I store my car for the winter. I went out to start it to briefly drive it yesterday and make a video of our new tips and the car would not start, just click, click, click from the starter (I drove over my trickle charger by accident last spring and never replaced it, figured I would just start it every few weeks this winter). I put jumper cables on it for 30 minutes and still no start, just clicking. I then brought the battery in to be tested and it tested "Good, but needs charge", so I bench charged it all night. Put it in this morning and same thing, just rapid clicking. Brought it in for testing and they said "830 cranking amps fully charged". They then did a cell test and said something may be wrong gave me a new battery at NC - it was less than one year old. Cleaned all terminals (which were very clean anyhow), installed the new battery and same thing, mclick, click, click - now with a brand new battery. Starter clicks rapidly, but no start. That leaves me thinking:

1) Longshot - the new battery is also bad
2) The starter connection is bad
3) There is a ground problem somewhere on the vehicle
4) The starter itself is bad
5) engine ground strap has failed

Toward the end of the driving season, the battery was not starting the car after just 2-3 days, which was not normal, but it was the colder season - I would put cables on it and it would start. Also, the last week or so I was operating the car, occasionally, after coming out of a store, even after a long drive, it would crank slowly (hesitate) for just a split second before going good and starting and I was thinking "what is that - I just drove 50 miles, the car should have plenty of power", but since it ultimately started, I did not give it a lot of thought. I think perhaps something has been developing for a little while and just got worse...

Any ideas of things to do/check before I have it carried to the dealer for diagnosis?

Any pictures or diagrams of the engine ground strap location?

Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.

 

i would suspect your starter or your coils. since you had intermittent starting issue before, i think starter is more likely. hit the starter with a wrench to see if it would start.

 

It sounds like the starter selonoid which is on the starter. You can try getting a remote starter switch from the auto parts store. Connect it from the hot on the starter to the hot on the selonoid to see if it starts. The typical symptom when they go bad is to her a click, click when trying to start. I think the selonoid on these is part of the starter so they have to be replaced as a unit.

 

Thanks, that seems to be the consensus from many PM's I have received. The solenoid is not getting enough power - either a failed starter solenoid or a poor connection/ground to the starter. We will be digging into it this week.

 

one possible way is check the ampere consumption if your starter kick in....if its low your starter is def.... if it have high ampere consumption move your engine by hand at the pulley to ckeck if engine goes hard...i am shure you find it



ore you use a remote starter cabel to ground the engine from battery minus

try to start my flat six today...: O

 

The solenoid is bad. See if your local autoparts store has one. Prolly like $40.

 

Definately the start solenoid

 

It was a mouse eating the wiring...that explains everything!

 

Really? You storing the car in a barn?

 

Yes, really. Here's a picture of my barn...

I had the same issue one other year, but caught the action in the spare tire area when I went for the jack one day, so I caught it early. I live in the country, much different than the city for mice...

 

I had a problem similar to that.
After the dealer changed my starter they found out it was the ignition key switch.. Lucky I have an extended warranty that paid..

 

I used to store my cars in a barn when I lived in New England. Surprisingly I never had issues with mice except for them crapping on my car from the rafters. I have heard that moth ***** will keep them away.

 

That's a good lookin barn IF you're in the country there's almost nothing you can do about mice, they are just there.

Did you get it fixed?

 

It's at the dealer as of late this afternoon - comprehensive insurance is covering it...

 

Wow! I love your place John. Very clean and the car is beautiful....