1970 c10 starting trouble!!!HELP!!!

[imaguywithemail]

So I'm almost done rebuilding my truck, was sticking the distributor yesterday and everything was going fine. Finally I got the distributor in what I'm almost positive is correct (had some trouble finding tdc, but i finally got it.). Then when i tried to start it it the starter was being really sluggish. So i figured 'the battery's probably just low.' so i hook it up to a battery charger, let it charge for awhile, then click it on to 50amp start and try to start it - and absolutely no change in starter speed. It got to the point where it wasn't doin anything just would give one click and that's it. Well I pulled the starter and battery and took them down to Kragen/O'Reilley's/Shucks/Checkers or whatever and tested them, they tested perfectly fine. So i stuck it back in today, and now it's turning over sluggishly again, but what I'm getting now is from the cable that runs from the battery to the starter, where it connects to the starter I'm getting sparks and smoke (tried it just now while it's darker out) and no starting. What I'm wondering, is any ideas you guys have on what's goin on. I'm supposed to be moving on Thursday and need this beast up and running. A little extra info: it is possible I have the wrong nut threaded on holding that thing on (right thread, wrong material maybe?) could that be causing all these problems? I've run through all my starting system wiring and everything looks fine. One more thing whenever the battery is hooked up my running lights are on constantly even though the light switch is off. Thanks for your guys help in advance!

[2tons of fun]

you battery is probably wasted from the constant draw of the light, its a one wire fix, fix it.

[mclairmo]

You are going to have to give us more info like battery age, how many volts it is reading now, how old is the starter, what type of starter. I would try another battery and see if that helps. If not, then I would test the starter myself with a known good battery and jumper cables.

[imaguywithemail]

Originally Posted by 2tons of fun

you battery is probably wasted from the constant draw of the light, its a one wire fix, fix it.

I never have the battery hooked up unless I'm trying to get her to start and am working on her. I don't even go to the garage to get another tool without disconnecting it. and which wire would that be that i need to fix to stop that from happening, exactly.

[imaguywithemail]

Originally Posted by mclairmo

You are going to have to give us more info like battery age, how many volts it is reading now, how old is the starter, what type of starter. I would try another battery and see if that helps. If not, then I would test the starter myself with a known good battery and jumper cables.

okay, so what I know about the starter: when I bought the truck when i was fifteen the starter was already at least 3 years old (it had sat for that long). That was five years ago. It did sit for one year when in a fit of insanity i sold the truck and bought it back a year later. When I was 18 i had the original 307ci engine replaced with a freshly rebuilt 350ci. I don't have a voltmeter to test the battery on me right now, i just ran down to Kragen/O'Reilley's and used their tester, and told me the battery health was still good, it's charge was a little low. I also took the starter out and down to Kragen's and hooked it up to the tester that they have. It tested good and the numbers it tested at were like smack dab in the middle between the low fail and high fail numbers. I did also have my girlfriend's '64 1/2 mustang hooked up with jumper cables, however it does have a 200ci engine and i have NO idea how old the alternator and battery are or what they are putting out.

[cdowns]

i'd make sure you have clean bright metal connections for your ground wire and battery cable

[rwolf9653]

My jeep does this and it is a pain in the ass. If my battery is not at FULL charge, there is not enough power to turn over the starter, but it will click the solenoid. I figure that it is the starter drawing too many amps, in other words a bad starter that still works. You said that the battery tested low, so put a good charge on it and it should fire right up. My jeep has been like this for about 4 years, but it is off road only so I dont worry about it. Yours sounds like the same thing.
As for the parking lights there are several post on here that have the wiring diagrams laid out.

[hayhauler71]

I would like to see a clamp on amp meter on the positive cable to find out how many amps this starter draws under load. Also check the resistance of your battery cables and always check to make sure cables are spot free clean and tight.

[mclairmo]

With an old starter, battery needs to be reading 12.6 volts or more. Also, batteries don't last much past 6 years and quick charging them can easily kill them. They really should be charged slowly with a trickle charger like the Battery Tender or similar. Also, make sure all your grounds are hooked up, body to frame, body to engine, engine to frame, etc. I have seen a lack of grounds prevent an engine from starting.

[El_Crnicero]

Did you do any work to the heads? If you adjusted your valve lash too tight, and this is your first time starting it would be very hard to start.

Good luck,

[CMR]

Hello, did you set the timing when you put the distributor in? It may be too high.

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by cdowns

i'd make sure you have clean bright metal connections for your ground wire and battery cable

I gotta agree, conections on the battery, on the battery clamp to cable, and on the starter and ground. you've got a bad connection somewhere, probably on the starter.

[mr48chev]

I agree with the guys who say you most likely have a bad connection or possibly a cable that is bad. Make sure that the spot on the engine where you have the ground cable is scraped bare so that the cable end has good contact with the block/head or ? All that nice paint will keep things from making good connections.
Make sure that the cable ends are tight on the cable especially if they are replacement ends and that there is no corrosion between the end and the wire if the cable.

Also as someone said, the timing could be a bit .

On the lights it may be a bad switch, pull the fuse and see if they go out.

Marked tail,stop,park,dome

If the lights go out you probably have a switch problem if they don't start checking for a hot wire making contact with the park/tail light circuit somewhere and I would start at the back bumper and see if there is some sort of mickey mouse tail light wiring hookup. All too often on these trucks someone has attempted to hook up trailer wiring and gets wires crossed.
If not that, look for extra switches or twisted together wires under the dash. The p/o may have done some "get by" wiring to get the lights to work and didn't turn off the switch or disconnect the wires.

[PowerPro]

Sounds like a classic case of old battery cables. Cheapest easiest way to fix this problem is to replace both the positive and negative cables. When you reconnect the negative to the block, make sure you clean the connection to the block really well and get rid of ALL RUST.

I'm a generator mechanic and we get this issue all the time with generators that sit out in the weather all day everyday. Water seeps into the cables and corrodes them away. On the outside, they look great, but if you strip them back, they're destroyed with corrosion.

[imaguywithemail]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

I agree with the guys who say you most likely have a bad connection or possibly a cable that is bad. Make sure that the spot on the engine where you have the ground cable is scraped bare so that the cable end has good contact with the block/head or ? All that nice paint will keep things from making good connections.
Make sure that the cable ends are tight on the cable especially if they are replacement ends and that there is no corrosion between the end and the wire if the cable.

Also as someone said, the timing could be a bit .

On the lights it may be a bad switch, pull the fuse and see if they go out.

Marked tail,stop,park,dome

If the lights go out you probably have a switch problem if they don't start checking for a hot wire making contact with the park/tail light circuit somewhere and I would start at the back bumper and see if there is some sort of mickey mouse tail light wiring hookup. All too often on these trucks someone has attempted to hook up trailer wiring and gets wires crossed.
If not that, look for extra switches or twisted together wires under the dash. The p/o may have done some "get by" wiring to get the lights to work and didn't turn off the switch or disconnect the wires.

Thanks for all the good posts, I've got some things to do today now. As for the wiring for the running lights, I've got a pretty good idea where that problem's coming from (the taillight wiring that was near where the bed caught fire previously) so i'll check around there to make sure the wires aren't brittle and cracked. Also good idea on the grounds, I'm pretty sure now that I think about it that I might be missing one or two. thanks again,ad if anyone get's any other ideas let me know.

[2tons of fun]

Originally Posted by imaguywithemail

I never have the battery hooked up unless I'm trying to get her to start and am working on her. I don't even go to the garage to get another tool without disconnecting it. and which wire would that be that i need to fix to stop that from happening, exactly.

obvioulsy a hot feed wire.

[unclewatts]

Your truck is telling you where the problem is! It's impossible to have sparks and smoke at the connection and have a good connection. You probably have a bad crimp at the starter end of the cable. Buy a new positive cable!

[imaguywithemail]

I got her goin! It looked like some battery acid had gotten onto the positive terminal of the battery or something. The terminal was darker colored than the negative, so I went and bought a terminal cleaner (didn't know where mine was) cleaned it and she began starting right again, no sparks, no smoke. Thanks for all the help.