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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / '39 starter, Part 4, HELP!!!!!

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Posted By Discussion Topic: '39 starter, Part 4, HELP!!!!! -- page: 1 2     greginski 07-05-2015 @ 5:36 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 30 Joined: May 2010 Gentlemen and ladies. I am about to give up on my '39 and get a 356 porsche speedster(replica), unless someone can help me solve my starter issue. After a couple hours of difficult labor on my back, i finally got the starter back in. With great anxious anticipation i pumped the throttle, put it in neutral, pushed in the clutch, turn it to on, said a mental prayer, pushed the starter button, wishing it had been solved and got the same response as before we took the starter off......whrrrrrrr then immediately, dead. Pissed. Turned over about a half a turn and then click click click. D E A D. Even tried with the 6v charger attached and nothing. I, we, have checked almost everything. Starter, generator, battery posts, battery at 6.4v, solenoid, connections all around, pretty much everything and a little more. the only thing i can think about is the optima battery shows the correct voltage but it doesn't have the amps to move the starter?????? is this possible? So i would love for anyone to put in their $0.02 worth. I really am frustrated to the point of selling this venerable car that i have had for 30+ years and moving on. Help!!!!! In case you are retired and would like to get your hands dirty, i am in the seattle area. thanks greg JT Ford 07-05-2015 @ 7:32 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 112 Joined: Oct 2009 This next thing I would do is;take that battery to a place that has a load tester. Walmart has them in Iowa. Most battery sales shops has one. That will tell you for sure that the battery is good or bad. Can'nt these cars be a female dog??? greginski 07-05-2015 @ 7:45 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 30 Joined: May 2010 the battery shop guy, the only thing they sell is batteries, i think has tested it and said it was ok, at least for the 6.4 volts. i am considering buying a wet cel and see if that does the trick, but no point in spending another $50+ if i am going to get the same result, actually the guy might lend me one for a couple hours. pretty good terms with the manager. otherwise getting close to seeing a '39 for sale. cliftford 07-05-2015 @ 7:57 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 845 Joined: Jan 2014 I,too would suspect the battery. A good 6v optima should read 7v fully charged. When cranking the voltage shouldn't drop more than 1 volt. Any good parts store such as NAPA, parts plus, Auto zone, or O'Reilleys should be able to test it for you. If bad, I would replace it with another. Optima. In my opinion they are still the best available. 40 Coupe 07-06-2015 @ 5:16 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1674 Joined: Oct 2009 Here is something to try: Bypass the starter button & the starter solenoid electrical coil by placing the parking brake ON and the transmission in NEUTRAL. Under the starter solenoid is a manual button, press the button and the engine should turn over again and again. You can even put a voltmeter across the battery and watch it when the engine is turning over by the starter motor. Battery volts should stay fairly high. If the battery volts drop to zero and the starter motor does not turn over the battery is bad. If the starter turn over and the battery volts seem OK, the problem is most likely in the starter solenoid of start button. TomO 07-06-2015 @ 6:39 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7250 Joined: Oct 2009 6.4 volts is a good reading on a 6 volt battery with no load. With the starter cranking the engine, the voltage read across the battery should be above 5 volts. Make your measurement on the posts, not at the cable. In your first post about the starter, I gave you these tests to perform: "Before you pull the starter, check to make sure that you have good 6 volt cables going to the solenoid and starter. 12 volt cables can give a symptom like you are having. Connect your good volt meter COM lead to the NEG battery post and the red or + lead to the starter. Crank the engine with the ignition off. The meter should read 0.3 volts or less if the cables are good. If you get a higher reading, you cables or solenoid are bad." A little testing can save you a lot of work and aggravation. Tom greginski 07-06-2015 @ 7:58 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 30 Joined: May 2010 dear cliftford...............just went to garage. 6v charger been on optima all night, reads 6.94v. tried to start, it goes strong for 3 seconds and then just peters out, dead, voltage dropped to 6.3. battery store is on the morning agenda, thanks greg greginski 07-06-2015 @ 8:04 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 30 Joined: May 2010 dear 40 coupe.............we have tried running wires directly from the bat to the starter and get the same result, first couple seconds, goes and then just dead. thanks, looks like the battery store will see me this a.m. greg greginski 07-06-2015 @ 8:12 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 30 Joined: May 2010 TomO........thanks again for your reply. i guess my basic problem is that it wont turn over, crank, spin or whatever you want to call it, for more than 3 seconds and then goes into the "dead" battery mode. cables are definitely 6volt not 12v cables. cliftford 07-06-2015 @ 8:39 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 845 Joined: Jan 2014 Given all the info, it still sounds like a battery problem. There used to be a man in the Snohomish. area who was a dealer for optima batteries. He could give you an expert and honest test. I have done busuiness with him in the past. Check your yellow pages,Or he may be online. Or maybe a local EFV8 member could help you. Check their web site. Good luck.

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