This is my '49 1/2 ton. To be succinct, it don't too good. Still running on original 6v system, starter was rebuilt properly and converted to high torque, cables were made custom out of heavy guage wire, starter and battery have been properly grounded, battery is an Optima and starts my '54 2 ton flatbed no problem. -It will only start when battery has been on the charger and is at 100% -If I turn it off after driving for some time and immediately try to restart it, no joy. Starter makes maybe 1 revolution and quits -I tried a 12v battery jumper, no dice Is it possessed? Should I get a Catholic priest? Points? Coil? Help!
Check your grounds, and add more. Make shure your battery is grounded to frame and engine, engine to frame, body to frame. More grounds the better. Make shure they all hae clean contact points also.
Starter test? Did you do a test on that starter...off the truck....independent battery? Did it spin fast and free? rod
Yes, it was tested on the bench and works fine. My neighbor came over and suggested the starter could be heat soaked which makes sense to me. Cold starts no problem, when the starter is hot it hardly spins and needs the optima's 800 amps to even make an attempt. Will test tonight and report back.
So, is it not working right because the start is getting super hot or the engine is hot? That would seem to isolate it. What about the coil...well, that would not make the engine/starter barely turn...or would it? You know it is starting to sound like you might have to trade some rims and tires with some guy in Germany that might know a witch doctor...or he will claim to know a witch doctor just to solve his problem...Ha, Ha! Around here we blame it on Aliens or the Taos Hum...Oh, that car show up in Taos is this weekend...maybe, if you don't have it solved by then I could hint around and see if, that is to blame...Ha, Ha. Thinking... rod
Bench testing the starter off the truck without a load won't really tell you anything. If you already have all your cables & ground contacts in order..... I would suspect that the starter is due for a rebuild.
It was just rebuilt last week and converted to high torque. Starter switch was replaced too as the old one was "burnt to a crisp."
springs Sometimes the springs for the brushes get weak, especially when cranking a 6v too long with 12V.
I can't speak for the abilities of the shop that rebuilt the starter but "High Torque conversion" sounds like something the shop made up. Did the shop completely rebuild the starter ? Or did they mix & match some of your old parts with some new parts? Maybe it was not rebuilt correctly ? If you have absolute confidence in the shop that rebuilt the starter..... The fact that a 12 volt jump results in the same problem leads me to believe that it is a ground problem or a battery problem. When you say you used "custom heavy gauge" cables.. what size are they ? The cables from the battery to the starter & battery to frame ground should be "OO" or better yet "OOO" size {on a 6 volt system}. http://vcca.org/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/110785/6_Volt_battery_cable_gauge It is also important to use the original additional copper braided ground strap that connects from the bellhousing to the frame right next to the starter. A lot of times... the shop that rebuilds the starter slathers it with a thick coat of paint that prevents a good ground at the mating surfaces on the bellhousing. http://vcca.org/forum/ubbthreads.ph...p/Search/true/Re:_31_Chevy_Starter#Post315218 All grounding points {& the starter motor itself} need to be cleaned to bright shiny metal. There is a lot of great info. here in this topic regarding "Hot-No Start"... http://vcca.org/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/308586/1 .
DZ's advice is pretty solid. Poor grounds account for lots of electrical gremlins. Another thing - You didn't say whether the 12v battery jumper was in a running vehicle, or by itself... Are you sure that your charging system is up to snuff? >14V running? What's your voltage at idle? At ~2000 rpm? If your alternator or generator isn't putting out enough, or your voltage regulator is off, you may just not have enough juice. Or, as others suggested, heat soak. Let us know what you find - it may help someone else someday. And oh yeah - great looking truck. Thanks for the pic!
Starter was rebuilt by a very good local shop, they put in high torque fields, new bushings, switch and brushes. They said whoever worked on it previously did a poor job, I bought it online. When it spins, it does so very quickly and starts like a 12v would. Cables are very thick and well made. The guy who did it and all the other work is very competant and comes highly recommended. Original braided strap was replaced with another custom made cable. Why should I use the original? Tonight I took some jumper cables and made two new grounds, one from the battery terminal to the frame and one from the ground on the underside of the starter to a different spot on the frame. There was no difference in cranking at all and the truck did not start. I did this when everything was cold and the battery was at 100. I am now more confused than ever.
Did you take off the starter and clean the surface to a new metal finish? Have you tried to pull or push start the truck when the starter is Hot to see if it is just the starting system? Have you read any of the links posted on this thread today, because one of the posts state; ""The 2/0 gauge and 00 gauge are the same. Same with 4/0 and 0000. Once you have wires that have large enough diameter the resistance will be low enough that you will get the full 6.6 volts to the starter and ignition system. It will start with proper starter speed. If the starter does not spin fast enough then check for warm spots in the wiring and especially the terminal ends. That indicates a high resistance that turns the electric power to heat and not useful work."" http://vcca.org/forum/ubbthreads.php...ry_cable_gauge
Instead of guessing and trying this and that I'd find out for darn sure if is the starter or something else. Take your positive 6v battery cable and the smaller wire off of the starter. Set a 12v battery on the floorboard/fender/or shop floor and run a positive cable to the starter battery terminal and a negative cable to a starter mounting bolt. It won't start but if it spins VERY fast the starter is good and something else is wrong, If it drags and/or turns slow the starter is bad. If you want to have it start just run a jumper wire from the positive on the 6v battery to the smaller wire you removed from the battery post on the starter. Keep the wire end and jumper away from the 12v cable as it 12v will fry the gas gauge. I know it's a bit of work but IT WILL answer the starter question.
Have you liberally applied colorful language? I find that sometimes this helps. Often I find myself making up new words.....hybrids if you will.
You could just swap starters with your 54 big truck and see if the problem follows the starter. Or even easier, voltage drop the starter when the pickup doesn't want to crank. If the starter drops all the available voltage and doesn't crank properly it's either a bad starter or a high mechanical drag in the engine. If the starter doesn't drop all the voltage, perform a drop on the positive and negative starter circuits to find your problem. John
Its not very scientific.... but it has worked for me for 35 years now..... Get a big hammer.... crawl under the truck..... have an assistant crank on the starter button..... hit the starter with the hammer..... if the starter works after beating on it with the hammer..... the starter is bad.
*****Its not very scientific.... but it has worked for me for 35 years now..... Get a big hammer.... crawl under the truck..... have an assistant crank on the starter button..... hit the starter with the hammer..... if the starter works after beating on it with the hammer..... the starter is bad. ****** Actually, it is very scientific....and it worked for me...although I used a big screwdriver to push plunger myself. It also had me scratching my head for awhile(even had to pop the clutch quite a few times and it would start right up). I did exactly as you say....hit it with a hammer too...It worked! As it turns out...the main shaft of the starter was broken and it gradually got worst and worst. I am guessing that the whole thing was grounding at certain times. Had it redone...and wala(???) it has been working ever since. I would never have found it...without "Joe's Scientific Way!" Who would have thunk it? Try it, it works! Oh, this happen a while back and I just happen to thunk it...till I tried it! rod
Well I fixed it. Looks like when they rebuilt the starter they added a bushing to the shaft and that stopped the pinion gear from engaging the flywheel fully. Not sure what the thinking was on that. Tiny little bushing caused a big headache! Thanks to all who helped!
