Is there anything other than a bad starter that would cause me to just get a click and no engine rotation? I have an optima red top battery, but I bought it 3 or 4 months ago and just installed it. I have turned the motor by hand so it isn't frozen up. Before I have to lay in a mud puddle and pull the starter, I want to be reasonably sure it's the culprit. My battery charger is ancient and I'm not sure if it is correct to charge an Optima with, but I put it on the charger at 10 amps for 3 or 4 hours and still no start. Suggestions? Options? Oh, the motor is a 12a, 5 speed, no porting, 45 DCOE, RB dual exhaust and header, gen2 alt., beehive, gilmer drive, DLIDFIS, and as yet never started.

I also put a meter on the battery just now, and have 12.6V, also tried using the jump box with same result, click and nothing. I have new wires run from the + along side the tunnel to the starter and to alt. The starter ground is run to the chassis, grounded on the bottom of the drivers fender well. Battery - is run to the drivers seat mounting bolt.

 

even if it were the starter i still wouldn't lay in a mud puddle. push the car to a better place to get under it. what's the voltage reading when u turn the switch to start? even tho the battery shows 12v it still doesn't mean it has enough amps to run the starter. make sure all battery terminals r clean and tight. do u have the small wire connected to the starter spade terminal?

 

It's been raining for days and still doing so. car is in the carport. no concrete flooring. driveway is uphill 20 to 25 degrees grade. car is at lowest point. No choice, lay in puddles or don't fix the car. Battery is new Optima red top. Terminals shine.black/yellow wire IS on starter spade terminal.

 

going back and reading ur bat cable connections, the - bat cable should ground in two places: ltchassis, and engine. u can use either a bolt that bolts the tranny to the engine or one of the starter bolts. i don't think ur getting a sufficient ground the way u have it.

 

Everyone always says try the easy stuff first.

With that being said, if you have a way to get the battery down to your local battery shop, have them test the battery. Then start attacking the rest.

And remember, pics always help!!

 

This.

You could also have bad internal corrosion in your battery cable which would not allow enough amps to make it to your starter.

 

He has new battery cables.

I would take the battery and starter (might as well bring the alternator while you are at it) down to like an Advance auto parts or the like. They test those for free and can give you some heads up.


I am with Michael on this one, insufficient ground.

 

Thanks guys! Well I figure the starter was about the only link in the chain not new anyway, so I went in and bought a new one this morning. Installed it and got "click" and no rotation. I'd laugh at myself if I wasn't so irritated. So, I'd have to say that my battery may not be fully charged (guess I need a new charger anyways) and I'll go ahead and run a cable from the - to the starter and to the chassis. That should cover everything, just to be sure.

 

Ok, here's what I have. Brand new starter, brand new cables, brand new terminals, known good battery (checked it on the charger too and got the "green" fully charged light) I have the wiring correct because the starter does engage and does turn the motor, just barely (really slow), but not enough to start. I ran a ground from the battery to the chassis (seat post) and a new cable from there to the starter housing bolt. Just to be sure, I also ran a cable from the ground terminal on the starter to the chassis ground on the shock tower. Since I couldn't be positive that my optima was fully charged, I pulled the Duralast gold battery out of my brothers Mountaineer. I even hooked it up to my charger to be sure it has a good charge. Charger gives me the green light for fully charged. Now I can turn the motor over by hand, so it isn't frozen. I have replaced just about everything, what's left? Posts are cleaned, terminals tight. At this point I'm absolutely out of ideas and patience. I NEED this car to run soon. It's about to be my only transportation and it isn't even starting! What else could it be? HELP!

 

Ok, update. Pulled the Gilmer belt off, and same thing. I'm lost. Alt spins free, water pump turns easilly, motor takes both hands to get a good enough hold on pulley to turn, but does turn. How hard should it be to turn? I'm fresh out of ideas.

 

Just to be sure, you have ignition switch hooked up to the starter solenoid as well, yeh? Since it clicks, then probably yeh, but still. Do you have a little strap on the starter that you hook up to the negative post on the starter solenoid?

If you can turn the engine by hand, the starter should turn it fine. Turn on headlights when you start the car. They should dim when you turn the key, as the juice is diverted to the starter.

Could you pull the starter and just bench test it using your battery? That way it'll be free spinning with nothing in the way, except battery, wires, and itself. Should be easy to troubleshoot with just three components total.

 

I could do that, but the starter is new, and it does turn the motor, just very very slowly.

 

did u ever have the batteries checked out? just cause ur charger gives a green light it still may not have the amperage needed. autozone and the like can test the battery by putting a load on it to insure it is good. otherwise i'm outta ideas.

 

+1 for a battery load test, if the car cranks slowly theres a good chance the battery dosent have enough cranking amps,

 

going in to town this morning, taking both batteries with me. Will have them tested.

 

Well, the ever so helpfull guys at O'rielly's and at NAPA both told me they can't do the load test on optimas. So, I bought a new chargerand am charging the battery as I type. Should be fully charged by this evening.

 

What's the big deal about Optimas, anyway? I know they're a lot lighter... but damn, they seem expensive. Seems like they keep coming up in complaints, too.

 

For me, the optima had the benefit of light, LOTS of cranking amps and can be mounted any position you want. Also no leakage or gasses due to gel cores. Longer life as well. I just left mine sitting for too long (4 or 5 months) before installing, and then put a drain on it before charging. I didn't know any better. Live and learn. I just hope as soon as this puppy is charged that I can actually get my damn car to run!

 

Yeah, if the starter turns, but slowly, then all connections are good and you probably just lack the battery juice.

 

Well, the battery is good, "Murphy's Law" is kickin my ***! Turns out that both batteries are good, just drained and my old charger was bad. Got the Optima charged, and the motor spins now. However, now I seem to be pumping fuel like crazy. Flooded it several times, but nothing close to a start. I dropped a wrench and snapped the posts off one of my coils! About ready to abandon the DLIDFIS and go back to stock till I get it running. Can't seem to win for loosing. My fuel pump pumps non-stop, but I can't see the needle move on my fpr. Guess I'll pull the dizzy and check my timing too.