resinlake

Ok, I did a couple of searches and read through some posts, but none quite answered my questions. If you need any pictures to help identify the problem, let me know and I'll get some ASAP, will me out of town for the weekend but Sunday night I'll be able to post up.

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I just finished swapping back in a Th-350 non lockup with a manual kit. I put back everything the way it was and hung to the side the harness that was for the lockup in the previous 700 R4 tranny.

When I turn the key out, have power for lights/dash. When I turn the key, one loud Click, then no power at all for lights or anything. Let it sit for a minute or two, then can turn the key again with one loud click. I'm at a loss for what this could be.

It is a new 153 tooth Jegs flexplate (replaced one that was cracked and had metal missing out of the face of it, and a ministarter that I'm told works with the 153 tooth flexplate (it worked with the old 153 tooth flexplate). The starter hasn't been used for more than 30 times or so over a years period while working on the car and moving it around the shop.

I was looking for anything obvious but couldn't see any shorts. Any help is appreciated, thank you!

jv9999

iTrader: (1)

Have you considered that the battery might be dead? A chemical surface charge gets you a little juice after it sits a bit, but not enough to crank the engine. Or it could be a bad connection or a bad starter.

resinlake

I wondered about the connection being an issue. I tightened all of the battery connections, but the ground lead seemed off a bit, I'll tighten that up when I go out to the shop tomorrow and post results. The battery charger when the battery was in the car said it was charged, took the battery out and the charger said it had to be charged and charged it till it said it was full. Again, same problem. I can try another battery in it and see if that fixes the issue.

Just want to mention, at times when I had tried to crank the car, the lights in the dash were blinking or dimming like crazy and heard some odd sounds. I wonder if maybe I need to line the flexplate up with the gear on the starter, maybe its hitting from the grooves of the teeth with each not being lined up?

jv9999

iTrader: (1)

Do the battery cables get warm when you try to start it? Did you put the shim(s) back under the starter when you reinstalled it? Can you turn the engine over by hand?

resinlake

I felt the cables, none were warm at all, cool to the touch. The old starter had no shims between it and the block. The new starter had no shims in the box. I'll do a search right now on shims but just the same, how would I know if I need to add shims inbetween the starter and the engine block? I need to go out to the shop in the morning and check it out again, its drving me nuts.

Just did some starter topic searching again, and pulled up a topic I just posted to, let me know what you guys think please.

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"Re: stumped on starter problem
Quote:
Originally Posted by captain_camaro View Post
yea make sure you keep an eye out for that fan switch too those get burned then the relay ticks like crazy!
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Can the fan switch keep an engine from starting? I think I'm having the same issue as this person, a loud click with a charged battery, I thought I did hear some clicking up from the front of the car, I have to ask, are the fan relays the two black cubes on the harness right near the fans? How do I know if they are bad? I should note the fans were wired (by a previous owner) to turn on when the car was started, and are not turning on when I turn the key to the on position, hmm?"

dimented24x7

iTrader: (2)

Shims come to mind. That will cause what your describing. The solenoid will move forward when energized, but the blacklash is too low to allow the pinion gear to engage the flexplate, so the starter never energizes, just causing a click when it hits the flexplate.

You may also want to check the grounds and battery voltage when you engage the starter. Measure between the engine block and positive terminal of the battery. Should be at least 9 volts when the starter tries to engage. If it drops to near 0, and the battery itself is still close to 12 volts or so, than its a bad ground at the cyl. head or a faulty connection at the starter.

5678TA

make sure you didnt put the starter cables on backwards. blew some fuses trying to figure it out. all i got was a click too.. just dont hold it down or your starter will fry..

resinlake

2:36 and 5:27 am posts?? That is dedication!


I am going to pick up a pack of the HELP shims at Advance on my way out there.

5678TA- I did that before too, made it easier on my self after that by changing the terminals on the wires to the appropriates sizes corresponding to the respective posts they were meant to go on. Who knows though, maybe something like a nut on the small post worked its way lose, happened before on my truck. I'll take a look for that when I'm under there.

Thanks guys, I'll let you all know how I make out with it.

resinlake

Edit: I was just reading on a chevelle forum doing more searching. Is there any way that the binding could be from the angle of the starter being wrong? Is there a bracket for the mini starters that I need or am I chasing the wrong tail here? I just want to mention again, the old flexplate was 153 teeth, so is the new one, the old flex plate was OEM, the new one is a JEGS flexplate, a lil thicker than OEM, maybe the Diameter is just a hair more than the OEM? The starter is a World Class Reman. Mini Starter that is spec. for a 90's vette. from Advance Auto. I bought it in June of 08.


Ok update:

Went under the car, found that the bendix gear/starter gear is stuck out into the flexplate, it did not retract. I went from 1/32 to 1/16 to 1/8" in shims, same problem each time I tried to turn it over. So I wonder, hmmmm? How would I know if a relay or switch has gone bad or if the solenoid/bendix gear went bad?



and



then unstuck by hand



and for good measure, my rottie, lap dogs.

resinlake

FIXED! YES!

Well the battery was fine, starter is fine, My DieHard charger is fubar really. Took the battery to Autozone, he tested it and was surprised how great the thing was with a load on it, only went down to 11.7 volts, something like that. Cleaned the posts off for me, I replaced my leads with 1/0, threw in couple shims and now she starts right up.

Yeay. Now I just have to fix the leak at the speedo cable... new seals on the new driven gear and the oldsmobile/gm style housing. The cable is very flexible can move around easy inside the cap that threads onto the housing, and leaks around the cap, eh.... going to check the o-ring, see if it has to be driven on further and maybe put another on there and seal'r up with black RTV.

thanks for the help and input guys