Starts...then nothing!

[stllookn]

My truck starts the first time just about every time. After initial cranking, or if it dies it will not even click the solenoid. I have to wait several hours or the next day before it will crank again. It has a brand new battery. I thought it might be the ignition switch but that does not seem likely. The neutral start switch is bypassed so that should not be it. I beat on it with a hammer and that does not seem to free it up either. Seems like it must be a sticky or malfunctioning solenoid. Anyone else have this problem. I took the starter and solenoid down to the rebuilder a while back to have them checked and he said they were fine. I watched him check them and they did work...if it is an intermittent problem though he would not have been able to detect that since it always works the first time.

[red71cheyenne]

have you checked for good fuel pump operation? Sounds like its not getting good fuel. Jeff.

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1971 Cheyenne C-10 w/700R4 and Tuned Port Injection
1969 K5 Blazer New project
1995 K1500 Sub(Mommas car)
1989 VW Golf(Beater)
Will be the daughters car if she will pay her insurance! Ha!

[stllookn]

Perhaps I did not explain it clearly...it is electrical. No problem with fuel...it fires almost every time. It is just that if you have to crank it a second time...it won't even activate the solenoid. Thanks

[71GMC_3/4T]

Clean your battery posts and terminals. They may be going resistive on you.
Next time it happens, turn on the headlights. Let us know if they will or won't come on. That will be a clue. Try the horn, wipers, heater motor, radio and anything else you can think of.

[stllookn]

The battery terminals are great and all the electrical works...thought of that and already tried it. I really think it is the solenoid but have never had one fail intermittently like this.

[LeRoy]

How do your battery cables look. Sometimes they get corroded under the insulation and you won't see it unless you strip it back. Check them with an ohms meter. Could be the ignition switch works sometimes then doesn't. Is the starter gear getting stuck on the fly wheel. If it dies right away maybe if it's too tight. The motor doesn't run long enough to kick the gear out

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MOUNT VERNON, WASH. STATE
GOT MY BASES COVERED
-Big and bad 70 CST Blazer
-71 K5 Blazer, 350, 4spd, 2" lift, 35" BFG mudders, Camo,
-Work in progress 72 SWB
-72 Cheyenne, lwb, 1/2 ton, 4x4, V8, 4spd.
-71, 3/4 ton, 402/400, Custom Camper
-69, 2wd, ST6, auto, ghetto lowered, 3/4 ton, LWB, "BOMBER"
-69 Chev. short narrow 4x4
-69 Chev., lwb, utility trailer, 35" tires,
Add or Delete Daily

[stllookn]

LeRoy, The starter is not getting stuck on the flywheel since I sometimes will let it run for about 5 or 10 minutes. Last night I was driving around the property and it died, restarted once died again and then would not even click. I thought the ignition switch might be the problem but when I go to restart the battery charge needle does drop so current is flowing to the solenoid...it just isn't actuating. Maybe I will pull the soloenoid off to see if it is corroded inside and just hanging up. What do you think?

[Longhorn Man]

The way chevy made there starters kinda invites this trouble. The solenoid is mounted right by the exhaust, and they don't work well in hot places. This is 10 fold if you have headers.
The reason the testing people did not have a problem, is becouse the starter was cool when you brought it in.
Either replace the , or the whole thing. Consider a heat shield.

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'69 G.M.C. 350/350. Trying to clean up the left over damage from the Dope-Smokin-Old-Man
I've been dubbed the Longhorn Freak/Fanatic/Expert, I just hope I can live up to it.
FINALLY got the HORNIAC...a '70 one ton Longhorn with a Pontiac 350/350 and lots of 'personality'. Check out The Longhorn Webite.
If you need a pic posted, E-mail me at longhornmail@yahoo.com
My name is Andy...not Randy...I'm in Ohio...Not Illinois...close enough?
Columbus Ohio

[PanelDeland]

I had the cable corrosion problem once.I could start the car every day for a while. Suddenly I would have to walk to school.Tried different batteries,cleaned cables and post's til my fingers were raw.I rebuilt the starter,replaced the solenoid and checked the flywheel.One afternoon when it wouldn't start I suddenly thought I will try jumping straight to the starter with my jumper cables.It started right up.I replaced the cable and never had another starting problem in the three years I drove the car afterward.Next time it acts up put one end of your battery cable on the starter bolt and the other on the hot side of the battery.

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Deland does Chevys 68Chevy panel(LIZ)
"A man and his truck,it's a beautiful thing"
"I have the body of a god,unfortunately it's Budda"

[Vince M]

Take a volt meter to the solenoid wire and when it won't crank check if you have the 12 VDC on the wire (you'll need a helper here). If you do, do the same thing to the wire from the battery. If either one does not have the correct 12 VDC you will have to start tracing the wires back. If you have the 12VDC on both wires..it is the starter/solenoid.
Intermittent electrical problems are usually due to bad connections. When the wires heat from the high resistance it will usually cause a large enough voltage drop that the end device doesn't get the required voltage/current to operate. Good luck and let us know what you find.

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Orlando,FL
72 Chevy 4x4 3/4T CustomCamper w/SB 406

[71GMC_3/4T]

Do you have a neutral start safety switch on the column? Try bypassing it with a short wire that jumps purple to purple in the connector.
>>>just re-read your initial post - you say it's bypassed already... maybe you got a bad connection when you bypassed it?
<<<
I'd suspect brushes, but you say you don't even hear the solenoid.
If you have the time, run a wire from your starter (start terminal) up toward the battery. When it won't start, see if you can make it start with that wire touched to +.

[This message has been edited by 71GMC_3/4T (edited May 08, 2002).]

[Blue68]

One more item to take a look at. And you'll need to get your helper back. Check for voltage at the ignition wire at the starter when the key is in the crank position. Use a digital voltmeter to check the voltage at the solenoid from the battery. If your cable is bad, that will show the drop better than an ohms meter. I had a problem where heat was getting to my starter, but only after driving it for a while. It would still kick the solenoid (you could hear it) it just didn't have enough to crank the engine over. I'd wait 5-10 minutes and it would crank. This was remedied with a new(rebuilt) starter.

Here's something I'd try. Disconnect your coil so that the engine won't start. Crank the engine for a few seconds (about what it takes to start it now). Wait about 15 seconds (so the starter has a moment to cool off) and try it again. And again. This will build up heat in the starter, but not too much as long as you don't sit and crank on it. If you show no drop in 'crankability' I'd start looking into heat issues from the exhaust. Just a way to help eliminate the cranking system as a problem.

Todd.

[LeRoy]

I agree that heat sink with Chevy starters can be a problem but for the amount of time he has it running. I don't think, it's getting too hot + ambient temp. is only about 60 degrees. Those cable are easy to changeout just to check. I, like PanelDeland, spent much time and money when only to find an easy fix.

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MOUNT VERNON, WASH. STATE
GOT MY BASES COVERED
-Big and bad 70 CST Blazer
-71 K5 Blazer, 350, 4spd, 2" lift, 35" BFG mudders, Camo,
-Work in progress 72 SWB
-72 Cheyenne, lwb, 1/2 ton, 4x4, V8, 4spd.
-71, 3/4 ton, 402/400, Custom Camper
-69, 2wd, ST6, auto, ghetto lowered, 3/4 ton, LWB, "BOMBER"
-69 Chev. short narrow 4x4
-69 Chev., lwb, utility trailer, 35" tires,
Add or Delete Daily

[stelth2002]

I'm having a similiar problem. I have an inline 6 and the exhaust is on the other side so I know its not heat. Hot or Cold, Anytime it will not kick in the starter. Nothing happens, it doesn't cick nothing. The amp guage goes down a little. I checked for power at all the neccesary points and its all 13.3V There is power getting to the selinod, but it won't kick. I think it is a bad selinod. But, everytime it does it, I can put my 4 speed in Nuetral and pop the hood. I am carrying a short wire now. I short the postive battery cable to the selinod exicter. It starts right up. Of course I have the key in the run postion. It doesn't do it very often, but it is getting annoying because the last 3 weekends it will act up every so often. Any Ideas other than bad selinod????????

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67 Chevrolet LWB with rebuilt 292. 415 ft. lbs of torque, 4 speed, 3.73 Posi, straight and almost painted.

[71GMC_3/4T]

Stelth,
I'd check your ignition switch and then all the connections between there and the solenoid. If you can start it with a jumper wire, it probably isn't your solenoid, since that uses the solenoid too.
When checking the connectors, look at the crimped-on connector pins and if they look discolored (from heat), they may be your problem.

[Woody]

OK Here you go....Sounds like the wire on the solinoid (from the switch) has gotten brittle (from the heat) and is broken. It happend to make just enough contact that the first time it will engage the solinoid, then opens (due to the engine moving a little when the starter turned it over) and the broken wire is no longer making contact...starter won't engage.

Now all that above is a big guess. So here's how to isolate it some what. First next time it does this, get out a screw driver and jump across the solinoid from the positive bat post to one of the other posts (not the one with the yellow wire I think). if your problem is before the starter/solinoid then the engine will crank. If the starter doesn't crank the engine then your problem is most likly with the solinoid. Positive bat cable and connections still could be the problem, but most likly it is the solinoid.
If it cranks then the problem is with the wires coming to the solinoid or the switch.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO SHORT THE POS.BAT CABLE TO GROUND!!!



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Woody
'69 Custom-10 Deluxe
Short Fleetside,Factory 350cid/TH400,A/C,PS,PB,Carpet
Coming soon 700R4, 350 Crate Engine, Pwr Disks...

[jku72]

Oddly, I have had this happen in two vehicles, one a 70 chev 402, and also on my 67 catalina.
Both cases were one bad winding, it works when dead cold, but even just the heat from electricity flowing for a second or two broke down the conductivity. I replaced the starter, but kept my solonoid both times, and that solved the problem.
A shop usually just does an operational test, aka hooks a battery, if it spins, they call it good. This is poor practice, and what really needs to be done is a megger check, and for that matter, if it really is only one winding, if you check it and it is not on that winding, it will check ok.
A starter is about 20 bucks, or, if you can find another used one, try it out, if it clears up, it could be the answer.
The other problems I have seen, with similar results, was a loose or oily connection, between the starter and block. When stone cold, resistance is low enough to allow flow, but after a few seconds, the resistance creates heat, which increases resistance, and so on. Any connection is susceptible to this annoying phenomena, and it is especially annoying because it is so hard to understand, but easier if you just equate electric flow creates heat, heat increases resistance.
A starter with no load, aka checked in a shop, may never build the heat up, and the starter will be fine, but if you could load it, and heat it up, it may flunk the test.

[D.PASSMORE]

IF YOU DON'T HAVE PWR (12 VDC)AT SOLENOID WIRE WHEN THE IGNITION SWITCH IS IN THE START POSITION. IT AIN'T GONNA TURN OVER.
I THINK VINCE HAS THE RIGHT PROCEDURE IN GETTING YOU STARTED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

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DAVID PASSMORE
VERO BEACH ,FL
'72 3/4T 4X4 CHEYENNE
'68 1/2T 4X4 CST(THE PROJECT)
1ea , understanding wife

[my new 72]

My truck does the same thing. Sometimes it will start, and some times not. It is the solenoid on mine. Everything else check out fine. When it is working you will never find the problem, but when it isn't you don't have the time to find it. Just replace the solenoid, and be done with it. You won;t have any more trouble out of it if you do.

[stllookn]

Ok, now I have isolated it to the wiring or the ignition switch. I wired in a new wire to the start terminal on the solenoid and when it stopped working I left the ignition on went out and touched the wire to the battery terminal...cranks every time as long as I want. So it is either the connection, the wire or the ignition switch.

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'67 C10 Long fleet w/wheezebag 305 and TH400
'67 C10 Short stepside w/283 and a powerglide
400 small block with the Weiand Tower of Power looking for a home!

[Rabid]

Mine did something similar a few months ago. After by-passing the neutral start safety switch all is golden now. Bypass that sucker and see what happens. Take you all of 30 seconds. Worse that will happen is you will rule that switch out.

[jku72]

One other thing, I remember my ignition switch, I had to push down on the key for it to turn over sometimes, the problem was cured by the previous owner placing a remote starter under the dash, so that when the switch wigged out, you could just hit the remote, and it would fire up. Works great as a redneck security device.
A switch is cheap and easy to replace.

[71GMC_3/4T]

Stllookn, recheck your "jumper" where you bypassed the neutral safety switch. You're dealing with a reasonable amount of current here and your connection may not be up to snuff.
If you think it might be the switch, it should at least clatter or try once in a while if you wiggle the heck out of the key in start position.
If all this fails to find anything, try putting a new terminal on the end of the wire down by the starter, especially if it looks dicey.

[Rabid]

TTT

Any progress?

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72 C-10 Custom Deluxe
LWB, 2WD, 350
700r4, Holley 600
UNITED STATES ARMY - ALASKA

"Rangers lead the way!, Medics bring them back!"

[AZ68]

had same problem and replaced my ignition switch - bingo ----