1931 Model A not turning over

A

Amctavish77

Junior Member
Hi all, I have a ‘31 Tudor that’s all stock and I recently rewired it front to back with a kit from Mike’s. I’m still waiting on a headlight switch housing but I fired the car sans headlight/tail lights and it fired with no issues. Drove it all over the place a couple days later with no problems at all. I went to fire it and take to to a car show a couple days later and it turned over 2 or 3 rotations and then wouldn’t turn over anymore. When I hit the foot switch, I get nothing, no noise, no attempt to rotate, nothing. I haven’t put a meter on anything yet but the fuse was ok and the starter isn’t locked up.

So my question is, what do I need to be looking for? Could the starter be bad or is there something else I need to look at. I’m hoping I don’t need to chase another electrical gremlin as that’s why I rewired the car to begin with!!

Any help any one can offer will be greatly appreciated! Or, if you’re in the Fresno/Clovis area and can help out in person, I’ll be happy to buy lunch, provide beer, or a monetary donation for your time to get me back up and running!!
 
Hey guys, thanks for the response. The car currently has no headlights as I am waiting on a new switch (the one at the base of the steering column). The wafer on my switch was trashed. So, I haven’t hooked up the wiring for the lights to my alternator yet.

I have turned the motor over with the hand crank but not started it that way. It turns over just fine. I have also put the car in 3rd gear and rocked back and forth but no change.
 
Do you have a voltmeter? A test light? A hydrometer to test the battery? The Les Andrews red book?

Make sure your battery cables are clean, bright and tight at both ends. On a stock wired Model A, a failed ground at the frame kills everything until the car is running.
 
If you don't have the tools to test the battery yourself, just remove it, (take a photo of how it was installed first) and take it down to an auto parts store and have it tested there. They don't charge for this. If battery tests good, reinstall and follow the suggestions above regarding connections etc.
Good luck, wish I lived closer to you to help.
 
Sounds like the starter switch could be bad. You could pull it off and touch the batter cable to the post on the starter and see what happens. If it turns over then the switch is bad.
 
Dead battery likely suspect. You jump a very short time from a 12 volt car if it starts quickly. A small battery charger is also useful, just make sure it can charge 6 volt.
 
All, thank you for the great tips and advice. I finally got around to yanking the battery out and realized it was 8 years old! And while it would hold a charge, there was no load capacity so long story short, new battery fixed the issue! I feel stupid overlooking something so obvious!

Thank you all for your help; I really appreciate it!
 
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