Trouble starting

Unknown
Unknown
edited November -1 in HUDSON
My 51 Hornet just begun giving me problems starting. Just a few days ago, she ran like a champ, now, I press the starter and hear a click, and nothing happens. My battery is only about a year old and reads full voltage, even with the starter pressed. I also keep it on a battery tender. When it clicks, the dash lights go out and won't come back on until I turn the key off then back on. Once they come back on if I press the starter button it just clicks and all lights go out again, but the battery still reads full 6v.



Any quick thoughts before I get any deeper into this?

Comments

  • boothguy
    boothguy Senior Contributor
    I'm no expert but maybe the bendix is hung up. you might tap on the starter or if its a stick you might rock the car to free it. Also check all the electrical connections. Are the cables hot after you try to start it?
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    It's an automatic. I've tried tapping on the starter, but doesn't seem to help. The cables are not hot after trying to start, not in the least bit.
  • Jon B
    Jon B Administrator
    One thought: are the battery terminals and the cable, "bright and tight"? This is similar to a problem I had with my '37. I cleaned off the negative battery cable terminal and the inside of the clamp, with one of those battery wire brushes, then tightened the clamp around the terminal, and all was well.



    Make sure, of course, that the ground strap clamp (on the positive batery terminal) was also clean and that battery terminal clean as well. And of course you want to make sure the other end of the ground strap is grounded well on the engine (or the frame, wherever it runs.



    And I assume you have a strap that connects the engine, bellhousing or transmision to the frame. And that THOSE connections are good.



    If the switch produces a "click" in the solenoid, then the switch is probably okay, but you might double check by removing the screw cover over the remote starter button on the solenoid (assuming you have such a setup!) and depressing that button. If the starter works, then your fault is merely in the dashboard button electrical connection, which is an easy fix.
  • boothguy
    boothguy Senior Contributor
    If the cable is not hot then I still think its the bendix. I thinkyou might be able to access it and pop it back off the flywheel and try it again.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    boothguy wrote:
    If the cable is not hot then I still think its the bendix. I thinkyou might be able to access it and pop it back off the flywheel and try it again.



    How would I access it?
  • boothguy
    boothguy Senior Contributor
    I don't have an AT but is there a cover under the torque tube you can remove or maybe through the timing hole above the starter. You might have to pull the starter. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will reply
  • davegnh
    davegnh Expert Adviser
    It could be the bendix but I agree with Jon, it is easy to make sure the cable connections are clean and tight. I would try that first!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Remote diagnosis is a shot in the dark at the best... but here is my shot. Reading your post indicates you have the ability to read the voltage on your battery, "...reads full voltage...". If this a correct conclusion, use the voltage monitoring device to check the voltage coming from the starter side of the solenoid when the key is on and the start button pushed. In a properly operating system the voltage reading at the starter side (output post) of the solenoid should be the same as the battery voltage. If the voltage is not read the solenoid is NOT switching the battery voltage from the battery to the starter. If you have voltage then there is a problem with the use of that voltage... to include the recommendations made in previous posts. In an effort to isolate the cause I would make one other check at the solenoid, Check the input voltage at the switching terminal. This terminal is the small terminal on the side of the device. When the key is in the ON position and the start switch is pushed the voltage at this point should equal the battery voltage. If it does not, there is a problem with the voltage distribution to the solenoid. This could include, ckt breaker trip, defective key or start button or wiring ... tracing this with the voltage device should find the correct suspect. If this fails ... pull the starter. A hung bendix is an indication of a fault ... faults will not end and if faults are not corrected... they will come back...usually with breakage or catastropic failure.... best to you and let us know the outcome.
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    As mentioned, it could be the starter has gone in the wrong side of the flywheel tooth and jammed. Put the car in top gear and push itback an forth, but accentuate the backwards movement. If the Bendix is jammed, the engine turning backwards will disengage it. Do this first. Watch the engine fan, to see if it is moving whilst you perfomr this rocking. if it is moving, the starter is not jammed, and you will have to check the battery.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    My 54 Coupe started doing this a while after I put in a new battery. what I found was that the new battery although showing a full charge did not have enough CCA cold cranking amps. My battery only had 600 CCA. I went to Interstate batteries and got one of their HD 6volt batteries of the correct size and it has 800 CCA and I have not had a problem since.
    Bob
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Sounds to me like a short rather than a hung starter. Try this , the starter solenoid is a switch that takes full voltage direct to the starter, Ignition switch off, useing a heavy gage wire go direct to the starter from the bat, if that works then dissconect any wires except the bat from the bat terminal on the solenoid and with ign switch off go direct from battery to the small ign terminal on the solenoid , this checks the solenoid, if that works you have a short somewhere , put back any wires one at a time to the bat terminal on the solenoid to see if you can find one causeng the problem . Of course at any point the starter does not turn the engine over you have found the problem, if it doesn't turn it on the first thing you did it is a hung starter If non of these work then you'll have to look for a short , likely from ign switch to dash lights or gauges. Let us know what happens and we'll gang up on it from there. BUD
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