Got an '86 z28 from a friend. The car had been sitting for about a year and it fired right up and a day or two later...went to start the car and it didn't turn over just a faint "click" sound one time. We thought the alternator was bad so took it to Napa and they said it tested good but said the battery was shot. Got the new battery in and the car ran fine around 14 volts for a day then over the next day or so the gauge slowly went down to read around 11-12 volts. I turned the car off at a Burger King and went to start it again and it wouldn't turn over, just the "click". After this I went and bought a new alternator and realized that whoever had rebuilt it; put the outside case on backwards. I took the alternator apart and blocked the brushes with a small rivet and bolted back the alternator the way it should have came. Put the alternator in and just got the "click" sound. I came back about an hour later and went to start the car and it started. The car started up a few times then the next day I drove it around town for about an hour (The battery voltage read around 11-12 volts on the dash so I figured it wasn't fixed.) The battery and alternator should both be good and I made sure the ground wire was sanded down and had a solid connection. My dad suggested that the starter or solenoid may be bad. Has anyone else had this problem or know how to fix it? Sorry for the long post...thanks.

Parker

 

Starter solenoid will do the click thing alright.
When it just goes "click", if your headlights can go on nice and bright, your battery/starter is fine.


If your car never died while driving down the road - the alt is fine
If your headlights work ok when the car won't start - the battery is fine

= bad starter.

You can't really just replace the starter solenoid. Starters are cheap for SBC's though. I just bought the powermaster one off summit for $140 I think.

 

Hey thanks a lot sonix. Made sure it didn't start up this morning then went out and got a remanufactured starter. Put it in and the car started right up...still running around 11-12 volts I believe. I drove it for about an hour then came home turned it off then went to start the car and it sounded like the batter was about dead. Waited a minute to try again and it started right up. Still running at 11-12 volts.

Could something be wrong with my battery cable or maybe could I be losing power to something else? I unclipped the under the hood light. The car has no radio in it right now and at one time burnt up a cd deck. Could that maybe have something to do with it?

I'm new to working on cars but am getting more and more into it every day. I just want to get this thing running solid before doing too much to it. Any more suggestions would be great.

 

Okay, I checked my alternator using a volt meter at the battery. The battery had 11.8 volts while the car was running then with the brights on it was running at 11.1 volts. There is some way I am losing power. The battery is just slowly draining everytime I drive it. The power cable to the batter looks a little rough...does it just go straight to the starter? When I put in the starter I put all of the wires back on it just as it had been on the original starter...three large wires around the large bolt on the solenoid then the smaller wire on the post that is closest to the engine block...I believe it said "S". Does anyone think it could be a bad power cable to the battery/starter?

 

you should test how many volts are coming out of the alt while it is running... there is a bolt that sticks out of the back with a single red wire on it that always gets in the way of removing the valve cover check that should be 14v

 

it is a bolt on the back of the alternator?

 

My car did the samething. i swapped the battery and the alt. But no it was the soleniod. But i went ahead and got the set. It is a little pain to put them in their though.
kevin

 

SpitotRS, from the bolt on the back of the alt to the negative post on the battery while the car was running read 12 volts. Does this mean the problem is the cable that goes from the positive side of the battery through to the back of the alternator?