Sluggish First Crank When Heated Up

Hi,

I'm new to this forum so there will be some dumb questions. Also new to antique Lincolns. However, I'm planning a cross country trip from Fayettville area of NC to Ft Collins, CO this spring.

The car is my Dad's which he restored from two basket cases over the past 15 or so years. Oh, it's a '41 Connie Coupe original amateur restored. My mission is to get the car roadworthy by spring.

First step was to get it to start reliably. After replacing the old starter relay/solenoid, it now cranks fine when battery is at 7 volts and cold, but after getting it started and driving around the neighborhood a bit (10-15 miles) and shutting her off, she hesitates on first pushing starter button, then fires up. The hesitation is what worries me. Like it doesn't want to crank, then catches and turns over. Tired starter?

Thanks for any opinions.

Scott<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

Scott,

Always check the easy stuff first! The starter has to have a perfect ground to the engine . This area is the right side of pan at bell housing. Battery cables have to be heavy gauge

suited for 6 volt, not 12 volt systems. Clean all cable connections at engine head, both sides of starter solenold, cable to starter, starter button at dash( this is just a friction fit and if

poor ; you may have to run another ground from button side to car body) . Also , it would not hurt to ground the transmision case to frame. Always install a GOOD FRESH 6VOLT

BATTERY; the most cold cranking amps available.After all of this , now pull the starter and have it checked out. Good Luck... Larry Butcher zephyr38@verizon.net

Scott,

Always check the easy stuff first! The starter has to have a perfect ground to the engine . This area is the right side of pan at bell housing. Battery cables have to be heavy gauge

suited for 6 volt, not 12 volt systems. Clean all cable connections at engine head, both sides of starter solenold, cable to starter, starter button at dash( this is just a friction fit and if

poor ; you may have to run another ground from button side to car body) . Also , it would not hurt to ground the transmision case to frame. Always install a GOOD FRESH 6VOLT

BATTERY; the most cold cranking amps available.After all of this , now pull the starter and have it checked out. Good Luck... Larry Butcher zephyr38@verizon.net

Thanks for that. 1. The starter is well grounded. 2. I replaced the puny ground strap with a giant one supplied for this car. The negative cable to the relay and relay to starter were correct 0 gauge items (thumb-sized). 3. Dash button already had the ground wire connected. 4. Battery is 800 cold crank amp charged to 7 volts at beginning of a 'session' then reduces to 6-6.5v after starting and running around the block several times (20miles, or so). Ammeter is reading in the positive all the time, especially when reving engine and running. 5. Why the ground from tranny to frame?

I wonder if there is a way to check starter on the engine rather than removing it?

S

Larry,

I rechecked the tightness of the cable to the starter from the relay. It was snug, but not tight (this could be IT!). I took it off to check for cleanliness, etc. and found the nut was wobbly on the copper starter post as I unscrewed it, as though it was stripped. It was stripped near the top of the post. I took the nut off, and the jam nut next to the starter, then reattached the cable using the jam nut. It's tighter than before, but not extra tight. The starter post should be replaced with one that is not stripped. I presume this must be done with the starter off the car?

Thanks for your help. I might not have rechecked the starter cable tightness had you not emphasized the need for 6v grounds to be perfect, and consequently, not found the stripped post.

Now, on to getting the steering wheel stright.

You can have the stud replaced on the starter by any competent generator re-builder. I would also check the rotor in the distributor for radial play that could cause the timing to change.

If you have a voltmeter yoou can connect it from the NEG poat of the battery and the stud on the starter. Crank the engine with the key off and read the voltage on the meter. It should be less than .5 volts. If it is more than that, move the text lead back one connection and repeat the test. Typical readings are:

Battery to solenoid connection .001 V

Battery to starter cable at solenoid .1V

Battery to starter cable at starter .2V