car won't crank.

-
Valiant63

Valiant63

Early A-body Valiants
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
1,515
Reaction score
547
Location
eastern, PA and central Florida
I can probably figure this out given time, but if some of you guys can help me out I would appreciate it.
I have a 65 Valiant with a 68 318 engine with the original automatic transmission in it that was rebuilt at some point before I got the car. The car will crank if I take the spark plugs out, but once I put the plugs back in it only clicks. I assumed that the started was worn out. So, I took the starter out and put a very good used starter in that tested well and... same issue. I've cleaned the connections that I can see on the firewall but no difference. What should I look for next?
 
Have you checked battery and its terminals. A lot more juice is required to turn with compression.
I've seen bad starters that would start and run laying on the floor ( seemed OK ) but would not turn the engine too. That's more typical of modern mini starters. Any starter laying loose and hit with jumper cables should start with so much torque that it dang near rolled itself over. If it starts more like a fan motor, it or the amps supplied to it is the problem.
 
After another starter was tried I would have to say it's a amperage problem.
Are you sure the battery is capable?
Can you try a different one?
 
Redfish. I had the starter bench tested at one of the local auto parts stores to start a 68 340 engine, so the starter should not be the problem. This is the second battery I've had in the car as well. The first one I wasn't sure of, but this second one starts my slant six start just fine.
Just to be sure, I will put the battery on the charger for a couple of hours then try to crank it again.
 
Last edited:
just for fun - try jump starting it from a running vehicle... as it is cranking the engine with the plugs out, that tells me your connections are correct. Obviously if the jump start works, you'll be needing a new battery.
 
My nephew had a mini starter for his Ford Exploder bench tested 3 times at 2 different part stores before he called me. I showed him the difference between a starter that runs and a starter that works.
 
This isn't a mini starter. I don't know if that makes a difference. It's just a big old starter. It is so hard to change the starter on this car I really don't want to do it again.
 
Valiant63 said:
This isn't a mini starter. I don't know if that makes a difference. It's just a big old starter. It is so hard to change the starter on this car I really don't want to do it again.
Click to expand...
The starter may work but if it's corroded internally, it could be drawing too much and overloading your battery thus destroying it. This happened on my 78 power wagon, 3 different testers said it was good but it kept needing jumped to start, finally replaced it and it's been fine since
 
Ok so what if neither the starter or the power supply is the problem. What else could it be ?
If compression was the issue the engine would need to turn a little bit to create compression. A slight turn is more than the "click" you stated. Timing chain jumped or broken would still allow the crank to turn a little. Only a cylinder filled with water could completely prevent the slightest rotation. In that scenario removing the plugs would result in water shooting from a plug hole when it turned.
I would rule out the battery and its cables/terminals, including where the ground cable attaches to the block before removing that heavy starter again.
 
What does a voltmeter say at battery terminals when cranking? Measurement points such as battery posts, + post to starter relay stud, - post to engine, provide usable information to diagnosis problem.
The battery voltage when cranking should be above 11V. The voltage drop between battery +, and starter relay stud to 0.1 to 0.2V max. Battery - to engine 0.1V, all when cranking.
 
upload_2016-12-2_15-22-54.jpeg
 
I would try performing a "mechanical adjustment" on the starter with a rubber mallet. Or maybe your starter relay is shot.
 
Double check engine grounds
Maybe for trial purposes run a ground straight from the driver side head to the battery (negative post of course)
 
A lot of work swapping starters in a small block. Better to do some diagnostics. Clip a multimeter to measure the voltage between the big stud on the starter and its case. If it holds >8 V while cranking, then you can question the starter. Otherwise, try to find the drop in the wiring. It may even be on the return side, so check starter case to BATT- while cranking. Could be the ground from engine block to BATT-. Don't assume anything, test all paths. I once had the dash cluster pulled out in my M-B and noticed smoke from the speedometer cable while cranking. That clued me to a corroded ground cable connection from transmission to body, which a little sanding and silicone grease fixed.

Also, a good time to check compression. Some camshafts can give excessive cranking compression which can fight the starter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top