I have a 1964 thunderbird, left it sitting for about 1 month and when i tried turning it on, it wouldnt make any noise what so ever: already replaced the solenoid, got the alternator rebuilt, and tested the starter, what else could it be?
Car wont start
- Thread starter ibarr
- Start date
- Status
hanoverphist
Diamond Member
- Dec 7, 2006
- 9,867
- 23
- 76
if its a good battery and youre not getting a decent reading, look inside the terminals and cables for the first 2 inches or so. i had my cable corrode inside the insulation after sitting for a month. i had been through everything else at that point, even replaced the terminals. a friend of mine was the one that thought of checking the cable itself.
also, if its not turning over at all, is it clicking like it wants to? have youo tried to cross the solenoid pins to see if you can turn the starter without the ignition?
also, if its not turning over at all, is it clicking like it wants to? have youo tried to cross the solenoid pins to see if you can turn the starter without the ignition?
check the battery to starter wire and the battery to chassis ground wire. I suspect you will find one of them corroded.
Are you saying the engine will not turn over when you turn the key? (which technically means it won't "crank")
If so:
Most Fords have the relay (some call it a solenoid, but it's really not) on the fenderwell. One large wire comes from the battery, the other goes to the starter. It has probably one small wire in the middle.
When you turn the key to crank it, that small wire should be hot. (should light a test light, or have 12v on a volt meter) If not, that circuit that leads back to the switch is where your diagnosis goes.
If it does, then the relay/solenoid should make a "bump" or loud "click" when you turn the key. If it does, then it's likely good. The side where the cable goes to the starter should be hot when you try and crank it.
If it is hot, then you need to look at the cable down to the starter, or the starter itself. In this case, I would take a hammer and hit the side of the starter while someone is turning the key, and see if the starter was just frozen...if that makes it crank, replace the starter.
If the cable is good and you have power all the way to the starter, before you replace the starter, you need to make sure you have a good ground. You can never have enough good ground wires, especially on older cars. Check the negative cable from the battery. Don't know where it's supposed to ground on that old relic. Make sure it's good a good ground wherever it's bolted down, and make sure the cable's in good shape. Wouldn't hurt to get some generic cable and add grounds from the head or block to the frame.
If the grounds are good, and you have power down to the starter, it's the starter.
Now, all that I just typed ASSumes that you already know your battery is good. I see you checked the alternator....that wasn't the problem. Has nothing to do with starting the car.
Let us know what you find out.
If so:
Most Fords have the relay (some call it a solenoid, but it's really not) on the fenderwell. One large wire comes from the battery, the other goes to the starter. It has probably one small wire in the middle.
When you turn the key to crank it, that small wire should be hot. (should light a test light, or have 12v on a volt meter) If not, that circuit that leads back to the switch is where your diagnosis goes.
If it does, then the relay/solenoid should make a "bump" or loud "click" when you turn the key. If it does, then it's likely good. The side where the cable goes to the starter should be hot when you try and crank it.
If it is hot, then you need to look at the cable down to the starter, or the starter itself. In this case, I would take a hammer and hit the side of the starter while someone is turning the key, and see if the starter was just frozen...if that makes it crank, replace the starter.
If the cable is good and you have power all the way to the starter, before you replace the starter, you need to make sure you have a good ground. You can never have enough good ground wires, especially on older cars. Check the negative cable from the battery. Don't know where it's supposed to ground on that old relic. Make sure it's good a good ground wherever it's bolted down, and make sure the cable's in good shape. Wouldn't hurt to get some generic cable and add grounds from the head or block to the frame.
If the grounds are good, and you have power down to the starter, it's the starter.
Now, all that I just typed ASSumes that you already know your battery is good. I see you checked the alternator....that wasn't the problem. Has nothing to do with starting the car.
Let us know what you find out.
brblx
Diamond Member
- Mar 23, 2009
- 5,499
- 2
- 0
no-starts are generally pretty easy to troubleshoot if you know the basics of how your starting system work.
if the car does not crank, and especially if the starter clicks, lighters flicker, or other symptoms of low battery voltage are present, check the batt first. a 15 second check with a handheld tester is usually sufficient. in a pinch, a voltmeter will point out a very dead battery, but you won't know if it's charged (~12.6V) yet still highly diminished in capacity.
9 times out of ten, the batt is dead. next step is figuring out why (basically; bad batt, bad alt, or key-off drain).
if it's not, as stated above, check the solenoid by feeling it click- once. if it clicks twice, it's engaging when energized but not holding.
if that seems to be working, check the voltage at the starter. you'll likely find a bad cable.
sometimes it can be as simple as bad connections at the battery, which can lead to both poor charging and starting.
if the car does not crank, and especially if the starter clicks, lighters flicker, or other symptoms of low battery voltage are present, check the batt first. a 15 second check with a handheld tester is usually sufficient. in a pinch, a voltmeter will point out a very dead battery, but you won't know if it's charged (~12.6V) yet still highly diminished in capacity.
9 times out of ten, the batt is dead. next step is figuring out why (basically; bad batt, bad alt, or key-off drain).
if it's not, as stated above, check the solenoid by feeling it click- once. if it clicks twice, it's engaging when energized but not holding.
if that seems to be working, check the voltage at the starter. you'll likely find a bad cable.
sometimes it can be as simple as bad connections at the battery, which can lead to both poor charging and starting.
quakefiend420
Lifer
- Aug 26, 2004
- 14,685
- 1
- 76
zerocool84
Lifer
- Nov 11, 2004
- 36,041
- 472
- 126
- Status
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes + WCL Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 24K
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 23K
-
-
Facebook
Twitter