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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / New starting issue

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Posted By Discussion Topic: New starting issue     supereal 10-02-2014 @ 12:20 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Following Tom's info, it doesn't take much of a "parasitic" draw to drop a battery enough to prevent starting. A couple of months ago, a local dealer sent our shop a Cadillac Escalade that wouldn't start after a few days of sitting in the garage.They had already installed a new battery, alternator, and swapped the computer that regulates the charging. As that car uses a "bus type" wiring, they were stumped. We found the culprit by putting a voltmeter between the hot side cable and the battery post, then removing the bulbs from lights. When we got to the very back interior light, the draw stopped. That light, in the "suburban" style Caddy has a built in "R-C" circuit that allows the light to gradually dim when it is shut off. The leak wasn't enough to illuminate the bulb, but sufficient to drain the battery with a couple of days. With your '42, remove the cable from the battery between uses to see if the charge is maintained. I always put a battery cutoff switch in my cars so the clock doesn't drain it, and to prevent the possibility of a fire caused by the old original wiring. TomO 10-02-2014 @ 7:07 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7252 Joined: Oct 2009 After re-reading your post, I did not address your concern with a drain on the battery. To check for a drain, disconnect the NEG post and connect a test light between the battery post and the cable. If the light glows, you have a drain. Remove the clock connection and test again. You clock may not be winding fully. If you still have a drain start disconnecting things like the dome light and other circuits that are hot with the ignition off. Tom wrosenkrans 10-01-2014 @ 12:25 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 134 Joined: Oct 2010 Update 2 - battery is less than 3 years old, checked and cleaned all starting circuit connections, unscr*w*d the battery cut-off when I put her to bed last night and checked that the cut-off was indeed cutting off the battery. Started brilliantly today, have the tender on her right now topping off the battery. I really think I ran the battery down too much over the few weeks of inactivity. Not sure why. Wayne & Barb '42 Super De Luxe Tudor supereal 10-01-2014 @ 10:42 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 I'd suspect either a corroded battery cable terminal or a weak cell in the battery. Acid can invade the joint between the cable and the clamp, causing a high resistance. Often the starter draw will create a better connection, but then the cable connection fails. You didn't mention how old your battery is. A weak or high resistance cell can also produce your problem. I have an Optima battery in my '47. After storage from last October until April this year, it started the car as if I had just driven it. That battery is six years old! TomO 10-01-2014 @ 7:31 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7252 Joined: Oct 2009 It sounds like you cutoff is not completely disconnecting the battery. When you open the cutoff, you should have 0 volts to the starter solenoid battery terminal. Tom wrosenkrans 09-30-2014 @ 10:14 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 134 Joined: Oct 2010 Update - went out to start her this afternoon, and no problems. Cranked strong, started easily, and drove well - more like her old self. So what was different? I installed a battery cut-off some time ago which I neglected to screw down before I parked her a month ago. Remembered to do that last night. Checked the battery voltage with the cut-off scr*w*d down and got 6.22 volts, opened the cut-off and got 6.12 volts. My conclusion, I've got a slight voltage drain somewhere which drew down the battery enough to make starting problematic over 3+ weeks. Or, she was just mad because I hadn't driven her in too long... Solution - for now, make sure I screw down the battery cut-off if she's going to sit for awhile, and drive her more often. Wayne & Barb '42 Super De Luxe Tudor This message was edited by wrosenkrans on 9-30-14 @ 10:15 AM wrosenkrans 09-30-2014 @ 7:21 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 134 Joined: Oct 2010 I have a starting issue with my '42 Tudor that just began. The car is completely stock, mostly original. Has newly rebuilt, original engine, all new wiring. Wiring was done 2 years ago, engine over last winter by a very reputable restoration shop specializing in V8 Fords. No issues with the car until yesterday. Went to start her (her name is Eleanor) after sitting for 3 weeks and the battery quickly ran down. Hooked up a 12v jumper and she cranked over fine and started, removed the jumper quickly. Went for a long drive with no problems, shut her down for lunch and she restarted easily. Took her to the grocery store with no problems and she restarted easily at the store. Unloaded the groceries, went to put her away before the rain started and she cranked slowly a couple times then stopped. I can hear the relay closing when I hit the starter button, but no cranking. Hooked up the 12v jumper again, she started quickly and I got her in her garage OK, tried to start again and just got the click of the relay. Checked battery and its putting out 6.12 volts. Did I fry something with the 12v jumper? I've used that several times over the years and never had a problem, provided I don't turn on anything. I've got Model T's and A's I can usually troubleshoot, but this new fangled V8 has me stumped (which isn't hard to do). Any help gratefully accepted. I need her running for an event at the end of the month. Wayne & Barb '42 Super De Luxe Tudor

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