won't start (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Dec 18, 2002
Threads
40
Messages
328
Location
Dallas, TX
I’ve owned my ’76 since September, and it had what I thought was a marginal battery. For a couple of months the starter would barely turn over, but the motor would always fire up, and I always carried jumper cables figuring I was getting close to needing a new battery. Now it does nothing when you turn the key. No click, nothing, even with jumper cables. I recharged the battery for about 10 hours and put a tester on it which gave a reading of fair. All other electrical components work fine. I tried the old screwdriver trick, using the blade to bridge between the positive and negative terminals on the solenoid, and I get a click, but that’s all. Question: How do I know for sure if it’s the starter that needs replacing? All the wires seem new, intact and tightened down, and the starter looks to be fairly new. I hate to buy a new one if that’s not what’s wrong.
 
Yank the starter & take it over to one of your local auto stores. Most have the ability to bench test a starter...especially those that have their own shops.
 
If you get absolutly nothing when you turn the key you may have a bad ground. Check all the ground wires (to the block, starter etc). Clean the cables good and make sure the cables are not shot from the inside.

Also as mentioned take the starter to the pep boys or autozone or something. they will check it out for free for you.

Maybe the solinoid is shot? if both check out.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom