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#1 |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Sonoma County California
Posts: 83
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Starter engaes, won't spin. HEI wiring..?
My 1969 C20 just quite starting. The solenoid engages the bendix but will not spin. I had the Starter and Battery tested and they are both good. So I cleaned all connections and replaced the starter anyways. Still the same thing, bendix engages but will not turn the engine over.
It does have a HEI. |
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#2 | |
Msgt USAF Ret
![]() ![]() Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Posts: 8,714
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Re: Starter engaes, won't spin. HEI wiring..?
Quote:
See if this will help. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=655903
__________________
VetteVet metallic green 67 stepside 74 corvette convertible 1965 Harley sportster 1995 Harley wide glide Growing old is hell, but it beats the alternative. |
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#3 |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Sonoma County California
Posts: 83
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Re: Starter engaes, won't spin. HEI wiring..?
Thanks for the valuable information, it is greatly appreciated.
What is weird is that both headlights were not properly seated in the housing, they were put in a little crooked, clocked wrong. After I adjusted them the truck wouldn't start! Then bendix will kick out but will not turn, even with a battery charger hooked up. It happened that fast. No previous symptoms or slow starting ever. It does still have an External Voltage Regulator |
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#4 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: santa maria,ca.
Posts: 312
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Re: Starter engaes, won't spin. HEI wiring..?
Sounds like no power to starter positive connection at solenoid. the key is sending signal to solenoid to engage starter but no connection from battery positve to crank starter.
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1957 3100 ![]() 1950 5 window |
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#5 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Sonoma County California
Posts: 83
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Re: Starter engaes, won't spin. HEI wiring..?
Quote:
What could cause problem to happen so fast? External Voltage Regulator to malfunction....? Bad Ignition Switch.....? Wiring near the Headlights...? |
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#6 |
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Posts: 2,546
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Re: Starter engaes, won't spin. HEI wiring..?
Assuming the new starter is good and the battery really is good, double check the main battery cables. They can corrode on the inside and look good on the outside. Do you have a second battery to use as a test? Maybe the battery test gizmo lied.
If the cables are good, make sure the engine didn't lock up. Unlikely but possible. Pull the plugs and make sure coolant doesn't come out one of the cylinders. It is possible it chose the exact time you were fixing the headlights to develop a coolant leak. |
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#7 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Sonoma County California
Posts: 83
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Re: Starter engaes, won't spin. HEI wiring..?
Quote:
When I adjusted the headlights I also replaced a short 10Ga. jumper wire from the positive battery terminal to the junction box right next to the battery on the passenger fender. I purchased that wire from Home Depot, it is thick strand wire and says it is rated to 600 volts. Every time I disconnected and re-connected the battery it would make contact for a short time. It is hard to crimp thick strand wire so I made another one and same thing would happen. I ran out of options so I decided to take the jumper wire, heat the eyelets with a torch and solder them. That was it, now it starts every time! I thought 10 gauge was 10 gauge wire no matter what and it would all work the same. |
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#8 |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Sonoma County California
Posts: 83
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Re: Starter engaes, won't spin. HEI wiring..?
Besides crimping quality for connectors is there a difference between thin multi strand wire vs a few thick strands in the same gauge?
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#9 |
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: McPherson, KS
Posts: 86
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Re: Starter engaes, won't spin. HEI wiring..?
Sonoma, all new 10 ga wire, solid or stranded, should have the same conductivity. There will be far more variability in the connection between wire and connectors than there is in the wire itself. So...
My theory is that your new 10 ga wire from the battery to the terminal block initially had resistance in it due to incomplete crimps. When you soldered it (good move!) you removed the rouge resistance. But my theory requires that the starter solenoid moved enough to click, but not enough to close the contacts that engage the starter, due to voltage lost through the connector/wire interface. Hmmm... Question for Those Smarter Than Me (like Vette Vet!): is it possible that the starter solenoid can click but not close the starter contacts, especially with less than full voltage?... ...AND is it possible/likely that Sonoma has a marginal starter solenoid that works fine with full voltage, but gets stuck halfway when voltage is low? If so, then Sonoma may have a reason to replace the starter soon, before the solenoid goes from marginal to bad.
__________________
Scott 1972 C20 long-wide. 350/350, Cheyenne Super, wood bed, PS, PB, dual batteries, dual tanks, leaf springs, gauges. No significant rust. No significant paint. 1971 C10 short step. Originally a 250/3ott with no options, now a 350/4L80. I purchased it already restored; only needs about 300 little details fixed. |
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#10 | |
Msgt USAF Ret
![]() ![]() Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Posts: 8,714
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Re: Starter engaes, won't spin. HEI wiring..?
..................
Quote:
__________________
VetteVet metallic green 67 stepside 74 corvette convertible 1965 Harley sportster 1995 Harley wide glide Growing old is hell, but it beats the alternative. |
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#11 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 3,077
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Re: Starter engaes, won't spin. HEI wiring..?
Headlights have exactly nothing to do w/ the starter cranking the engine. The op needs to measure voltage to ground (solenoid and starter) in order to know much.
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#12 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Sonoma County California
Posts: 83
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Re: Starter engaes, won't spin. HEI wiring..?
Quote:
So now I'm going to get some 1Ga. battery cables with auxiliary wires built in. Like this but shorter. https://www.napaonline.com/napa/en/p...6011/CBL716011 |
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Tags |
electrical, hei, starter |
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