Won't start, what am I missing?

T

theguitarist

Well-known member
Long story short: Mustang wouldn't start several weeks ago. Replaced the battery and a bad battery cable, still no start. Replaced the starter solenoid, still no start. Tested the solenoid and found no power coming out. Exchanged solenoid for another one that wasn't defective, still no start. Replaced starter, almost nothing. Replaced starter ground strap (the original got a little mangled up when I removed the old starter), still almost nothing.

Here's what I mean by "almost nothing". When I turn the ignition, the battery and solenoid clicks and the starter begins to turn, but it stops after a second. After the starter quits I only get the batery and solenoid chatter but nothing from the starter unless it sits awhile or I unhook the battery cables and start over. The radio and accessories all work fine.

I'm down to two more ideas, but additional input is needed. Maybe the power cable from the battery/solenoid to the starter? How about the alternator?
 
Many more things you can do to test components- 1) starter- with starter out of car, hook to a good known battery and see if it "kicks in" and spins freely (don't do this for too long, and be prepared for the torque kickback), 2) solenoid- jump around it for a few seconds, does starter engage now?

Most common issue I've run into like yours was 1) battery cables/connections (don't assume it looks good, take every end off and clean and reinstall) or solenoid ground - run a temporary ground to one of the mounting ears on the solenoid. These usually get their ground solely from the screws that go into the inner fender sheet metal and that can be minimal when the mounting holes get dirty and loose.
 
I had this exact problem over the weekend. Short answer: Neutral safety switch.

Long answer: My car has a goofy NSS that is just old and doesn't make contact in all the spots it should. At one end of Park the car won't start, at the other end it will. Over the weekend, it must have ended up in some spot where it almost made contact. The solenoid would click, the starter would almost engage, but then nothing. It was a different symptom than I normally see (start or no start). I spent 30 minutes testing components, only to figure out moving the shifter into the right spot cured the issue. Duh. I was all read to wire in a start button, too. :)
 
Mmmm, sounds easy, except my car is a standard tranny. I'm going to try by-passing the solenoid in a bit and see what happens. I've cleaned all the terminals but still nothing.
 
So I bypassed the solenoid which produced a hell of an arc when I touched the battery ground cable to the battery post. The starter did turn a bit when it arced, but it still won't go when I conneted it all the right way.

More suggestions that don't involve electrocution? I'll have more time to play with it this weekend.
 
Hope it's not the starter, it's brand-new! But if I find nothing else, I'll have it tested and exchange it this weekend. Maybe I have bad luck with new parts. The replacement solenoid from a few weeks ago was also bad. Tired of Napaand O'Reilley cheap reproduction replacement parts.......
 
:beer: A long time age I solved the problem of solenoid and voltage regulator mounting.
Use well nuts.I use the well nuts for 1/4 inch bolts.Was having aproblem with starting AND battery charging.Went to the well nut mounting,and have not had a problem since.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo
 
Sad to say, but I never leave the store with a new starter until they place it on their test stand and prove it's good. Grounds account for about 90% of electrical problems. Just because it looks good, doesn't mean anything. Corrosion creeps back under the insulation and is not always detectable.
 
:) Hi Ludwig.Well nuts are mounted in a 1/2"(or larger) hole.And then the bolt is screwed into the threaded part of the well nut.Sort of like the mounts that are used to mount things on a sheet rock wall.They are available at most hardware and building supply stores.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo
 
Crank by hand - yes. Someone at work suggested removing starter and cranking to check for free rotation, which I did and she turned just fine. So I took the starter back and had them bench test it, expecting it to be bad. It wasn't! Darn thing tested just fine!

I've got one more cable to check or replace - solenoid to starter. If that doesn't work, I guess those well nuts and maybe prayer? How about that alternater? Does that play any roll in starting besides charging the battery?
 
An alternator can if it's shorted out (arm.) or the reg (if old points type they can stick closed)
 
EDIT: Think I read through all the posts above, but another test you might try (always exercising caution). Put the key in the run position (with starter installed on engine), then use one half of a jumper cable set to connect the (+) post on the battery directly to the hot post on the starter...NOTE!!! you'll want to immediately disconnect this lead if the car turns over and runs. You can also use the other half of the jumper cable set (neg connections) to give an isurance ground from the battery to some part of the frame (your harness should be taking care of this, but an insurance ground would not hurt).

Not to keep beating the 'starter' issue to death, but...I have had more than one bad starter right off the shelf from the parts store that 'tested' fine, but did not perform under load. Additionally if you've got cold weather there, make sure you've got a good charge on your battery, and it's specs are include 'healthy' CCA's (cold cranking amps). Some of the smaller less expensive batteries can be pretty pitiful when it comes to these numbers (ie less than 600CCA). Good luck (y)
 
Got her running! Thanks so much for all the suggestions. I tried almost everything until I got my "expert" friend to take a look. Turns out, my replacement battery (which I had gotten from a friend, slightly used) had power, but not enough to turn the starter. I thought 12 volts was needed. Found out it's 13.5 to 13.75. My previous battery only lasted a few years because I had a bad alternator (which is replaced). The battery was supplying a charge whenever the car was on.

$70 for a new Costco battery and I'm all set to park it under cover. Beautiful Washington weather when it was broke, started raining the day after I fixed it. :|
 
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