I appreciate some positive feedback, my flathead 6 , now has new solenoid, wiring harness and battery, but when I turn the key the solenoid just clicks away, also converted the wiring to 12 volt. I checked all wire connections, cleaned and tightened back up, including the starter cable Still just the click, click.. I also am able to turn the motor over by hand with ease, thinking the starter might be stuck... Any suggestions on what I may have overlooked?
Battery would be my first guess. Have somebody hold a volt meter to it when you crank and see if it drops way off when you get the click.
He said batt was new. Check grounds. Also did the starter work before you tore all the 6v stuff out? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Voltmeter time - measure the switched terminal on your solenoid while someone turns the key. Either the new battery needs a charge, or the solenoid isn't actually doing anything. Also, measure the resistance between the engine and the ground terminal of the battery - should be pretty low (like 0).
brand new 12 volt battery, cables and new solenoid picked up today and installed. starter worked when it was a 6 volt system.. hum....
A new battery isn't always a good battery, have had them with a dead cell before. Now always have them load tested before leaving with one. Do the test.
before I purchased the battery, the store ensured it was charged. at this point, I'll pull the battery and have a local auto parts run a test on it in the morning..thx..
Bad starter motor: Did the starter work before the work? Can you get the starter to turn by jumping from the battery to the main lug on the starter? Bad ground: Did you paint the mounting surface of the starter and/or where it mounts to the block or bellhousing? Do you have a ground strap from the frame to the engine block? Past that, possibly wired incorrectly.
try giving that starter a 'tap' with a hammer handle while cranking. Not scientific troubleshooting but if it starts to crank I'd start to look suspiciously to the starter. Mine was working but then started acting funny and then would do as yours does. Tapping allowed it to work but it was REALLY corroded internally. Ended up replacing it and now all is well.
Step 1. Get a volt meter and start tracing out the wiring. Step 2. Fix the problem Step 3. Take the car for a drive Step 4. Profit? The cheap multi meters from Harbor Freight work pretty well for basic automotive troubleshooting.
Sounds like your solenoid is working, but your starter motor isn't spinning. Correct? Dumb question: do you have 12volts measured at the starter motor terminal to ground? Let's start with the easy stuff.
A quick check for a ground problem...Clamp on a jumper cable from the ground terminal on the battery to the engine block/starter housing. If it cranks, then look at ground straps from engine to frame, etc.
Does the original 6v starter work with the12v even? Is it just the solenoid that has to be swapped? Sorry for my ignorance, never worked on a 6v system before, here to learn! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Is it just a single click? If so dead battery, bad connections, or stuck/bad starter. If it's a series of rapid clicks it's likely a bad connection or bad ground. What kind of car? Ford fenderwell mount solenoids need a good ground.
Take an old pair of pliers and jumper the in and out terminals of the soleoid. This will throw off some sparks but it will provide a direct current path from the battery to the starter. If the starter spins then you got a bad solenoid. If it doesn't spin then you got a bad or stuck starter. If you don't want to mess up the handles of the pliers, use a battery jumper pac, Neg to engine block and then touch the pos to the starter cable lug or to the end of the starter cable on the starter side of the solenoid.
Turn on your headlights and try the starter. If the headlights dim, then the battery is weak. If the lights stay bright, you have a bad solenoid,starter, connection.
Positive ground? Did the 6volt stuff work before or was it hooked up right? 6volt should be positive ground. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
If you have a key switch or button you need a 2 wire 12 volt selinode. If push botton you need a 2 wire botton. Also some times the lug on starter isn,t tight enough. Make sure you have big wires on correct side of silnode.
push button needs 2 connections for 12 volt? Mine is from dennis carpenter.com and it only has the one connection.. hum..
Found problem and repaired... Took yesterday to go through all cables and starter.. I ended up pulling the starter, it wouldn't turn with battery cables, so knew there must be an internal prob.... took apart and found one brush broken off...bummer.. Took to the antique auto ranch in the valley, they replaced all the brushes, checked out the starter, tested, brought home, re cleaned all cable connections, installed starter and now the ole flathead is back in business... thanks guys for the input some was useful.... all was read....
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