Totally dead after running for an hour

Ok so the starter is pulling some current good. Maybe the starter drive is stuck in the flywheel teeth, try putting in gear and rock car back and forth to see if that frees anything. if no result disconnect the positive cable at battery, then remove the 3 starter mounting bolts and the starter should be loose not jammed in housing

i had one stuck pretty good that after removing the 3 mounting bolts i had to rap the starter body with a hammer to free the drive. at that point i bolted it back up and was fine.
 
Last edited:
I'll give that a shot. You know, I pulled the starter a week or so ago when I had the switch issue and had to rap it a few times to get it out, so I know what you mean. I bench tested it then and it worked fine, no shaft wobble. I'll let you know what I find. Thank you!

Dwight
 
I agree with Mitch about the drive being stuck in the flywheel. The thing that I
question( and I'm not an electrical guy), is the 30% drop in voltage. That has
too be a lot of Amps?
 
ok sometimes the drive hangs up ,,if not remove the starter and bench it again.
also MAKE sure your battery returns to 6volts on its own

i think were real close now on diagnosing it

and dont forget once its running again do what i said on cking the generator output. if the genny was not putting out before and the battery got low that could have been why the car died while it was running and also cause the drive to get stuck when you tried to restart it. just a thought;;;;;;;;
 
Last edited:
So, as I understand it the voltage dropped, but the starter didn't crank........right?

If so the starter needs work, or it might be jammed in gear. If it's jammed, just put the ****** in high gear and rock the car forward.
 
If you determine that the drive was stuck it would be a good idea to look over the starter and drive carefully before reinstalling it. Look for a distorted spring on the drive or missing/ loose drive hardware. I see you have a 29 vehicle which means you could have a starter with a ½ inch shaft. Those starter shafts can get bent more easily than the later 5/8 inch shaft units. It might even be a good idea to remove the drive to check to see if the shaft is straight. I had the special drive on my car and one of the retaining screws and retaining spring fell out causing problems.
Good luck,
Supergnat
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
So, as I understand it the voltage dropped, but the starter didn't crank........right?

If so the starter needs work, or it might be jammed in gear. If it's jammed, just put the ****** in high gear and rock the car forward.
Click to expand...

Correct Tom. Not a sound when I push the starter. I put it in high gear and rocked it pretty hard. No change. I intend to Pull the starter this evening.
 
Mitch//pa said:
ok sometimes the drive hangs up ,,if not remove the starter and bench it again.
also MAKE sure your battery returns to 6volts on its own

i think were real close now on diagnosing it

and dont forget once its running again do what i said on cking the generator output. if the genny was not putting out before and the battery got low that could have been why the car died while it was running and also cause the drive to get stuck when you tried to restart it. just a thought;;;;;;;;
Click to expand...

Mitch,
Battery reads fine this AM. I haven't done any testing on the ignition switch wiring. Is there a possibility of a problem in that area. A test light showed power on both coil leads with the switch off. Is that normal? It just seems so strange that the car ran perfectly for 45 minutes and died the second I turned the lights on. The clutch was not engaged. Car was in neutral. Turning on the lights was the only difference. I disconnected the lead going to lights from the generator. There were also 2 fuse-able links attached to the starter. One leading directly to a flasher unit for add on turn signals; the other goes to the O/D solenoid, I think. Plan to trace it tonight. Both are disconnected right now.

Thanks!!
 
Can you turn the engine over with the hand crank?? How about if "we" take off the light bail at the bottom of the strg column thereby eliminating the light and horn circuit.
Just two thoughts.
Paul in CT
 
The coil SHOULD have voltage on both primary terminals with the key off. With the key on and points closed one coil primary should drop to 0 volts because it would now be connected to ground.

I'd only work on getting the starter to spin for now. Try to hand crank the engine and lets us know if you can turn it over or start it that way.
 
DO what Tom says last and don't start jumping around to light switches , ignition switches etc. we need to get the starter to crank the engine first. Then we will see where were at.
the only thing that operates the starter is the battery and cables and thats been tested...

That's how these post turn into a cluster @$$@$@$@ and nothing gets accomplished except a bunch of unneeded parts replaced, wasted time spent and the complaint still there
 
Last edited:
Does your starter make a clunk sound and that's it? I replaced my starter switch and I put in 1 screw that was about 1/16 longer than the others, causing it to ground out. I would get a heavy clunk when I hit the starter button and nothing else. I troubleshot for a long time, and somebody posted they heard of that, but never seen it. It worked for me, double check your starter switch hardware, maybe add an additional washer on each screw.
 
Mitch//pa said:
DO what Tom says last and don't start jumping around to light switches , ignition switches etc. we need to get the starter to crank the engine first. Then we will see where were at.
the only thing that operates the starter is the battery and cables and thats been tested...

I agree. I was testing the lights on my car tonight, before I installed new reflectors with halogen bulbs. The car was running and almost died when I turned the headlights on. One of the headlight bulb sockets was shorted out. I put the new headlight kit in, with new wires ran through the conduit. Now I have good headlights and no electrical problems. You can not take anything for granted on these old cars, so many things can be wore out or messed up. I'm just going through everything on my car to make sure it is safe to drive. Only had it for six weeks now.
Click to expand...
 
Here is what I found. Tried to hand crank but the crank hole doesn't align with the crank for some reason. The crank is lower.
Decided to go ahead and pull the starter. It popped right out; not stuck. Pulled the switch off and look what I found. (Pictures attached)
Looks like we have a contact problem!! Thoughts?

I bought new screws with the switch and they were tight. I also made sure it was centered on the button. It does seem to be much tighter when pressing the starter rod. Obviously it isn't pushing the contact down evenly.
 

Attachments

  • new switch and starter.jpg
    new switch and starter.jpg
    62.4 KB · Views: 42
  • new switch.jpg
    new switch.jpg
    37.7 KB · Views: 37
Did you install the insulating gasket under the switch when you mounted the switch? It also appears that contact is not being made evenly.
Supergnat
 
supergnat said:
Did you install the insulating gasket under the switch when you mounted the switch? It also appears that contact is not being made evenly.
Supergnat
Click to expand...

I did not. According to the supplier, the gasket was only used in 1928. The old switch didn't have one. Is that info incorrect?
 
Just got your post. I have a 28 but the Brattons catalog says the insulator is used on both 28 and 29. I don't recall the year of your vehicle.

Also, since the starter is out you should be able to bench test the starter without the switch installed. Be careful becaust the torqu may cause the starter to roo off the bench, Just an idea.
 
supergnat said:
Just got your post. I have a 28 but the Brattons catalog says the insulator is used on both 28 and 29. I don't recall the year of your vehicle.

Also, since the starter is out you should be able to bench test the starter without the switch installed. Be careful becaust the torqu may cause the starter to roo off the bench, Just an idea.
Click to expand...

Bench test was perfect. No shaft wobble either
 
I just made a discovery. When the switch is bolted to the starter, there is virtually no travel when pushing the starter rod plunger. I wonder if the switch was making contact before pushing the rod
 
If the switch was making contract before pushing the rod the starter would have started
cranking as soon as you hooked up the battery.

Bob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top