Also the volt meter goes to zero when cranked and comes back after a minute.
The check engine light doesn't light at all.
The parts in the title have all been replaced with new. When I turn the key, I get a clicking and then the voltmeter goes to zero.
I had something similar on my Daytona after it was parked one winter and I tried to start it in the spring. That one turned out to be a corroded connection. The large lead off the battery that goes into it's own single connector (a white one IIRC) near the airbox was the culprit. I unplugged it, saw the dirt, cleaned it, and then replugged it a couple times and it has been fine since.
Barry
86 Shelby Lancer Prototype
90 Daytona Shelby VNT
91 Spirit R/T
For your questions about SDAC, please contact BadAssPerformance
I'll check that. ANy more ideas, I'm whacked out on this one.
Check inside the dizzy cap for condensation.
its pulling a hard draw somwere. most likely a ground wire issue or wire to starter. Look for that specially if the gauge wants to read fine before turning to the full start position. Crank it over in the dark, and look for a spark were it's grounding out, or were a connection is loose.
Keep the ideas coming.
And what would cause the check engine and other lights to not work while the gauges work.
Extra clue. Somebody else before me has been into the engine harness trying to find a problem previously.
Ahhh, not a new problem then...
Suggested dizzy cap 'coz I've had damp in there short everything and act like a flat battery.
Only vehicle I've had act like that, no battery light or check engine and appearing dead was a phord, and that turned out to be a shorted diode in the regulator. Since those are in phases according to where the alternator coils are sitting, it sometimes will let you start the motor when you've rotated it by hand enough to let the alternator move 1/4 to 1/2 turn, so that diode isn't in circuit. However, charging voltage will be way low and the battery will probably drain as it runs, or all might appear fine while it's running, and actually charge if there's not too much electrical load, then it will stop on the dead diode again and do the same thing, or, let you think you've fixed it by stopping in just the right spot 5 times in a row and managing to start again....
I drove it for 6 months before this problem showed up.
This car had a bunch of hill billy stuff done. Wood dowel shoring up wasted motor mount, etc., but nothing electrical till now.
Forgot to mention when this started, I found the bakelite at the starter terminals had disintegrated and the heavy cable was charred. Possibly shorted to the starter. The 6 month old battery HD was also wasted and exchanged.
Oh fun and games, had a car like that once, woodscrews and plastic anchors holding the carb on...
of course I never jerry rig anything, I make custom parts out of alternative materials...
good luck, kinda sounding like you might end up wiring the sucker from scratch, hope it's not that bad...
I'd have to say it sounds a lot like a bad connection, either positive, or negative. it could also be a bad ground cable(i've had that one happen before)
also, have you had the battery load tested? i know you said it was replaced but believe me it doesn't mean a thing.
back when i used to work on cars for a living, i'd see a brand new battery fail within a day every once in a while. it seemed like it was always....well i don't want to name any names but they were made by a company that started with "E" and we used to refer to them as ex-crement(god am i glad that i work on diesels now
just for grins, get a pair of jumper cables, clamp one end to the starter stud nut on the backside of the bellhousing, and the other end on the negative post.
if it starts, you know you have a bad ground
I'll try that this afternoon when I get back. Thanks.Originally Posted by ottawa rogue
I'd have to say it sounds a lot like a bad connection, either positive, or negative. it could also be a bad ground cable(i've had that one happen before)
also, have you had the battery load tested? i know you said it was replaced but believe me it doesn't mean a thing.
back when i used to work on cars for a living, i'd see a brand new battery fail within a day every once in a while. it seemed like it was always....well i don't want to name any names but they were made by a company that started with "E" and we used to refer to them as ex-crement
just for grins, get a pair of jumper cables, clamp one end to the starter stud nut on the backside of the bellhousing, and the other end on the negative post.
if it starts, you know you have a bad ground
Ottowa Roque and Sdac guy are the winners. Thanks a bunch guys. I used starter cables for a ground from the head to the neg terminal. It cranks but doesn't start. Actually, it chugs and dies. I have to reattach the steering column before I can get in and give it some gas. Yep, I even checked the starter switch.
So I'm guessing it's that ground wire plug mentioned. I tried pulling it apart before that was mentioned, but it was stuck. So two pair of pliers and some oomph should tell the tale when I clean it. I'm guessing that's the problem.
Glad i could help. I'm glad you were able to find the problem.
the last time this happened to me was in the middle of January, and it was colder than hell here.(ya gotta love Kansas, not too many trees to block the wind.
oh and by the way....GO CHIEFS!!!
OK I owe you that one.
Just outside Wichita, I had a side window blown out of my car many years ago. If I was a tree in Kansas, I would leaf too.
i know what you mean. it does get a little windy here.
a few years ago they had a contest to come up with a new state slogan which is how we ended up with "Kansas, as big as you think"
they ignored my entry which was " Kansas-it's so F'n flat!"
Synopsis of the problem. Why it broke. I always like to do this to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Starter terminal disintegrated and shorted the heavy wire, All the grounds were pushed beyond limits and failed at weakest points.
Solution. replaced pos and neg cables, and cleaned the white accessory ground connection by battery. Car starts and runs and the idiot and check engine lights also work.
Lessons learned. don't save a nice car from the junkyard???? If somebody has been into the wiring harness expect problems. don't use the metal heat shields on new starters. Use the Mopar fiberglass ones.
Extra bonuses. I now know how to drop the column and replace the starter and headlight flasher switch. My right shoulder is much better after stretching it to get the starter(s) in and out 5 times). Replaced by severe rib spasms on right side. (win one lose one) There is an infiniter amount of grease to replenish what you wash off both arms up to your armpit. It's easy to spot every place you touched on the white paint job.
This is some good info. I'm having a similar problem with my Lancer. I pulled the starter and tested it... hmm worked fine out the car. Hooked it back up without installing it, still no go. But if I ground it well I bet I'll have the same outcome as you. Good to know, thanks guys
-Gary Mazzone-
1986 GLHS #168
mcsvt, you gotta think of it this way- Electrical problems are NOT subject to any known law in the universe
but seriously, it kinda sounds like the same issue to me.
why did they have to do the ground circuit that way?
i've never seen so many individual grounds in my life
And electricity flows the opposite direction in England.mcsvt, you gotta think of it this way- Electrical problems are NOT subject to any known law in the universe
but seriously, it kinda sounds like the same issue to me.
why did they have to do the ground circuit that way?
i've never seen so many individual grounds in my life
Why? The same reason for the vacuum harness. some guy locked in a closet. Relative of the guy that designed the cabinets for Baldwin console pianos. HE was the master. They actually made a piano where you had to use a chisel to remove part of the cabinet to get the action out. Distant relatives of Carrol Shelby whose 429 Mustang needed holes cut in the inner fender to change the spark plugs.
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