My 327 has been starting really hard since I got the car`, come find out the choke wasn't working. Because of that I would have to crank quite awhile before it would start after it started it runs fine. well the last couple of times I tried to start it it would crank a few times and act like the battery was dead. I pulled the battery and had it checked and it was good. Could all that cranking of the starter damaged it ? I'm not sure what else it could be, 327 sbc with 3 Rochester carbs Thanks in advance for the help
Yeah, it sure could. Starter motors aren't intended to run for more than a few seconds at a time. Technically you''re supposed to not crank for more than about 10 seconds, and then give the starter about 10 minutes to cool off before trying again. How often does that happen? Advanced ignition timing can also cause the starter to turn slow. You can check if that is the problem by disabling the ignition temporarily while cranking and see if the cranking speed is normal or not. Measuring current draw of the starter will tell you if it's dragging and drawing too much current. That requires an amp meter capable of a few hundred amps, most home mechanics don't have access to that.
Could of worn out the starter. Also excessive cranking draws a lot of amps. If the wiring or connections are not good you get heat. Heat hardens the wiring and causes resistance at connections, crank again, more heat = more resistance and on and on. Check starter draw and inspect your battery connections , ground connections and connections at the starter. Personally I don’t like those permade starter cables you get at the jobber stores The connections are sub par the wiring is junk and the battery connections garbage. Better off making your own
Make sure your cables are big enough as mentioned and make sure you have a great ground. If it only does it when its a hot engine then you are probably getting heat soak in the starter.
Where did you take the battery to have it tested? What brand of battery, group size and age? Did the tester have a load bank or just a small hand held unit? All makes a difference...messed with a rig for days because the guy at the parts house said the battery was good but when tested properly...it was bad. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
When I first fired up my blown sb in the coupe the starter turned slow. I installed a larger pos. cable from the battery to the new starter and better ends/ connections. Problem solved. I would try that first if your cables and connections are possibly sub-par.
You can test your theory by using a GOOD set of jumper cables to bypass the positive and negative cables just for a test...try different locations for the engine ground to see if that helps also... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Thanks for the fast replies! I've only had the car a few months so I'm just learning about it. It has always started hard it takes way to long to fire and I probably held the starter to long each time. As I said I just noticed today it has no choke , I ordered one so I hope that solves the starting problem. The battery I took to a local NAPA and they used a hand held tester. It has 650 cold cranking amps, 810 cranking amps, 93 reserve
If you have a normal coil & points ignition, be sure you have the resistor bypass wired into the starting circuit . Without that it will be hard to start.
It's a small cap electronic ignition. I just pulled the starter and noticed some of the teeth on the starter gear are rounded on the ends !!
Loosen the two bolts that hold the end cap...opposite of the drive end...then pull the end cap back about an 1/8 of an inch and smell the starter...does smell burned? If it does than you have over-cranked it and it needs to be rebuilt or replaced. Rebuilding the same starter insures the same fit to the flywheel. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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