81 Won't Start

[drwikboz]

Well, when I bought the car, it wouldn't start when Hot. I assumed this was a problem with the starter so I went and replaced the starter. The car started but the problem still remained. Now, however, the car has completely stopped starting. It just clicks and does nothing else when you turn the key. Battery is good. Any thoughts??

 

[drwikboz]

Oh, when I bought the starter for an 81 vette, it didn't fit.. according to autobarn the old starter was from an 82 vette, toward the end of production, did GM do this?

 

[TJay]

First make sure you don't have a loose wire on the starter or battery, next disconnect the battery and drop the starter. With it hanging (hook up battery again) see it engage's and spins. (watch your hands).
Here's a few suggestions for no hot start
(1) Vapor Lock, fule line to close to headers, manifold etc.
(2) Timing adjustment, back off a couple of degrees
(3) Starter heat, will increase the resistance of the starter motor windings, causing motor to not spin fast enough
(4) Battery, a engine in proper tune will not experience hot cranking with a strong battery. But even though the car will start cold, doesn't mean the battery is strong enough to start a hot engine. (hot cranking amps)

 

[Peer81]

Maybe another option.

When your car (wires) are hot the resistance inside a wire is higher then when cold. Check the thick ground wire from your engine to the chassis, clean the clamps and clean the location on the chassis (it's at the inside of your right enginemount extension. Also clean the ground wire thats located on the differential crossmember (front of diff is mounted on) also clean the clamp and clean the position on the chassis. It sounds a little weird but maybe it will to the trick!

Greetings Peter.

 

[drwikboz]

Thanks,
The car doesn't start cold anymore... now it just does nothing. I'll try cleaning the grounds. Just a question, but if you turn the key, is the theft-deterrent relay supposed to make a strang buzzing sound (at least that's what I think the box is)? If there is something wrong with it, would it cause this issue?

 

[redvett]

Take a jumper cable and hook it to the neg. side of battery and hook other end to engine. If it starts the neg. cable is bad from the battery to the frame.

 

[drwikboz]

Take a jumper cable and hook it to the neg. side of battery and hook other end to engine. If it starts the neg. cable is bad from the battery to the frame.

Thanks, I already tried that... didn't start Th eproblem for me is that I only get to work on the car on the weekends... but I tried that, I also put in two new starters (just in case the first new one happened to be bad). The connectors, I believe are on correctly. The ground wire sits on a connecter with another wire. The ground is on first, then there is a red wire that goes on then the bolt. I know the previous owner put a new solenoid on the car and this is how he had the connectors on - though I don't see why it should matter which is on first.

 

[srs244]

i may be wrong as my frame of reference is my 78, but there shouldn't be a ground wire on the solenoid. the starter grounds by having it bolted to the engine and the olenoid grounds to the starter. the main engine ground cable should be just above the front of the starter. if you removed the starter support bracket, you might have displaced it or replaced it in such a way as to not be making good contact.

there should be a wire from the neutral lock out switch on the "s" terminal of the solenoid and there should be 3 wires on the "hot" post of the solenoid. one of those is the positive battery lead (the thick red wire) and there should be 2 thinner wire with fusable links on each one. on my 78 one of these leads goes directly to the headlight switch to make it unswitched and the other lead goes to the fuse box.

do you have headlights (or any of the the exterior lights)?? do your gauges "initialize" when you turn the key to the on position?? if not, you may have disconnected the solenoid harness from the main harness when you dropped the starter motor and pulled on the harness. the connector from the main harness to the solenoid harness is on the firewall in front of the passenger compartment (please don't ask me how i know this, lol!!) there is also the possibility that you blew the fusable links. you can test them by using a safety pin on each side of the links to pierce the wire and check for 13+ volts on each side with a meter.

 

[drwikboz]

i may be wrong as my frame of reference is my 78, but there shouldn't be a ground wire on the solenoid.

You are absolutely correct! That's how it is, I wasn't thinking when I typed..

And you might also be onto something - all of the wires to the starter are extremely short and hard to get to, so while maneuvering it to get at the connectors, something might have been pulled, I'll check that this weekend as well. Thanks for the tips, hopefully something works!

 

[srs244]

as i said, please don't ask how i came to suggest that, lol. been there, done that, lol!! had a problem with the car starting sometime and then getting absolutely not response when i turned the key. everything powered up (gauges, etc and the light worked, so i knew there was power), but no starter response. thought perhaps it was the started switch (located at the base of the steering column) or the rod that actuated it needing adjustment, but a simple meter check on the neutral lockout switch (my console is out and it makes working on a lot of the electrical stuff a lot easier) showed that power was passing through the ignition to the lockout and through that on to the solenoid, so i removed the starter (actually up and down several times. i can now drop a starter within about 5 minutes, lol) changed the solenoid and that seemed to solve that part of the problem once i spent a week trying to figure out why i had absolutely no power getting to the lights or the starter circuit. tested the fusable links, etc and then decided i better start tracing wires. that's how i found the harness connection which i thought i was careful enough not to disturb, but obviously i was very wrong, lol!

good luck. i hope some of my experiences might help you out.


steve