!!! LT1 Starter No Turny !!!

Go back a while... new (rebuilt) starter works great. Mid year sometimes takes 1 or 2 tries to get it off dead spot.

Saturday... car starts, but it's click-click-start; voltage low on voltmeter, maybe alternator gone bad, worry about that after alignment

Sunday... car starts, click-click-start; voltage reads fine after remembering to reconnect turn-on wire to alternator

Monday... car no start- starter doesn't spin. replace starter. starter no spin, maybe battery low, charge battery overnight

Tuesday... 5:49am, battery 12.9 V, starter no spin.. bypass factory starter relay - starter no spin. Shim starter in case of bind - starter no spin.

Current dyno 0 hp/ 0 tq

What do I need to check?:
1) Resistance of battery GND to starter/engine block
2) Voltage at starter motor no load/load
3) Resistance of thru panel connector

AARRGGGHHHHH!!! <bang head on table>

So, uh... I hear YOU guys are racing on Saturday.

Your voltage check is at the starter post or at the battery?

Not knowing and just guessing ... it sounds like you have an intermittent voltage to your starter relay.

Are you still a key start? If so, it could be a connector coming off the column or a bad circuit interupt switch on the clutch.

Jumper the safety switch on the clutch and see what happens.

Apply 12V to the starter post and see what happens. If it works, then apply 12V to the appropriate lead on the starter relay and see what happens.

Dave... Do you have voltage to the starter? Both the large wire and small wire are connected to the starter?

You probably have already checked those, but just in case.

Also...Try replacing the starter relay. If you still have the window relays, they look different but will work for testing. The car also has some other relays that are exactly the same, but I am not sure where I pulled those from when I did my wiring.

Another place I have had an issue was the wiring on the steering column not plugged in good.

Good Luck...

12.9 volts does not mean you have the amps to spin the starter. put a known good battery from another car in there to verify.

Once the car is running, you should have 14+ at the battery and alt output. This will check that the alt is good. But i have had alt's that will put out good voltage, but not enough amps to charge the battery. This happened on the way back from Utah. We could drive all day w/ the head lights out, but once the lights went on, the battery slowly discharged. The alt was checked prior to the trip and in the middle of our return trip - passed both times. A new alt fixed it.

the purple wire on the starter is what pulls in the solinoid. that gets pwer from a relay pulled in by the key (switch). check that the relay is clicking by putting your hand on it while trying to start. If it is, check for 12v+ at the purple wire on the soliniod while turning the key. if so, solinoid is dead. if not, relay is dead. check to see the relay is getting 12 from the key when turned. check the relay ground.

a bad block ground can cause this. do you have a large cable that connects the block to the chassis? is the battery grounded to the block or the chassis?

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Originally Posted by Fbody383

So, uh... I hear YOU guys are racing on Saturday.

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You better not Liebbe-out b/c of a starter issue! ...nothing a little push start can't fix.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fbody383

Current dyno 0 hp/ 0 tq

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LOL'd at work :lol:

All good stuff.

A) Think the column connection is good - good noise from fuel pump, all gauge lights work and bright brake lights

B) I made a temporary jumper to go around starter relay though I think I checked relay output and it was good +12

C) Ground - battery grounded inside, stock ground from fender to k-member, and additional ground fender to block

D) Last time it started/ran, with the alt plugged in, it showed +14v on the gauge

Kicking it around it my head, I'm now thinking bad crimp somewhere in the positive feed.

When I get home, I'll pull the starter again and jumper cable it. CLEAR!!! Then chase the +12 connections post to post. You would think the EE could figure this one out.

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Originally Posted by Dreamsicle Pilot

LOL'd at work

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You know that's not funny, right? And when you over brake, if I just happened to "bump" you, you might not even notice any change in paint color.

Thanks guys; now who's coming over to push it ON the trailer? :evil:

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Originally Posted by Crumpacker

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fbody383

So, uh... I hear YOU guys are racing on Saturday.

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You better not Liebbe-out b/c of a starter issue! ...nothing a little push start can't fix.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fbody383

Current dyno 0 hp/ 0 tq

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LOL'd at work :lol:

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Stop going on line while you are supposed to be working.


You can tell the boss on me if you like.......he can pound sand.

JJ

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fbody383

And when you over brake, if I just happened to "bump" you...

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At least you've conceded to the fact you'll be behind me. :wink: on the inverts


Looking forward to the new (construction-safety-orange?) paint scheme!

Check the solenoid to see if the large post is loose. I had a solenoid last year with that issue it still worked, but I think that was part of my intermittent problems. Parts stores wanted an arm and a leg for a starter and even ~$60 for a solenoid.

The other thing you can try is to get a starter for a '99 Chevy pickup (Gen I 350, not Gen III 5.3/6.0). I was racing on unemployment last year so I picked one up at the junkyard and even though the starter is for a 168 tooth flywheel, the guts work just fine. The gear drive inside is made of plastic. Spinning over my 11:1 AI motor wore it out, but the one inside the 9:1 140k mile truck starter looked brand new.

Switching the motor from the truck starter to your starter would be a good way to troubleshoot a dead spot. The solenoid fit also, but make sure you get a starter where the terminals aren't corroded real bad or the stud will want to break when you try to take the nut off.

$30 instead of $150. 8)

PS- LS1 (Gen III) starters will not work on Gen I (SBC) or Gen II (LT1) engines even though they are the same tooth count. They used a large diameter on the LS1 parts. Reason I tried, the LS1 starter is 2lbs lighter then the LT1 starter.

VRRoom vroom...

From where I sit I can see the car parked on the trailer waiting to dyno this pm.

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Originally Posted by The Hack Mechanic

Kicking it around it my head, I'm now thinking bad crimp somewhere in the positive feed.

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Yup; cable lug at thru-firewall connection. As I was taking it out to check it, cable pulled/fell right out. Put the power crimp/stake on it...

may have turned over the best ever.

TJ - good scoop on alternatives. Team Texas - thanks for all the advice

Crumpacker - it ain't gonna be 0/0 for long.