Hi all, been awhile since I have worked on my 84 z28 due to being in training and Iraq. But now, I am back and ready to get my diamond in the rough smoothed out. lol Starting with a fully charged battery, I can get one maybe two startups out of my car. After that, it's dead. I can jump it with my truck, but takes awhile before it'll crank all the way over! Is something not charging it correctly or is something draining it? By no means am I a mechanic, but due to money and the lack there of, i would like to do as much possible myself. It is a complete rebuild/restoration, saving some green here and there will really help. Thank you in advance, -Jon

Get a voltmeter. They are one of the most handy tools you can get.

Charge the battery completely.
Check the voltage.
Keep starting until goes dead.
Check voltage. If it's above 8v it should start. If not then your starter is probably bad.

What do I need to test the altenator?


I will pick one of them up from autzone.

What are other possibilities?

The battery.

When you last start it, does it go down slowly or does it spin at full speed and when you try again it does nothing? Maybe hear a click?

A fully charged battery should be 12 something volts with the ignition on. (The ignition on places a load on the battery. Use voltmeter)

Then the battery should read 13/14 volts after starting and the alternator is charging the battery.

If the battery is low, get a battery charger and charge it.

If the battery keeps draining and you are not getting a higher voltage after starting, then this would be a problem with your charging system. Many times the alternator.