I have a 74 Stingray that I have had towed into the shop three times for not starting. It has battery power, but when I turn the key nothing happens except the interior lights dim and volt guage draws down. The garage has said its a starter problem all three times and replaced the starter once and rewired it twice. It starts fine for the rest of the day then the next day wont start. Any ideas?
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Re: '74 Starting Problem
Randy one problem you could be having is battery drain overnight. You can have enough voltage in the battery to use the car throughout the day with numerous periods of driving to keep the battery charged enough to start the car. To test this you could check you battery voltage with a digital volt meter at the end of of the driving day and again prior to driving the car the next day for loss of battery voltage. If you don't have a voltage meter or access to one another way to is very simple. I do this when I don't intend to drive my 68 or 70 to maintain a charge on the battery. Under the drivers side below the battery compartment location remove the bolt that connects your batterys gound or negative cable to the frame and move the cable away from the frame. Next morning reconnect it and see if it starts. If it starts up you either have a battery that needs checked out or a electrical drain through some electrical component with your car. Glove box lights staying on have presented problems for some owners. -
Re: '74 Starting Problem
Randy one problem you could be having is battery drain overnight. You can have enough voltage in the battery to use the car throughout the day with numerous periods of driving to keep the battery charged enough to start the car. To test this you could check you battery voltage with a digital volt meter at the end of of the driving day and again prior to driving the car the next day for loss of battery voltage. If you don't have a voltage meter or access to one another way to is very simple. I do this when I don't intend to drive my 68 or 70 to maintain a charge on the battery. Under the drivers side below the battery compartment location remove the bolt that connects your batterys gound or negative cable to the frame and move the cable away from the frame. Next morning reconnect it and see if it starts. If it starts up you either have a battery that needs checked out or a electrical drain through some electrical component with your car. Glove box lights staying on have presented problems for some owners.Comment
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Re: '74 Starting Problem
Randy,
Sorry that this post is longwinded. Are you saying that the car wont start each day due to low battery voltage or because the starters are ruined, yet you still have ample battery voltage? The shop replaced one starter and then rewired it twice,what exactly do they mean when the say they rewired it? That they rewired the armature of the motor or the field coils or something else? Do they mean checking the external feed wire hookups to starter solenoid as they may have been connected wrong? Rewiring a starter in the internal sense is a big deal, I can't envision a shop doing this.I am trying to figure this out that is why the questions. One other thing is since you have a 1974 car, that is the year of famous GM seatbelt interlock remote starter button fiasco which swiftly dissappeared for '75.There is an orange box in engine compartment with a black rubber pushbutton for service techs to override system to start the car. Maybe something is awry there. I don't know that system in depth but just trying to give you possibilities. CraigComment
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Re: '74 Starting Problem
Randy,
Sorry that this post is longwinded. Are you saying that the car wont start each day due to low battery voltage or because the starters are ruined, yet you still have ample battery voltage? The shop replaced one starter and then rewired it twice,what exactly do they mean when the say they rewired it? That they rewired the armature of the motor or the field coils or something else? Do they mean checking the external feed wire hookups to starter solenoid as they may have been connected wrong? Rewiring a starter in the internal sense is a big deal, I can't envision a shop doing this.I am trying to figure this out that is why the questions. One other thing is since you have a 1974 car, that is the year of famous GM seatbelt interlock remote starter button fiasco which swiftly dissappeared for '75.There is an orange box in engine compartment with a black rubber pushbutton for service techs to override system to start the car. Maybe something is awry there. I don't know that system in depth but just trying to give you possibilities. CraigComment
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Re: '74 Starting Problem
Randy,
Would hooking up a battery disconnect be alot easier than unbolting the ground cable under the car? I would make sure the battery is all charged up, then see if the car starts. If it starts, then I would undo the disconnect then wait overnight and then hook it up and if the car starts, you have eliminated the started as a problem - if it was "wired" right. That will also tell you that you have a seriours power drain. Then you can concentrate on finding the drain.
ChasmanComment
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Re: '74 Starting Problem
Randy,
Would hooking up a battery disconnect be alot easier than unbolting the ground cable under the car? I would make sure the battery is all charged up, then see if the car starts. If it starts, then I would undo the disconnect then wait overnight and then hook it up and if the car starts, you have eliminated the started as a problem - if it was "wired" right. That will also tell you that you have a seriours power drain. Then you can concentrate on finding the drain.
ChasmanComment
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Re: '74 Starting Problem
The drop in battery voltage says that either the battery can't supply the load, OR the battery connections are intermittantly bad . I would suggest checking the battery connections as follows. When the car doesn't start, put a voltmeter on the battery posts(not cable connectors) to verify that the battery voltage is actually dropping as much as the gauge indicates. If significantly different, its likely the cable connections at the battery. Course another way to skin the cat is to clean the battery posts and cable connectors thouroughly after a "no start" to see if the problem disappears.Comment
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Re: '74 Starting Problem
The drop in battery voltage says that either the battery can't supply the load, OR the battery connections are intermittantly bad . I would suggest checking the battery connections as follows. When the car doesn't start, put a voltmeter on the battery posts(not cable connectors) to verify that the battery voltage is actually dropping as much as the gauge indicates. If significantly different, its likely the cable connections at the battery. Course another way to skin the cat is to clean the battery posts and cable connectors thouroughly after a "no start" to see if the problem disappears.Comment
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Re: '74 Starting Problem
Don't overlook the connection at the frame and at the starter, checking carefully for corrosion inside the battery cable itself.Bill Clupper #618Comment
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Re: '74 Starting Problem
Don't overlook the connection at the frame and at the starter, checking carefully for corrosion inside the battery cable itself.Bill Clupper #618Comment
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Re: '74 Starting Problem
Chas reason I mentioned disconnecting the battery cable to the frame is that for me it is easier to do this than accessing the battery storage area and faster. It is even easier for me when my 68 and 70 are on my Autolifter M6's, something I can do standing up.Comment
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Re: '74 Starting Problem
Chas reason I mentioned disconnecting the battery cable to the frame is that for me it is easier to do this than accessing the battery storage area and faster. It is even easier for me when my 68 and 70 are on my Autolifter M6's, something I can do standing up.Comment
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Re: '74 Starting Problem *NM*
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Re: '74 Starting Problem *NM*
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