ok and charged. Let us know what the battery voltage is with the headlights on after you finish charging it.
You could have excessive leakage current that discharges the battery. Don't let batteries sit for long periods (4+wks) without charging them. Car batteries become sulfated and become door stops when you don't keep them charged up.
You could have excessive leakage current that discharges the battery. Don't let batteries sit for long periods (4+wks) without charging them. Car batteries become sulfated and become door stops when you don't keep them charged up.
Last edited by jfb; May 3, 2008 at 03:11 PM.
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Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,816
Likes: 0
From: :45 minutes from everywhere / E-I-E-I-O
To get right to the point, my car won't start. All the starter does is click. I took the starter out to get tested and it's fine. I have 12 volts at my starter and battery. I tried another battery for the heck of it but nothing. I don't have any codes and all fuses are good. Any ideas? Are the starter relays under the steering wheel? When I try to start the car they click a few times really fast. Is this normal? Thanks!
EDIT......
EDIT2
see above
Last edited by schrade; May 3, 2008 at 04:11 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,816
Likes: 0
From: :45 minutes from everywhere / E-I-E-I-O
Have you tried jumping with your own battery?
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,816
Likes: 0
From: :45 minutes from everywhere / E-I-E-I-O
Did you have the truck battery connected DIRECTLY TO THE STARTER 12V INPUT?
If yes to both, what happened?
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,723
Likes: 11
From: Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada
The battery works fine in my truck, so I must of did somthing wrong.:o I did try jumping with my own battery but the starter just clicks.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,723
Likes: 11
From: Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada
I took the battery out of my truck and used the vette battery cables to try. I never tried the truck battery directly to the starter though.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
12.4 volts is 50% charged and should be fine for cranking. But you still need to measure the battery voltage during cranking and if it won't crank, measure the voltage from the neg batt terminal to ground and also from the positive batt terminal to the large bolt on the starter motor. There are more things a battery can fail at then just its state of charge and these measurements will point to the problem.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,723
Likes: 11
From: Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada
12.4 volts is 50% charged and should be fine for cranking. But you still need to measure the battery voltage during cranking and if it won't crank, measure the voltage from the neg batt terminal to ground and also from the positive batt terminal to the large bolt on the starter motor. There are more things a battery can fail at then just its state of charge and these measurements will point to the problem.
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3,816
Likes: 0
From: :45 minutes from everywhere / E-I-E-I-O
Truck battery in vette.
Truck battery ground terminal to frame.
Truck battery positive terminal to starter 12Vinput. Connect cable clamp to starter 12V input, THEN, while not under vette, connect to positive terminal.
Start vette.
Last edited by schrade; May 3, 2008 at 10:27 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
The negative battery cable first goes to the frame and another braided wire goes from the frame to the left side of the engine. Starter motor current flows through the frame to engine block braided wire and if this wire is damaged or has a poor connection on either end, it will not pass enough current to allow the starter motor to crank. Measure the voltage from the neg batt terminal to the engine block while someone hits, "crank", position on the ign sw. You should not see more than 1 volt. Higher voltage and you must look carefully at the braided wire and the tightness and cleanliness of each end of the braided wire.
Last edited by jfb; May 4, 2008 at 12:21 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 14,130
Likes: 7
Cruise-In II Veteran
JFB,
Any chance the ignition switch on the column is bad?
Ive read everything you suggested...I had a problem with the ignition switch going bad on another car,and it did the same things he described.
I mean,his lights arent even coming on and I had plenty of bad batteries that wouldnt start the car but let the lights an other functions still work somewhat.
Just wondering what you thought about that.
Any chance the ignition switch on the column is bad?
Ive read everything you suggested...I had a problem with the ignition switch going bad on another car,and it did the same things he described.
I mean,his lights arent even coming on and I had plenty of bad batteries that wouldnt start the car but let the lights an other functions still work somewhat.
Just wondering what you thought about that.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 54,124
Likes: 30
From: Cincinnati, Oh USA
Yes, that is a possibility. If you jump 12v to the jumper wire on the clutch safety switch, that will bypass the ignition switch and the start enable relay and the starter solenoid should pull in and the starter should crank the engine. He could also have a defective fusible link supplying power to the ignition switch. Headlights are on a different set of ign sw contacts than the starter and his headlights won't turn on. But 6v at the battery tells me the battery is defective.
Last edited by jfb; May 4, 2008 at 12:28 AM.