The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay '46 ton & a half starting problems

Howdy All,

If anyone can help me with this, I'll sure appreciate it.

The '46 4400 has a 216, 6-volt, everything's original. It started acting up today--not wanting to start within 5 minutes of being shut off. Then, an hour later, it would start right up. Can't get groceries if it's going to act that way--any ideas??

Thanx in advance...

It could very well be the coil.With heat, the windings inside the coil can expand and separate,breaking continuity.when it cools down,the windings make contact and allow electrons to flow.
Check for voltage on each side of the coil when cold and after the no-start symptons occur.

Bolt On, Be sure to check the grounds on your battery cables. Make sure they are clean and tight. Do you have a grounding strap between the frame and the block ? Add one if yours is missing..

Thanx for the ideas.

53 4 Me--I checked the battery cables: nice and snug. I looked in the shop manual for the grounding strap between frame and block; can't find it in there and don't have a clue where to look on the truck. Can you point me at a location so I can see if it's there.

Thanx again.

Large,sometimes flat,braideg copper ground strap is usually located on the passenger side top of bell-housing and is attached to the passenger side frame rail.
Also check the wire connections at the starter.
.
.
Does the engine still crank when hot,but not start?
You could also be having an intermittent problem with your ignition switch.Check wire connection there too.
I am still kind of suspecting the coil.

Bolt On, Here is a pic of the grounding strap on my truck. It bolts from the bell housing to the frame. A regular battery cable will do the same job. Make sure it is heavy enough. With a 6 volt system you need twice the carrying capacity. Make sure the connections are clean and tight. Good Luck.

Ground Strap

Now put a little dielectric grease on those connections and you will eliminate any corrosion/electrical problems you may have in that spot in the future.

Be sure to check the point where your negative battery cable bolts to the frame. I had exactly the same symptoms you describe and chased all sorts of ideas before finding the simplest solution. Good luck.

You all are absolutely awesome!!!!!!!

53 4 Me: Going to the trouble of sending a picture of the grounding strap was above and beyond! I don't have one; but, I will! Thanx!

I checked the battery cables again. I could 'make' the positive one wiggle a little, so I took it off and cleaned everything.

I checked the coil connections; the wire to the starter was loose. I tried to take it off to clean the connecting bolt/nut, no luck, couldn't get it off (felt like I was going to break something!). So I cleaned everything there as best I could and tightened the nut a little.

We took her to the grocery store, to dinner, and to pick up a beer (yes, Tommy, we still drink beer). She purrs like a kitten (new exhaust today; that's on a different page), and she gave us no problems.

I really appreciate the thought and experience you all shared with me -- I'd have had to pay big bucks to have a shop figure this out. THANK YOU!

Best regards,

Sounds like you've successfully solved the problem. That picture is great, but aword of caution--make sure everything is bright metal where the high amperage connections occur.

Not too long ago, I replaced the battery in my '46 1-1/2 ton, and put a new cable to the starter stud connector and a new braided ground strap from the battery to the transmission housing bolt.

From long experience (well, not so long, really) I climbed in before I put the floorboard back in, "just to make darn sure" Ol' blue would crank up. Mashed the starter, and .....nuthin'.

New battery, new cables, battery shows full charge, so check the connections.

Yep! That bolt connection on the transmission housing had a oil film (caused by me) when I took the old strap off and wiped it just a little. Either I wiped it too little, or not enough, but just enough to muss it up. Really cleaned it, screwed everything back together, and.....ah! the sweet sound of success!

Watch those loose connections. Anything loose, or less than a GOOD connection means voltage drop. Voltage drop means heat. Too much heat means burning insulation. Burning insulation doesn't smell too good and can result in a very bad smell known as burned paint.

Howdy Glenn,

Thanx for sharing your time and experience. I hope others will benefit from it too.

I noticed that "hot" feeling you mentioned 'before' I got everything put back together. When the starter wouldn't even groan, I thought the battery was gone; but, the positive cable to the starter was 'hot' to touch. I didn't know why -- your explanation solves that mystery. Did quite a bit of driving today--not a hitch!

Nice visor on 'Ol Blue'; haven't seen that many on art decos!

Thanx again for making time to share your knowledge.

Regards,

Not a problem `Bolt On. You will recieve a bill for services in the mail soon!!!!
.
.
.
J/K

Send your bill right on over.

But, I'm on a fixed income here, after all.

Will you put 'ton my account and take payments?

Sure, we can do that!Put t`on yer account on account you have no account!
.We wont even charge interest,we`ll just SHOW interest in your truck!