head scratcher!!!

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crazy440car

crazy440car

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I have a fresh 440 that I just built. It started and ran beautifully I let it sit for a couple days and it acted as if the battery was dead. What I mean is that it turned over but really slow and then nothing. I charged the battery thinking that would do the trick, but it didn't. I went out and bought a new starter relay, replaced my old starter wires, had the battery checked out, and still the same problem. I went out bought a new starter and put it in. It started right up with no issues. I ran it for about ten minutes and shut it off. I then tried to start it again and had the same problem all over again. Please help me think this through as I am at my wits end!!!!
 
You bought a new starter or a partsRus reman'd starter ?
It takes a lot of starter to turn a fresh tight engine, especially a big block.
 
Had a friend with this problem in a BB Challenger. He was convinced he had some sort of electrical gremlins. We chased everything thru, no voltage drops/bad connection/missing grounds. Battery was fully charged and alternator put out a good charge. Car would start fine when it was cold, but warm, it would groan and barely turn over. Found out his engine was so tight that when it warmed up, you could barely turn the engine over with a bar! Cold, the clearances loosened up and you could turn the engine easily.
 
Gryzynx said:
Had a friend with this problem in a BB Challenger. He was convinced he had some sort of electrical gremlins. We chased everything thru, no voltage drops/bad connection/missing grounds. Battery was fully charged and alternator put out a good charge. Car would start fine when it was cold, but warm, it would groan and barely turn over. Found out his engine was so tight that when it warmed up, you could barely turn the engine over with a bar! Cold, the clearances loosened up and you could turn the engine easily.
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it won't even start cold. It won't crank over enough to start but yet I can turn over by hand.
 
OK ground strap from block to firewall is there. Cranking amps ( good battery ) is there.
Heres one , may not be related, then again....
Check and clean away some paint at battery ground cable to block. Some fox body mustangs came off the line with the star washer between the wire lug and the block. 6 tiny points of contact. One time it starts , next time it dont.
 
Kinda weird that it would start fine once the new Starter was installed. But I hardly doubt that 10 min would overheat the batterie. WHat headers you running. Sounds like a bad conection though.

Phil
 
Had the same problem with a new 440. Had 2 batteries on it. The motor was built to tight from the engine builder. Clearances were not right. Bad news is, the motor only lasted three hours lost oil pressure and wiped a bearing. Had them rebuild it again. From now on any motors I have built, they go to the dyno first for break in and testing.
 
Make sure the points where the negative cable and ground straps connect are clean and paint free and that the bolts are not all greasy. Also, what cables did you install? The factory cables are smaller diameter wire and it's not really common knowledge but the jobber parts places.. Like NAPA and Car Quest, carry better cables. You need to ask them for the largest diameter cable you can get for your car. Usually you can get one or two gages larger in the exact same cable and your starter may just need more juice. Do either of the cables get hot when it's turning over slowly?
 
Load test battery if good ensure ground from starter to block. a starter draw test should tell you what wrong, tight engine or bad connections
 
69BBDart said:
Load test battery if good ensure ground from starter to block. a starter draw test should tell you what wrong, tight engine or bad connections
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I'd check to make sure the timing didn't change. It sounds like you started it once after a rebuild and then it had issues but the battery and starter are obviously likely good. Could the distributer have moved because it wasn't tight? Just a thought.
 
Jump it from the starter relay, and eliminate any problems with the ignition switch or NSS(neutral safety switch)
 
just fer kiks how much compression you have the 440 i built was tight and right and i had the same trouble i loosened my plugs and you could here the pressure let off .... after pressure was off it would start just fine. just a thought .
 
I had similar issues and it was the starter. The one giving me troubles was maybe 2 years old and mostly saw track time.

i also like the idea of checking the timing--too much initial will do that sometimes
 
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