Hey there, new guy here. I just recently purchased s '54 Ford to restore for my father in law. The car is in great shape, but currently doesn't start. I messed with it a bit last night and found that the ground strap definitely needs to be replaced, so I used a set of jumper cables in its place for testing. At the moment, I have about 6.4 volts at the battery. When turning the key, the solenoid clicks and the motor turns, but very very slowly. I had my wife hold it on 'start' and checked voltage at the battery again. I get around 5.8 volts, so that leads me to believe that the starter is drawing, but is most likely going out. I have not tried directly hooking power to the starter, but I can try that this evening. I don't plan on keeping this motor since it's the inline 6 and the in laws want a v8 with automatic transmission, but I want it running before I pull it so I can get top dollar for it if we sell the motor. Any advice or feedback is appreciated.
The way we used to test a starter's amp draw was with an inductive meter that was placed over the starter cable and read when cranked.If you want to fire it up you could jump it with a 12 volt car don't crank more than 30-40 seconds at a time and you won't hurt anything.But take care of those cables first then join us here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/social-forums/1952-59-ford-social-group.282/ when you get ready to swap in that V8 we can make it EZ for you.
I have a 54' Customline Club Coupe. It has a 292 Y from a 1962 F-100. (I just bought it a few months ago) I was having starting issues. I tried everything. So Ill explain what happened. I buy the car from a guy who is selling all of his father's cars after his father passed away. This guy knows nothing about the car. I get the car home via trailer, give it a quick rinse, give it the proper - car hasn't ran in years prep before I turn her over, charge the battery (6VPos, Ground System). Then she cranks and starts. I could only get a couple starts out of it and the battery would die. So I buy a new battery, replace all wiring, get my starter rebuilt, new 00 battery cables, soldered connections everything. Motor cranks over extremely slow STILL. Then one day, hot battery and all........All I get was a click. I wanted to go buy a for sale sign and park it somewhere. So after I cooled off for a while I got curious and opened up my starter. The guy who "rebuilt" my starter didn't do anything but paint the outside because when I looked inside the coil packs or whatever they are called were falling apart, the brushes were old, and it smelled bad. So I did some research on 6V starters and the starter that I had / had an extra coil pack thing (that's what I have been calling them so bare with me). Come to find out. It was a 12 Volt starter. 12Volt starters don't like 6Volt batteries. I ordered a brand new 6Volt starter and the car fired up faster than my 1996 Honda does. Take your starter out and place a new one in. First use your voltmeter and check that you are getting power to the starter and all those tests. Take all the plugs out and see if you can turn the motor over by hand. If not, you have other issues. I would bet that your starter is shot Keep us updated
Makes sense that it would have a 12 volt starter since Ford went 12 volts in 1956 and the 292 is a '62.
jumper cables unless vary heavy gauge are a poor substitute for a heavy ground cable on 6 volt.they work ok on 12 volt on modern vehicles with electronic ignitions.6 volts require a good ground as well starter cable
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