Hard Starting

Unknown
Unknown
edited November -1 in HUDSON
I have a 54 Wasp with a 262......Question is this:



I Drove the car today to a meet and had no problems at all starting it .

The car was parked at the meet for about 4 hours and it fired right up and we drove it for home....Made a stop along the way for about 10 minutes and

once again it started....Went to another stop at the grocery store, parked it and shopped for about 10 minutes.. Got in the car and it started once again.





Finally got her home and pulled into the drive way. Shut her down and unloaded the groceries..Went to start it to pull into the garage and it would

barely turn over..Like a dead battery... I let it sit for an hour and it would slowly crank over but not enough to start...After another hour sitting it turned over slowly but did start..





Is this a problem possibly with the starter Overheating??? Or is my battery losing charge and the generator not re charging it? If the battery were being drained why would it start up after a couple hours of cooling down..





THanks..

Comments

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    It could be a lot of things, but I had very similar problems with my 49 Hudson with a straight 8. 1st question, do you have a 6V or a 12V system. Mine uses the original 6V system. I was using a Interstate 6V Battery. The battery was a couple of years old. Turns out it was not the generator, but the battery. I replaced the battery with a 6V Optima and it now fires right up each and every time and even after long and short runs. The Optima Battery made a tremendous amount of difference in speed and duration of cranking ability.



    BST RGDS

    GARY ( happychris )
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I forgot to mention that I also changed battery cables to a double ought size. Changed the cables from the starter to the battery and also from the battery to the battery box, and then battery box to motor mount. I am sure that had a lot to do with the cranking ability also.



    BST RGDS

    GARY ( happychris )
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    happychris wrote:
    I was using a Interstate 6V Battery. The battery was a couple of years old. Turns out it was not the generator, but the battery. I replaced the battery with a 6V Optima and it now fires right up each and every time and even after long and short runs. The Optima Battery made a tremendous amount of difference in speed and duration of cranking ability.

    BST RGDS
    GARY ( happychris )
    Here in AZ our batteries maybe last 18-24 months. The heat kills them! I have never had any luck here with Interstate batteries, they just don't seem to make it to the warranty period. Usually I buy Optima (used them in all my offroad rigs over the years), but have also used Duralast here with some good luck. Just replaced an Optima in my Range Rover Classic (was in the truck when I bought it). Wouldn't charge or start and when I had AutoZone check it, it was only reading 4.75 volts! Now it starts up every time.

    Jay
  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor
    Tom, you really have to check the voltage of the battery when this happens. It could be an internal short when it's hot, but it's hard to know unless you have the data on hand.

    Geoff.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Tom, My 54 coupe did the same thing. I put in a new interstate battery of the correct size and group that had enough cold cranking amps, 800 I believe. I have not had a problem since.

    Bob
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    Tom - This is Fred Connors on Rob's nickel. It sounds to me that your problem may be starter related. If you let the engine cool of over night and don't charge the battery and it starts, the charging system is OK, However, still have the battery load tested. Bob is correct, Cold Cranking amps are important but if you have an Altima 6V in your car at this time it sure should be enough. Has your starter been rebuilt and there again have it test for draw. Starting problems with 6V systems are not new and to be dependable all must be working as designed; Regulator adjustment, Generator output, good connection at all points, cable size and starter condition. Tom call me!
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