The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Hard to start truck

My 1951 3100 has been harder to start recently. Slow starter when pressing the foot pedal. Today, it finally started. Drove to coffee but when I tried to leave, weak cranking and finally nothing. Towed it home. I figured it must be the battery so I got a new one ( was needing it anyway). Good connections and everything. Tried to start but now nothing. Could it be solenoid and/ or starter? How do I know?

If you got nothing make sure wiring. Is not your issue to solenoid it should click if you have one.
Make sure the stomp starter have good and clean with good contacts main wires. And make sure your ground to engine is good. I found a direct negative to engine to body is much better. Then test your starter. Also make sure that battery is fully charged. I got few “new” that needed a full charge

What do you mean by "good connections"?

Your starter cable needs to be 00 gauge and your ground cable needs to be perfect. If it's one of those braided ones, install a 00 cable in its place or elsewhere if you like the look of the braided one.

What's the condition of the starter? Otiginal? rebuilt? Brand new?

Pull the starter and bench test it. Many a video online but some good jumper cables and a battery. Guys will jump in with more details.

If you have a stomp starter, manually push down the switch on the top of the starter to see if the switch itself will turn the starter over.
Simply pressing just the switch will not engage the starter with the flywheel, but it will let you know that the starter motor is good and you need to carefully inspect the stomp linkage for damage or wear.

Or, you could try something a did to solve a no start issue one time.
Put the ground cable back on the battery...

Yep, the old "Is it plugged in?" trick.

Well, some news. Bench tested it and it was dead. Brushes worn down to the screws. Took it to a shop ( B and B auto electric). Should have it back good as new next week. The starter switch has a nut that won’t come off- it just spins the internal contact ( which is difficult to hold still as I try to spin off the nut). As always, one step at a time. Thanks for the advice.

Got the starter back from D and D auto electric ( actual name!) He showed me where the brushes articulate that there was some melting and said what you guys recommended- add a thick ground wire. The armature was damaged but he had another one reconditioned to put in. Also the end cap with brushes needed replacing.
Another question. Where would you recommend to attach the additional 00 ground wire to the engine? I see holes in the cross member under the engine for one end but where on the engine or sm420 do you recommend attaching?

You could use the second stomp starter bracket bolt for your other ground cable. Or one of the transmission or bell housing bolts.

Put a OO ground wire between the trans and frame, put the newly rebuild starter and starter switch with side terminal on, and fired it up. Started like a champ! Spins up great!

What’s a 00 ground? An OEM braided ground?

It’s a 2-O cable used as a battery ground wire. Heavier than the new standard 4-O ones. Got it at NAPA.

A OO (pronounced "double aught") cable is a diameter spec for the wire.

I think you meant to say that it is thicker than the newer standard 4 gauge battery cables.

A OOOO (4/O) cable would be *much* thicker.

A battery cable bigger than #0 is probably overkill. I like to make up my own battery cables, using #0 arc welder wire. Welding cable has MUCH thinner individual wires in the bundle, which makes it more flexible, and gives it a higher current carrying capacity for any specific diameter, since a wire tends to carry current on the surface of the strand, and having several hundred strands like welding cable does gives a lower resistance than regular battery cable.
Jerry