Very slow/no cranking

S

Sheldon Paulger

Junior Member
Hi have a Synders high compression head on my 30 coupe. The cranking has become very slow. The starter will barely turn the engine over and draws about 500 amp and batt voltage drops to less than 4 volts. The engine is very stiff to turn over on hand cranking particularly on compression stroke. Turns freely with spark plugs removed. Tried a replacement starter same thing. Any ideas? Above rest were done with jumper cables direct to starter.
 
Take some jumper cables and go from the battery to the starter and ground. Leave the standard cables in place. If it’s better, then you have resistance somewhere in your cables, or you have 12 volt cables. Too small
 
The starter should whizz the engine even when hi comp head. follow advice #2 above, (Cables may get warm anyway with prolonged cranking ), Ensure very good ground connections of engine and battery post and frame . and ensure very good live connection of battery post - switch- and starter itself . If all good then possibly rogue starter. if possible find a friend with a known good starter to substitute and check
 
What was the last thing you did before the problem started. Remember most cables from the local auto parts are too small as they were designed for 12 volts. Also jumper cables were usually designed for 12 volts and will be too small.

Charlie Stephens
 
verify that the motor is still somewhat free.
remove the plugs and turn the motor over with either wrench or starter crank.

If you cannot turn the motor over, you have other problems.

J
 
Since you say the engine turns over freely/easily then I too think there is either a battery/ starter/ connection or cable issue.
If your jumper battery and cables are good and heavy enough then I'd lean toward the starter.
 
Good Morning...You might want to take your starter off and open it up and take a look at the condition. When they are about to die, they start to draw more current...could be dirt, a loose connection, a wire with the covering starting to fail, a bent shaft, bad bearing. Testing it on the bench is a good idea...Have a great Model A Day! Ernie in Arizona
 
A ground problem will cause slow starter action . Paint on the flywheel housing and starter end plate , where the starter mounts can reduce ground to the starter motor .
 
If the starter motor is turning over slowly consistently, more than likely cables or connections.
If the motor turns quick/slow/quick, check the distributor to make sure you do not have the timing too advanced.
 
I NEVER buy 6 volt cables from the parts stores.
Go to a welding supply store and get number one or zero welding cable. It’s pronounced ought, heavier is double ought.
Each size of welding Cale is slightly larger than battery cable so you’ll need to trim the cable ends pawn a little to get them into the cable ends, or buy welding cable ends to match.
On some applications it helps to run a ground cable from a starter bolt to the frame.
You can also just put in an 8 volt battery, but some complain that the light bulbs don’t last as long. Do the cable thing, you’ll be surprised.
 
The cars came originally with size one cables. 12 volt cables can be anything from size 7 To 4. The larger the number the smaller the cable.
Some Honda Accords had number eight going from battery to dstarter. But that was a short cable and 12 volts.
 
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