So I went out to start the car this morning and it would not turn over. There is power and it was running great last night. All the lights come on but not even a tick tick tick from the starter. I figure I'll dive into this this weekend and fortunately I have a 2011 mothership to keep me mobile My first thought is to take an ohm/volt meter and verify there is power getting to the starter. I should be looking for 12-14 volts here correct? I'm guessing I'm going to find somehow the power is not getting to the starter. Anywho...do any of you have any ideas or things to check? I'll take any input here as I'd like to not be chasing wire gremlins all weekend long.

 

That sounds right at the battery. Next would be to check it @ the starter and verify all wires are tight and spade connection is good. If it still doesn't work after that you could take the starter off and take it to an auto store some offer free bench testing. My bet is on loose spade connection or dead solenoid.

 

Starter Circuit Troubleshoot guide: http://www.austinthirdgen.org/index.php?pid=38

Many times, the neutral safety switch or the ignition switch is to blame. For me (automatic), my NSS connector won't stay attached well to the NSS, so a zip tie fixed my year-long starting problem.

And oh - just because 12v gets to the starter on the purple wire, doesn't mean it'll start - amps is what does the work, not volts. you can get 12volts all day long, but if there is a break in the wire, the amps can't pass through to do the dirty work.

 

Sir you are no newbie despite what your name says lol Thank you for the linkage..that surely helps. Good point on the amps...that would have escaped my memory.

Funniest part is...wife came home from work in our other car and gave it a try. It started once and she was able to pull it up the drive a bit. She turned it off and darned if it didn't happen again. So she left it and when we came home after work, I gave it a try and it fired up 4/4 times. I'm thinking that since it got left parked next to the sprinklers this morning, somehow water got somewhere it shouldn't and it simply had to dry out. It is feasible to me that at lunch time it wasnt quite all the way dry and starting it knocked moisture loose so it did it again. It's a theory lol.

*adding "clean out garage" to task list for weekend lol*

 

Also, check the main pos cable from the batt to the starter, and all the ground cables. Check carefully to make sure the terminal are crimped/soldered properly to the cable, look for any black or green crud. Dig around under the insulation with a small screwdriver. Give the terminals a good tug.

If you've got rot in there, the car may otherwise work ok, but the cable may not have the conductivity needed to pass the high starter current.

Clean the batt terminals with a small file. Make sure starter bolts aren't loose.

 

Thank you for the advice Tree. Main + terminal .. check. It's a brand new battery with plastic coated front mount terminals. I'll get in and check body grounds this morning. The engine bay is in pretty doggone near pristine condition. I'm not expecting to find any "crud".

It was parked away from the sprinklers this morning and fired right up 3/3 times. I tell my wife..hey..you wanted a classic you got it...with that you expect attitude and random acts of childishness...from BOTH you and the car! LOL