The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Starting problem

I've done a search and haven't found this particular problem. Don't know if it's engine or electrical, so here it is.

My truck won't start unless it is pulled. The starter won't spin it fast enough. Checked and cleaned all connections, replaced starter with a fresh unit, same thing. Jumped a weak 12V directly into starter, ground to engine(stock '51 216, 6V), and it still doesn't turn fast enough. Bump-start it and it stokes right up.

I am mystified.

My first thought is "do you have a new battery cable?" If so is it a for 6 volt systems or a 12 volt from off the shelf. 6 volts need more amps so the cable is a tad thicker.

Not it. The old cables are still in there, apparently okay, ends clean. When I jumped, I bypassed all that as described above. After dinner I'm gonna put a fresh, charged 12V on it and see what happens.

What are your compression readings? Anything less than 100 psi, it is difficult to start. 125 to 150psi is much, much better.

hotshoe36,

You have certainly done the right things so far. The obvious choices would be it isn't turning fast enough OR it can't turn fast enough.

It seems to me you have ruled out the electrical end of things by installing a new starter, then jumping the rig with a 12 volt battery. If all was well, that should have make it spin like crazy.

The next thought would be that some mechanical issue is binding the engine up. If this were the case, you would probably see the effects of this problem as you ran the engine for awhile.

I would pull the gravel pan when the engine was cold and see exactly how much oink it takes to turn it over. You indicate it's an old 216 which, with the plugs pulled it should turn easily with the fan.

Back on the electrical end of things, you could have received a bum starter, or your cables could be too small or failing at the terminal (internally).

Did the truck run fine..then this problem popped up! Scout around a bit more. See if the engine is tight for some reason and resisting the new starter.

My bets are with the starting system, not a mechanical problem. Your battery, cables, connections and starter all must be sound for this thing to spin over nicely. Keep us posted

Stuart

I'm out of time. One good thing about being a semi-retired truck is that you can wait until the guy gets a round tuit. Remember those? Anyway, I have a 2:30 am wake up, because I am emphatically not retired. More before too long..

Moron, me.

After a 15-hour work day I got back to Epic #2 just before dark. Tried turning the engine by hand - atomarc's suggestion - and drew a deep sigh of relief when it turned, plugs in, by tensioning the belt and pulling on the fan. Hooked up my certified number one finest kind 12V battery, one of two in this little unit, [IMG]http://thumb11.webshots.net/t/63/463/5/34/34/2467534340096215731LCZagQ_th.jpg[/IMG] and goshdarnit if she didn't stoke right up!

So I don't actually have any problem at all except maybe a bad cable and a severe dearth of meckanical skill, say, of the kind which might have made me wonder if a 12V battery with a dead cell, which had been sitting in my garage for over a year and had not been charged, but showeed 11V on my multimeter, might in fact not have had as much oomph on tap as my truck's 6V battery..

Go, now. Hide face.

Right after reconnecting the return spring on the starter pedal so the motor doesn't stay engaged and make rude noises at me.

Hey Hotshoe....It happens to the best of us....
Its best if you hide that ugly mug of your's.....
you coming to 3B's on the 26th????Dave

Did you correct the problem? If not, the ignition switch is a good suspect. On a 6 volt system, there is no start-bypass circuit, so if the ignition switch has resistance, the coil gets low voltage and reduced current. Remember, those old engines can be started with a hand crank; that cranking speed is much slower than the worst starter- as long as the engine cranks at all. Since you say the engine starts almost immediately with a push, I suspect the ignition switch is at fault.

Harvester

Dave, thank you. I resemble that remark.

Harvester, problem solved. A bit embarrassing, as it was something more than a little simple, as you'll see if you read my last.