The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Power cutting off when turning ignition key

This problem just started recently on my 60 Apache 10. Last week after getting gas it almost didn't start,kind of like a low battery and that was after an hour drive or so. I charged the battery and now when I turn the key it starts to crank barely and then the power supply cuts off. It seems like the starter or starter solenoid to me,maybe a short. The battery is fully charged. Yesterday it did start and when I turned the key off it kept running and that never happened before,bad ignition switch? I wired a new volt gauge yesterday but I don't think that's related,just a coincidence. Any help is appreciated.
Joe

My first guess would be the ignition switch. The red flag is the fact that the engine kept running after you shut it off.

How did you wire-in the voltmeter, assuming you don't mean ammeter? I don't believe much in coincidence. Usually, if something was working OK and it stops working, I would look at the last change I made.

Joe,

It sure sounds like a bad starter to me too. The key switch passes very little current to pull the solenoid in. The key switch could be worn out, but probably not shorted out.

I don't know the particulars on a '60 Apache, but will assume it is 12 volt, and has a "R" terminal on the solenoid to pass battery voltage to the coil on START. If your starter/solenoid was farked up, as it sounds, there might be a scenario where this bypass terminal remained hot when you shut the engine down with the key switch.

You didn't mention how you finally did shut the rig off! A starter current draw meter would show you quickly if your starter was drawing excess current at it tried to start the engine.

Batteries can be tough to diagnose, so assuming yours is good, I would check both cables for cleanliness and make sure there are no breaks or loose connections. Take a look at the small connections on the solenoid. If the wire from the key-switch is touching the bypass wire to the coil, it could cause run-on.

If your battery is less than 4 years old and the connections are good, I will bet on a funky starter.

Is there a post missing on this thread? Baldy's reply appears to address something that I don't see on the page, or in your previous posts.

Stuart

Stuart,

Last paraghaph of the first post in this thread indicates that he just "wired a new volt gauge yesterday," the same day he started having problems.

Thanks, I missed that somehow. I can't see how this simple voltmeter addition could cause the problems mentioned, but it seems like there is always "the rest of the story", so we shall see.

Stuart

Thanks for the responses,it's a big help. Atomarc I mentioned I installed a voltmeter and I did wire it to a wire coming off the ignition switch that has power when the key is turned to start or accessory. I really don't think that's a problem though. The motor is not stock,it's a 350ci with HEI installed. I will check the ignition switch again or replace it and go from there. The batteries about 2 years old and holding a good charge. The starter looks older,I bought the truck last November and it was restored by a PO. I shut down the motor by putting it in drive and it stop from still being cold.
Joe

cal55,

The HEI would not require any bypass circuit, so that theory is out. Because of the close proximity of the header pipe to the starter, starting problems are fairly common on these engines. If the starter is worn out, or marginal at all, excess heat will sometimes make a hot restart tough.

If you wired your meter to the START terminal, it would go dead when the key sprung back to RUN wouldn't it. Turning the key to OFF should kill any power to the HEI...that's how the engine is shut down. If there is any path through the voltmeter that allows power to the RUN terminal of the keyswitch, the ignition would still be powered even though the key was switched to OFF.

I'm not sure how you wired your meter, but it might be something to check. Keep us posted.

Stuart

I think you have two problems. The engine continuing to run is probably related to the addition of the voltmeter and may be as simple as a miswire allowing current to continue to flow to the ignition when the switch is off. That is why I asked exactly how did you wire the voltmeter in, both sides. The other problem could be the switch, but also could be your battery cable condition and grounds. Just use an old screwdriver to short the big wire on the solenoid to the start lug on the solenoid. If the engine cranks well, the switch may be bad and the battery cables should be OK.

Stuart,

You are right about the way the start position and the accessory positions work. They are mutually exclusive; when you have power to one you do not have power to the other. He must have meant that he wired it to the acc, which would make it read in the acc and the run positions, I hope.

Thanks for the replies. I did cure one problem it was a bad negative battery cable connection. The cable is the 2 bolt clamp type where the wire is crimped in, I cleaned that and the truck started. I'm going to change that cable out. I should have checked the most obvious things first. It still won't shut off with the key,so I'll check my wiring. I probably wired it wrong because I didn't have that problem before I installed the voltmeter. The voltmeter does work when I turn the key to the on position and when the engines running,I didn't check the accessory position. If that's not the problem, I'll replace the ignition switch. Thanks for all the help.
Joe