Starter Just Clicks (1 Viewer)

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Morrison, CO
HELP!!!! Starter Just Clicks

So I went to start the cruiser (it being mt DD and all) this morning to take it to school. I turned the key and all it did was click and the amp meter went down. I didn't really think anything of it as its done this before. So I pop started it down the driveway and drove to school. After school I went to start it again and it just ckicked so I pop started it again. Then I came out from play practice and again, no go. This time I wasn't on a hill though. So I pushed it back in the parking lot a little and I got moving enough to pop start it again. Got home, tried it again just to see if it would work. Lets just say it didn't.

My question is why is it doing this to me?

It is a 68 with a sbc and the stock 3 speed and bellhousing. So the starter is for a land cruiser and not a chevy. HELP!!!
 
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Hi All:

If it just clicks I'd hazard a guess that it is the solenoid on the starter not cooperating.

If your rig is running a SBC V-8 then the starter is GM, not Toyota!

Good luck!

Alan
 
Another option besides the solenoid is your battery. You may not have enough juice to turn it all the way over. If it has been awhile since you have replaced it, you may want to take it in to get load tested at your local auto parts store.

Good luck! :cheers:
 
So I don't think its the battery because we bought the cruiser in Feb of 2006 and put in an optima that spring. The funny thing about this starter is that we had the starter rebuilt a little after we bought it and then we put a new solenoid on the next year. So i'll try the hammer technique and get back to ya

Thanks
Logan
 
Could be the alternator as well......'might not be charging the battery. Dead battery.......click click click.
 
replaced that too. when the voltage regulator went out, we went to a chevy alternator with a regulator built in
 
Try cleaning the battery terminals even if they look good, tighten the ground on the block, Cheers, Larry
 
Don't forget that some replacement parts end up being duds. It's happened to me more than once. Doesn't hurt to re-check.

Jump start it and drive it to Vato vone. They'll diagnose the problem for free and you can buy and install there.
 
Same thing happened to me on my sbc. After serious trouble shooting including getting the starter rebuilt (with new solenoid), it ended up being the ground from the battery to the frame having corrosion/gunk building up at the frame. I cleaned up the frame and ground, reconnected it, and all works well again. Sorry I spent all the money for a starter rebuild. By the way, all the other electrics worked fine except for the starter. Give it a try, it's free!
 
Same thing happened to me on my sbc. After serious trouble shooting including getting the starter rebuilt (with new solenoid), it ended up being the ground from the battery to the frame having corrosion/gunk building up at the frame. I cleaned up the frame and ground, reconnected it, and all works well again. Sorry I spent all the money for a starter rebuild. By the way, all the other electrics worked fine except for the starter. Give it a try, it's free!



+ 1
 
Just b/c the XYZ was replaced X months ago it doesn't mean that it's good.

These things are pretty simple really. It can only be a couple things already mentioned 15X.

As far as the battery, you can't tell it's good by looking at it! test it. The tool is cheap, easy to use and no toolbox is complete without one.

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
 
Is it charging when it is running? If not, Clean your battery terminal connections and try again. You may need to clean the top of the battery and connections by using the old Baking soda and water trick. Just get all the corrosion off of the terminals and clean the connetions. Get it started again and drive around. If your ammeter was not charging before, but is after cleaning, you have done the trick. If not, buy, borrow or find a tester. If the battery is fully charged and you have clean connections, then you have a starter problem. Another way to check the battery current (not charge) without a tester is to crank the engine with the lights on. If they dim to the point of going out or almost go out, there is not enough current (which I assume is happening). A bad starter will not dim the lights down low if it is bad and you have a good charge. If the terminals sizzle when doing this, you definitely need to clean them.
 
Not the alt. if it runs fine once bumped over... Probably dirty connection in one of the cables or bad starter sol. Should be an easy fix, once you track it down...
 
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If it just clicks once when you turn the key, most likely that is the solenoid. If it makes a ratcheting sound then its usually a battery issue. . If the solenoid is going bad not enough "juice" is getting to the starter. Take a screwdriver and short across from the large hot terminal on the solenoid to the starter terminal(the small nut on the inside) if it turns over, rplace the solenoid. Chev solenoids are famous for being effected by heat and not working. A solution to that is to install a ford or dodge solenoid on the firewall or fender between the battery and the hot terminal on the solenoid. Remove the starter/switch wire (the #14 wire) from the chev and connect it to the added solenoid. Make a short jumper from #10 wire. Connect that to the chevy solenoid battery connection and the starter/switch terminal. When you turn the key, the added solenoid powers the starter and the switch terminal at the same time. solves all kind of starter problems on chevy starters.
 
thanks for the all the help. it actually started today after school and at the gas station but not at home. ugh! when it did start without my muscle the starter gear stayed in the flywheel for like 2 seconds. thats a bad solenoid right?
 
Just a word of warning Ibinazbass. Because your battery is new doesn't necessarily mean that it is good. I have a "load tester" that I got in a junk shop for about $10. It records the battery voltage while it is under load (getting a high current drawn from it).

You can test yours simply with a cheap voltmeter. Put it across the terminals while someone turns your ignition key to "start". If the voltage at the battery drops down well below 12V - then the battery isn't up to the job.

Does the battery even have the correct CCA rating???

:cheers:

PS. Sorry - I would hate to see you go to a massive amount of work when all it is - is the battery.
 
Hi All:

The voltage of a battery is not important when starting up a rig, it is the amperage (the "CCA") that is important!

To eliminate the battery as a starting issue one needs to have the amperage of the battery.

Regards,

Alan

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Just a word of warning Ibinazbass. Because your battery is new doesn't necessarily mean that it is good. I have a "load tester" that I got in a junk shop for about $10. It records the battery voltage while it is under load (getting a high current drawn from it).

You can test yours simply with a cheap voltmeter. Put it across the terminals while someone turns your ignition key to "start". If the voltage at the battery drops down well below 12V - then the battery isn't up to the job.

Does the battery even have the correct CCA rating???

:cheers:

PS. Sorry - I would hate to see you go to a massive amount of work when all it is - is the battery.
 
Hi All:

The voltage of a battery is not important when starting up a rig, it is the amperage (the "CCA") that is important!

To eliminate the battery as a starting issue one needs to have the amperage of the battery.

Regards,

Alan

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Not exactly.

Ohm's Law states voltage equals amps times resistance or V=IR.

With resistance remaining constant, if the voltage drops so will the amps and vice versa so saying that the voltage of a battery is not important when starting is incorrect. The reason the amps are low is because the voltage is low. Current is flow of electrons, voltage is the pressure at which they are supplied. Low pressure, low flow.
 
Not exactly.

Ohm's Law states voltage equals amps times resistance or V=IR.

With resistance remaining constant, if the voltage drops so will the amps and vice versa so saying that the voltage of a battery is not important when starting is incorrect. The reason the amps are low is because the voltage is low. Current is flow of electrons, voltage is the pressure at which they are supplied. Low pressure, low flow.

Thanks dgangle.

Of course the only reason we prefer to check the voltage is because it is both cheap and convenient to do so. (After all, the cost of an ammeter that can measure high starter currents would be VERY significant and not at all easy to connect into the circuit.)

:cheers:

Dgangle's explanation shows that if the battery voltage "disappears" when you activate the starter - It matters very much indeed.
 

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