Starter issues again! Freakin Solved!

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ChrisRomello

ChrisRomello

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Ive been fighting starter issues on my 65 valiant for quite some time now, it will click weakly but will not turn the engine over
Pretty much Everything is new:
Starter
relay
Dash harness
Ignition switch is not new

What I have tried:
Checked grounds
Soldered crimp connections
Jumped starter relay
bypassed wiring to starter with jumper cables
Removed torque converter splash shield
Attempted to jump start
Charged battery

I am at a loss, I don’t know what to try next! I turn the ignition on and everything works and even the compressors for the air suspension turn on and pump strong. I am so close to having the car on the road but this issue is holding me back,
 
Turn on a light, like a dome light. Watch it when you try to start.

if it goes really dim, your battery or battery connections are likely bad.

if it stays bright, then the starter isn’t pulling any current. Could be a number of reasons for this.
 
I might add that a lot of stuff from parts stores is junk now.take the starter back & have it tested.
 
What happened when you bypassed wiring to starter with jumper cable?
 
ChrisRomello said:
! I turn the ignition on and everything works and even the compressors for the air suspension turn on and pump strong
Click to expand...
Perhaps you are drawing too much current with your pumps and any other electronics you have added?

You can determin the current while cranking by measuring the battery voltage with nothing on. Then measure it while cranking. As Mike 69 Cuda alluded to...

If the voltage drop during cranking is a lot then there is a lot of resistance to turning the engine over OR there is a large electrical resistance in the circuit.

If there is little to no voltage drop during cranking then the starter, starter Bendix, starter realy is not engaging correctly.


On a side note...

There should be a heavy gage wire from the battery directly to the starter.

There should be a second lighter gage wire from the starter relay to the starter Bendix. The starter relay DOES NOT pass high current to the starter like Ford starter relays do.
 
The main cable to the battery is not making contact or the engine ground from the Battery is not making contact. The smaller wire from the battery ends will operate the accessories but the starter needs main cable power. Positive and Ground
 
A few things we would like to know. What engine and is freshly rebuilt with high compression? Is battery CCA 650 or higher? And do you shut off all other unnecessary power uses when cranking? If jumping relay to start causes same problem you're eliminating all the car wiring, and just have cable to gnd. on the engine and cable to the starter or starter as the problem. I hope you cleaned terminals to battery very good, both Gnd & positive. Not too many things left after this. Also how old is battery?
 
tonysrt said:
A few things we would like to know. What engine and is freshly rebuilt with high compression? Is battery CCA 650 or higher? And do you shut off all other unnecessary power uses when cranking? If jumping relay to start causes same problem you're eliminating all the car wiring, and just have cable to gnd. on the engine and cable to the starter or starter as the problem. I hope you cleaned terminals to battery very good, both Gnd & positive. Not too many things left after this. Also how old is battery?
Click to expand...
Everything is 100% brand new, including the engine and battery. Everything has been wired correctly and it was working with no issues previously but over time started going out and now nothing. Everything else is off when cranking so we have no other items competing for current. I am going to check my grounds again and see what happens
 
Do you have a ground from the engine to the firewall? If this is left off weird things can happen.

This should be a thick cable like a battery cable
 
Rechecked grounds and put back together- still didn’t work

Removed starter and bench tested- worked!

Removed main power wire, cut apart the heat shrink and found this:
DAF30DE2-A219-4711-A1EC-C59D39701BB1.jpeg


I cut it an inch back, soldered a new lug on, reinstalled, and she cranked right up!
 
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