39 Merc no start guidance

rockfla

rockfla

Well-known member
I went out the other day to start and drive the 39 Mercury since I haven’t drive her in about a month and 1/2. Did the normal start routine, and she fired off for a brief second but shut off from getting gas back up through the pump and carb, usual thing when I haven’t started it in a bit, hit the starter button again and there was a louder than normal click and NO turn of the starter. Next push of the starter button and absolutely nothing, no click, no start, nothing.

What I’ve done.
1). Had a new starter solinoid handy SO I figured 5mins, I’ll see if the solinoid went bad, swapped the solinoid, same thing.
2) checked the old solinoid with my meter,not getting continuity from the battery side post to the starter cable post, normal. getting continuity from the stater button post to the starter cable post when the little “by-pass” button on the bottom of the solinoid is depressed as well as from battery post to starter cable post….SO I am thinking the old solinoid is good?
3) getting a good continuity reading on the wire from the voltage regulator post to the starter solinoid post, so I know that wire is good
4) not getting continuity on the new solinoid from battery to starter cable postsjust like the old one and getting continuity from the starter button post to starter cable post.
5) had my wife push the starter button while I checked continuity from the that post to the starter and there is as long as she held the button in SO….i am thinking my starter button is good??
6) main fuse is good!!

What would be my next check/move??? Could it “possibly” be the voltage regulator??

I have jumped straight to the starter post with some jumper cables and a spare battery and she starts right up, done that three times now just to move the car a couple of times so I know the starter is good. Thanks for the further directions in advanced.
 
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My thoughts:
Your solenoids tests good. Your starter tests good, but that test was done using a spare battery. Now should look at the battery or cables from it. Do the same starter test with jumper cables from the car’s battery.
 
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i would temporarily run a spare battery cable directly from the battery to the starter. it will eliminate a lot of variables.

better yet use a jumper cable....
 
rockfla said:
What I’ve done.
1). Had a new starter solinoid handy SO I figured 5mins, I’ll see if the solinoid went bad, swapped the solinoid, same thing.
2) checked the old solinoid with my meter,not getting continuity from the battery side post to the starter cable post, normal. getting continuity from the stater button post to the starter cable post when the little “by-pass” button on the bottom of the solinoid is depressed as well as from battery post to starter cable post….SO I am thinking the old solinoid is good?

Normal function and good.

3) getting a good continuity reading on the wire from the voltage regulator post to the starter solinoid post, so I know that wire is good

Nothing to do with starting

4) not getting continuity on the new solinoid from battery to starter cable postsjust like the old one

This is your problem. Wire is broken inside covering or posts are not clean and tight.
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581338


Glenn
 
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The starter is the only high current draw component in the car and it draws a lot during the start phase. Batteries don't like to sit too long even if an external charger is used. A lot depends on how long it's been in service. Regular draw and charge phases is what keeps them lasting a long life. Something may have failed internally but the only way to find out is to charge it back up and then do a high rate discharge test for condition. It can read 6.2 volts and still not have any capacity.
 
FlatTopFreddie said:
Sounds like the bendix may be stuck in the starter gear. Try putting in 3rd gear and pushing it backwards.
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"I have jumped straight to the starter post with some jumper cables and a spare battery and she starts right up, done that three times now just to move the car a couple of times so I know the starter is good."


As stated in the original post.
 
Shoebox said:
"I have jumped straight to the starter post with some jumper cables and a spare battery and she starts right up, done that three times now just to move the car a couple of times so I know the starter is good."


As stated in the original post.
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i suspect you meant to quote (in your previous post) my, so ill-informed and unnecessary comment, for which i do apologize.

anyway, that test will have established that the battery, the battery ground, the starter and the engine ground is good...

now, to test that the heavy wire running from the solenoid to the starter is good...run a jumper cable from the battery to the side of the starting solenoid that's connected to the battery. if the starter still works, you will have verified that THAT wire is good. then...

test the 6v wire for power (using the multimeter), that runs to the solenoid when the starter button is pushed, if there's power, the problem will lie with the solenoid itself. if not, then it's either in the ignition toggle or the starter button or it's ground or possibly in the wires connecting them. those three tests are simple to make with the multimeter.

i recently made these same tests on my '41 and it turned out that a faulty starter button was the culprit. while testing i also burnt up the solenoid and had to replace it too! :(
 
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I understand your situation. But using a separate battery to jump start it has muddied the water some.
Just use one jumper lead and connect to either side of the solenoid. If it starts it has to be either the solenoid or the switching circuit.
 
This is what the professionals uses to find a faulty part or connection; you need to perform a voltage drop test. This will tell you where the voltage is at or not when you are cranking the engine. This is how I found faults in circuits and exactly where faults were at when I was a mechanic. Go on YouTube and watch some videos of "voltage drop tests". Some of them are better than others. If you do this test correctly it will tell you at which point in the circuit the voltage is not making it through, either a bad connection or a faulty part.
 
Robert install the spare battery into the correct position and if it still doesn’t start at least you know it’s in the cables or the solenoid , if it starts your old battery is either dead or got a corroded connection to the battery leads.
 
danliveshere said:
Robert install the spare battery into the correct position and if it still doesn’t start at least you know it’s in the cables or the solenoid , if it starts your old battery is either dead or got a corroded connection to the battery leads.
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******PRELIMINARY UPDATE******


Dan, you're spot on with your "take"...SORRY but I haven't had much, IF any, available shop time the last few days.....SO this morning I got up a few minutes earlier so I could run out and throw the charger on the battery. I pulled the cell caps and found two of the three cells are low on electrolytes. I a have a bottle but could not put my hand directly on it and didn't have enough time to do :"the search"....SO when I get home this evening I will fill and check my battery with my hydrometer and make sure ALL the cells are healthy and recharge my battery.....IF not, I will heed Dan's suggestion and put another 6V in it's place and give it a whirl. I will keep you posted. Thank you all for your help and knowledge.
 
I would caution use of electrolyte to service an older battery. The lead plates tend to draw a lot of the acidic content when a battery is discharged. This is why distilled water is recommended for service. The hydrometer reads specific gravity of the solution. When the reading of specific gravity is low, that tells you that the state of charge is low due to the loss of acidic qualities. As the battery is charged, the specific graviry should rise back up to normal. Adding electrolyte with normal specific gravity to a discharge battery will overboost the acidic qualities and may damage the plates or there structural parts to include the internal connecting straps. The H2O in the electrolyte can evaporate but the sulfuric stuff doesn't.
 
rotorwrench said:
I would caution use of electrolyte to service an older battery. The lead plates tend to draw a lot of the acidic content when a battery is discharged. This is why distilled water is recommended for service. The hydrometer reads specific gravity of the solution. When the reading of specific gravity is low, that tells you that the state of charge is low due to the loss of acidic qualities. As the battery is charged, the specific graviry should rise back up to normal. Adding electrolyte with normal specific gravity to a discharge battery will overboost the acidic qualities and may damage the plates or there structural parts to include the internal connecting straps. The H2O in the electrolyte can evaporate but the sulfuric stuff doesn't.
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absolutely correct! unless electrolyte is known to have spilled or leaked, one never adds electrolyte to lead/acid batteries.

having worked at a SOHIO gas station as a twenty-something more than half a century ago, i must have checked and filled hundreds if not thousands of batteries when customers stopped in for gas, and we didn't even SELL electrolyte at the the station, much less handle the stuff.

and in the event that it was known that the low fluid level was due to a leak (and that's unlikely), one would have to know the percentage of acid in the mixture at the time of the loss to properly replace the acid. ....not likely. best to just buy new "maintenance free" lead/acid batteries. even with my cavalier attitude WRT safety, i wouldn't even consider adding electrolyte.
 
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Years ago when I worked at a service station and had very little money, I drained a couple of batteries, flushed them with water and then filled with new acid. We would get the acid in cardboard boxes that had a fill hose from the acid bladder with some type of closure. Worked good for me and another friend at the station.

I also use to mount tire take-offs when the customer bought new ones; that had a few miles left and carried two spares with me :-)
 
If you have the stock style woven ground cable inspect it for any corrosion. Had a similar problem and a new ground cable solved the problem. It was on a friend's '40 and he lived near the California coast. The salt air was not kind to the woven cable.
 
glennpm said:
Years ago when I worked at a service station and had very little money, I drained a couple of batteries, flushed them with water and then filled with new acid. We would get the acid in cardboard boxes that had a fill hose from the acid bladder with some type of closure. Worked good for me and another friend at the station.

I also use to mount tire take-offs when the customer bought new ones; that had a few miles left and carried two spares with me :-)
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haha! me too...

i had a wire-wheeled 1961 MGA at the time and they used the same tire size (5.60x15) as a VW beetle. people often came in with small cuts in their sidewalls that couldn't be patched, when otherwise the tire was fine. i used tubes, so that was not a problem. so i always had a good supply of newish tires. they were mismatched, but at that age, i couldn't have cared less!
 
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