Bad earth

Adam · December 03, 2002, 10:45:46 PM

99% of the time my vette starts perfectly.
But there are times it just wont. It wont crank, and it wont click. Its NOT the battery. Im pretty sure its not the ignition switch itself because I can see a slight dip in my voltmeter when i turn the key. I used to think it was a stuck starter motor.

Last time i just moved the car a bit (its an auto..) and it started, but this time moving the engine manually wont help. Which is why I think it somthing to do with the thing that doesnt alow the car to be started in gear. The voltmeter dips just the same on gear or in park.

Thats what I'll cheak out tomorro... although I wouldn't mind any other ideas...

thanks,

Adam

Brutus · December 04, 2002, 09:30:09 AM

Adam...One of the first things to check when this happens is the battery terminals and leads for a good connection. Even tho everything may appear in good order, a simple clean of all the connections can sometimes cure a miltitude of woes.

77CVT · December 04, 2002, 09:49:10 AM

Good advice above.

Also check the reverse/neutral pick up swith/block has not moved. This is attached to your shifter. Your starter motor could also be on its way out. Sometimes a technical tap with a hammer can rectify this problem. ;)

The fact that you rocked it indicates to me that it's the starter motor or at worst your ring gear.

Cheers

Brutus · December 04, 2002, 10:11:02 AM

If it's not even cranking I'd suggest that the ring gear can probably be removed from the equation. You'd surely hear something if that was the problem. Just a thought.
Solonoid could be a thought too like Chris suggested.

77CVT · December 04, 2002, 01:07:42 PM

Good point.

Smack it with a hammer! Hey, if it breaks you need a new one anyway. :D

Brutus · December 04, 2002, 02:24:55 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by 77CVT
Good point.

Smack it with a hammer! Hey, if it breaks you need a new one anyway. :D

The hammer or the starter?;ay

I have a hammer here that's been handed down through the generations. Been in my family for decades. It's totally original.....just replaced the head twice and the handle four times, but's it all original! A lovely old hammer....they just don't make 'em like that anymore.;laugh

Adam · December 04, 2002, 11:09:41 PM

Tried to connect it direct via jumper leads and still nothing so obviously the starter and/or solenoid is gone. So I took it out now, and yea still doesnt work.

I'll prolly just get a reconditioned starter from a wreaker... unless thats a bad idea?

Adam

Brutus · December 05, 2002, 09:00:46 AM

I have always dealt direct with auto electricians....never through a wrecker! Play it safe an go with the guys who repair starters for a living....not the ones who merely know where they are on a car.;ay

77CVT · December 05, 2002, 09:42:46 AM

I understand Bob's view but it comes down to how much you are prepared to spend.

I needed an alternator for my '77. It was going to cost $300 to recondition it......or buy one from the wreckers for $50. Guess which one I chose?

Then again, an alternator is easier to replace than a starter motor!

The White Knight · December 05, 2002, 11:28:38 AM

I just had the same thing happening to me. I got my mechanic to pull the starter out & he cleaned it all up & straightened the brushes have not had a problem since.

Brutus · December 05, 2002, 07:37:35 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by The White Knight
I just had the same thing happening to me. I got my mechanic to pull the starter out & he cleaned it all up & straightened the brushes have not had a problem since.

Generally in days gone by I would have just pulled the offending starter and replaced the brushes or whatever may have needed attention, but with passing years I would probably get someone to pull it for me (STEADY NOW!). ;ay
I know I'm getting away from the original theme, but I recently had cause to repair my alternator which as it turned out had blown every diode. All it cost was 15 minutes of my time and $40.00US for an 80 amp upgrade kit I bought from the States. Admittedly I wasn't about to discard the casing as I'd already spent hours hand polishing it. Here I go being anal retentive again...Oh well.:mmm

Adam · December 12, 2002, 10:29:08 AM

Got a brand new starter and solenoid from rare spares for $200 and guess what... it still didn't start.

I connected it direct and it started to crank, so it's dodgy wireing somwhere...
So I started to look under the dash, looked at the immobiliser somone had put a few years ago.

There is a wire that you unplug to activate the immobiliser which I KNOW used to work coz I used it. Anyway, I was still at a loss so I unplugged it and tried to start the car, it started! So then I plugged the wire- it started again! So I thought, ok whatever, now for some reason the immobiliser doesnt work.

Went for a drive (of course) and I noticed the needle of my aftermarket tacho, that I installed was very straight whereas previously it had been VERY wobbly.

A few days of this, I noticed the tacho being wobbly again, and when I went to start it the next time, it again wouldnt start. But this time its not as tragic, a few turns of the key and it starts up.

And thats how it is now.

So:
1) Imobiliser no long imobilises
2) tacho wobbles (its electronic)
3) cranks after a few turns of the key (very random)

So in my humble opinion, either the imobiliser is really playing up or I have a grounding problem.

What do yall think?

thanks,

Adam

77CVT · December 12, 2002, 02:03:02 PM

Ummmmm......I probably shoulda' mentioned it but always test a starter out of the car before buying another one!

A lot of troubles can be traced back to immobilisers (which we didn't know you had). Usually a grounding problem, which I had in my Patrol.

Anything electrical is a nightmare.

Adam · December 12, 2002, 02:36:48 PM

U see, thats why I'm an idiot...
I did "test" it outa the car but... I obviously connected the wrong terminals etc etc.
hmm, well the new one sounds and goes better tho.

Adam

Brutus · December 12, 2002, 07:04:51 PM

One of the easiest kill switches to make is to wire one of the tacho leads to earth through a switch.... I'm just wondering if you have a bad earth in there somewhere.

Adam · December 12, 2002, 08:05:08 PM

The worst thing is it's so hard to troubleshoot... it won't STAY broken, so I never know if its really fixed. Today I got in and it started.. grrr, In fact it wouldnt not start!

maybe Ill just run an earth cable straight from the batery and connect it to a few places.

There so many cables coming outa this immobiliser. I found out why my "immobilisation" cable that i unplug didnt work. Its because a few days ago I gounded a loose cable that was flying around (i didnt kno what it did, but it was loose and it was black soo...). Anyway it turns out that when this particular cable is grounded it makes the immobiliser click a few seconds after grounding it with the ignition on, this is opposed to my actual immobilisation cable which makes it click stright away. So many question...

Adam