Another Starting Woes thread...

[camronware]

Ok...after a few days of the car running fine, now it won't start.
Here is what has happened/been checked:

Last week while driving, the car died on the side of the road. The RPMs slowly fell, and the engine literally just stopped. After cranking and cranking, I was able to drive about 500 feet. Then it died again. I first thought maybe I was out of fuel and the gauge was just lying to me. (I had just put about 5 gallons in, gauge read almost full) So I took about 30 mins and got 1.6 gallons of fuel in it. It started after some cranking, and I was able to drive about half a mile. (I was about half a mile still from home) Then it died again. After about 10 minutes, I was able to start it and drive it the rest of the way home where it died in the driveway.

A couple of days ago, it would not even turn over. This morning when I tried to start it, there is nothing. No click. Also, my lights are very dim all of the sudden. (New battery, less than 2 weeks old.)

Do these problems sound related?

-There is continunity at the coil.
-The starter looks pretty new, but I can't be 100% sure. I'm pretty sure the PO put a new one in.
-I have redone the connections ON the starter.
-New cap/rotor/wires; plugs and points look fine.
-New battery (which is now dying??)
-New air filter.

I was able to drive it all around town last week, now it won't start...so just looking for some tips Thanks guys

[S Allen]

Camron,

New does not always mean problem free. Have the battery tested. It is pretty easy for them to do. It could have a bad cell. If the battery tests out take a look at the charging system. What was the amp meter doing when you had it running. What does the amp meter do when you try to start it now? It sounds like you already covered the grounding issue. Get that battery tested first. I once went through two new batteries before I finally got one that worked properly. Third time was indeed the charm.

Steve

[datsun65]

Last week while driving, the car died on the side of the road.

When you were driving...was it night time?

Sometimes when the voltage regulator/alternator goes out, you'll be running on the battery only. Some times, when the Volatge regulator goes out..it will also toast your battery as well.

You may be having a charging issue, in which the car was running okay until the battery started dying out. As the battery drains, your light will dim and the spark to engine will become weaker,and weaker till it is dead.

Give the battery a good charge and see if it will kick-over. Could be your charging system isn't working correctly.

[camronware]

Right on...that makes sense. It's a duracraft battery, all they had.

I was only driving during the day, so no lights were on ALL the time, although I did turn them on a few times while driving around. (just so I could be seen a little better)

Where is the voltage regulator, and how can I test? Thanks a lot guys...big help...

[datsun65]

Get a trickle charger (if you don't have one) and recharge the battery back up.

Bring your car (during the day) down to your local auto zone/pep boys/etc.

They usually have a FREE service which they can check if your alternator is charging the system. It only takes about 2 minutes to run the test.

The volatge regulator is located in the engine compoartment on the passeger side about 6 inches in front of the battery. It probably is a black looking box about 2 inches high and 3 inches long.

It very well could be that you have a bad connection in the charging system which is causing the problem, so don't immediately by a new alternator/voltage regulator. The equipment could be okay...but the connections could be bad.

[ganderson]

You may want to try the poorman's alternator test.....

Jump start your dead battery and runs it runs for a few minutes...Disconnect the negative or positive cable from the battery either is fine...

If the car dies once you've done this there is a HUGE chance that your alternator is no longer charging...and running solely on the battery which is already burdened

Or it could be the voltage regulator...especially the ground at the base of the regulator

It does not sound like a starter issue


goodluck

gene
_________________
turn on the music and drive

[datsunrides]

I would think the dead battery may be a result of all the cranking you did to try and get your car re-fired. Just a guess on that thou. As far as it quitting on you, I have had similar problems in the past on various vehicles. Some thing to check when it happens again, although some are harder to check than others. Sometimes you nreed to get creative when troubleshooting.
1- Something in the tank blocking the pickup line
2-Water in the fuel, will plug up the filter or plugged filter
3-fuel pump failing
4-Coil overheating
5-Ground strap/primary wire inside dizzy frayed and shorting
6-Cracked fuel line/hose sucking air instead of fuel
7-Vapor lock

Just a couple of those little things that usually get overlooked while giving things a once over. Hope this helps.

Mark

[itsa68]

I'm for #4 because his symtoms sound exactly what happened to me, except I didnt check for headlight dimming because I never had them on.

Replaced the coil and cleaned up the ballast resistor connections and no problems after that.

Ray B.

[camronware]

Yeah, that's what Joaquin had suggested as well.

It has continuity, but that really doesn't say whether the coil is good or bad, correct?

[spyder]

Did you check the coil with a meter? If so check battery voltage. They sit around 12.5 volts w/ the engine off. Somewhere between 13 to 15 running. If not you likely have charging problems.

[camronware]

I checked it and got no voltage.

Ok, so it looks like the coil is bad. That would explain the car dying because it would get too hot, and also drain the battery.

[JoeK]

If your coil isn't the problem, I'd go with items 1 or 3 above. You can check your fuel level by dropping one of the float bowls and seeing if it's got go juice in it. A simple clogged filter will show gas at the filter, but there's no way to see any past it.

And remember, whenever a battery gets drained, try to recharge as soon as you can. Batteries hate not having juice and will never hold a good charge again if left uncharged for too long. Those of you winterizing your cars, get a battery tender and save yourselves $60 or more come spring.

[dbrick]

The poor mans alt test was OK with generators, but on an alternator, It can blow out the diodes. A $20.00 Sears meter and a $5.00 test light is well worth the investment.

The 4 basics in an easy to remember format
1 Suck
2 Squeeze
3 Bang
4 Blow

Intake compression power exhaust

Suck Verify fuel at the carbs. If not sure, try a little carb cleaner or starting fluid and see if it will start up. Remove fuel hose from front carburetor, put the hose in a container and crank starter with the coil wire grounded (to prevent spark) see if fuel pump is delivering. If no fuel comes out, remove the hose from the tank at the fuel pump and blow back with gas cap removed listen for bubbles of air in tank. A bike pump will provide enough air

Squeeze is probably OK

Bang Check coil output by cranking with coil wire removed from dist cap and placed, not held 1/4" from ground. Should be a fat blue spark. If not test for voltage at coil + 10-12 volts while cranking, 8 volts or so with ign on and engine not running.
Put a test light from battery + to coil - crank engine.Light should flash as points open and close. If no flash and voltage at coil, suspect points or primary wire from dist to coil or ground wires inside distributor.
If there was spark, pull one spark plug and see if it is wet (flooded)
The Sears meter will let you check coil primary and secondary resistance, with all wires removed.

Blow unless the exhaust is clogged, not a worry.

On a guess, Fuel pump/starvation or bad coil.

Be sure to post the final solution

[camronware]

Ok, this morning I replaced the coil, ballast, and capacitor; as well as got the battery recharged.
I drove to kwik kar to get it inspected..and it ran great! Drove it home just fine.
Then my dad and I took it out for a spin (he used to have one about 20 years ago) and then it started struggling and surging again.
It's definitely fuel related I think...I put a little in this morning from a gas can I filled up, just so I could drive it around.
Maybe the fuel is just getting low and the pickup isn't able to get to it? But it seems that after waiting a bit, the car will start up and run for while before dying again...so I'm confused again..

Thanks for all y'all's help..

[ganderson]

Camron,

Did you try the "poorman's alternator" test??

Aside from what everyone that has not personally tried it.It really works..

1)get the car running at idle

2)disconnect either positive or negative cable from the battery

Note:if the alternator is "bad" the car will die

Drawbacks and shortcomings NOTHING follows because there are none..

Benefits:it's a quick and SAFE test to eliminate the alternator as one of your "gremilins"

I know that I will catch flack for suggesting this test....Oh Well

Buying coils and recharging batteries serves as a good temporary mask..


Just a suggestion and really it's gonna be real cool when the "actual "cause is found

Goodluck

gene