Help starting up a 37 special

Howdy everyone ! after sitting for 3 years im now trying to start my 37 buick special / 40. Changed all fluids and everything else but now when I step on the pedal the voltage regulator makes a buzzing noise and nothing about start and the battery goes completely dead. Any clues ? tx everyone

37Buick,

The first thing I would do is remove the sparkplugs and squirt a little oil in each cylinder. Let it sit for a day then with the car in 3rd gear GENTLY rock the car to make sure the engine is not seezed. If only sitting for three years it would be highly unlikely to be seezed. If the engine turns over then move on to battery charge, cable connections, grounds etc... I am assuming the car was in normal operating condition three years ago. Also, are you sure the buzzing is the voltage regulator and not the starter relay mounyed on the end of the starter? A buzzing starter relay is indicative of a low voltage (battery charge) problem. Keep us posted and we will help.

You could try and bypass the pedal start by using a short piece of wire and bridge the terminals on the carb to turn it over. That way, with your head in the engine bay as it turns over (or not), you can get a better idea of what's happening.

Cheers

Grant

my worries are not the engine for now , but the starting itself. when I turn the keys on the voltage regulator starts buzzing and when I try to start the engine , everything goes dead. The engine is free. Maybe the battery is weak, maybe I had the charger on 12 volts by mistake for a minute, or maybe a short ?

Sounds like a very low battery charge. The buzzing is very likely the solenoid, not the regulator, then when you try to engage the starter the voltage drops to near zero. A short period of charge at 12 V is not fatal for the battery, charge it for about a day on a proper 6V charger, and see what happens. Also it is possible that the battery has lost ability to hold a good enough charge to start the engine, if so, a new battery would be necessary. Try charging it first, and as mentioned check all connections, and try again.

The suggestion about putting a bit of oil in the cylinders is still a good one, as by now all of the oil will have left the cylinder walls, and it will take some running to have them properly oiled again. This will save unnecessary wear on the engine.

Thanks Buicknutty ! that sounds good .And by the way im sure the buzzing is coming from the voltage reg. and it sounds loud too. Im gonna check that batt. before anything else. But what bugs me is the buzzing. , the batt was weak before and the starter was moving but didn't have enough power to start but I didn't hear no buzzing ! So now I turn the key on and a loud buzz comes and then I step on pedal and caputz !

Howdy everyone ! after sitting for 3 years im now trying to start my 37 buick special / 40. Changed all fluids and everything else but now when I step on the pedal the voltage regulator makes a buzzing noise and nothing about start and the battery goes completely dead. Any clues ? tx everyone

Good Evening,

I'd suggest removing the battery for testing. It may appear to be taking a charge, but has insufficient reserve to handle the load of the starter. I would first check and verify that your battery is fully charged, and that all of your battery cables are very clean on both ends. Your symptom sounds like a bad connecting that is incapable of carrying the load of the starter when it engages.

After you've verified that the battery and related connections are good, you can manually engage the starter by physically pressing on the solenoid. This test bypasses all of the switches and small wiring in the Buick, and will verify that the starter works, and that the battery and it's respective connections are good enough to turn the engine (this is also a great way to turn the engine when you're setting the points or valves).

If, after you get the starter to turn the engine, the next item of suspicion is the voltage regulator. The voltage regulator has a relay in it which interrupts current to the starter solenoid when the generator is putting out more voltage than present in the battery. The idea here is to create a type of interlock which is intended to prevent the starter from engaging when the engine is running. If the points on this relay inside the regulator are burned or pitted, they may be unable to carry sufficient current to allow the starter solenoid to engage. This would explain the noise from the regulator you're hearing.

There is actually a "dual interlock" to prevent the starter from engaging once the engine is running. One side of the interlock is the relay in the voltage regulator, the other is the vacuum switch on the intake manifold. The starter solenoid is electrically isolated from the car (it does not use the chassis as the negative current source, or ground). I do not recall which switch acts to interrupt which pole (positive or negative) of the solenoid.

These 5-pole regulators are notorious for being unreliable, and most were replaced long, long ago. I have never seen one operating, although I understand that there are members on this forum who are still successfully using them. Buick released a technical bulletin not too long after these cars were built which provided specifications for how to convert from the 5-pole regulator to the much more common 3-pole regulators which are still available new.

Best Regards,

Jon B Kanas

Email: kanas@qadas.com

Website: http://www.2experts.org

Longmont, Colorado; Cultural Center of the Universe

I am surprised to see that nobody yet suggested checking the wire size of the battery cables.

If you are using modern 12VDC battery cables, they are too small.

6VDC cables carry double the amp load in a six volt system to deliver the amps needed to crank your engine..

Thanks jon and thanks Mark . Im gonna workj thru all that. So Jon you sugest a 2 gage batt cable is enough?

I am surprised to see that nobody yet suggested checking the wire size of the battery cables.

If you are using modern 12VDC battery cables, they are too small.

6VDC cables carry double the amp load in a six volt system to deliver the amps needed to crank your engine..

37BUICK,

I use 000 stranded battery cable with soldered ends --- same as welding cable,

makes a HUGE difference !!!

37BUICK,

I use 000 stranded battery cable with soldered ends --- same as welding cable,

makes a HUGE difference !!!

I agree with both Mark and Marty, however, even if the cables are to small that would not cause the buzzing. It would most definately cause slow cranking or worse when you try to engage the starter.

The first thing I would do if you can't confirm your battery condition is to bring it to a garage and just ask them to load test it. Be sure and charge it first and let it set overnight before testing. If battery is good install it - ground + power or hot lead, the starter relay grounds on the regulator, I suspect that where you will find your problem ,the wire with red and green crossing stripes comes from the starter relay you could remove it and attach it to a good ground and try starting. Let me know what happens up to this point. Bob

tx bobgould , will do and let you know tx again

Howdy partners ! yes , the weekend is over and we ended up on a positive way . Checked the batt. and it was dead dead. Got a new one , connected and no buzzing sound coming from the voltage reg. . Everything went well ! But a few question marks from the ride ... Going around 25 to 35 mph i notice my oil pressure at 15 pounds ! As i step on gas i can see it going up . But isnt 15 too low ? Also the generator often charges O (zero ) and often moves up. But gladly never discharge . Is that how it goes ? I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR THE HELP !!! HOPE TO SEE YOU AT HERSHEY AND EVEN NOT GETTING TO KNOW YOU PERSONNALLY, IM SURE WE ARE GONNA PASS BY EACH OTHER AND JUST SAY HI ! THANKS AGAIN FOR THE FRIENDSHIP !

Well, glad you got it running!

The oil pressure and genreator output are partly dependent on engine speed, so at low speeds you with have less oil pressure than at higher speeds till it reaches its' max. I cannot remember the specs for your car, but maybe around the 35 psi range driving at 35-40 mph is normal. Others will probally chime in with better info. Also the grade of oil makes a difference in oil pressure. Give the baby a fresh oil change, likely 30 grade is correct, but I'm not positive. Cold pressure will usually be higher than hot, especially at idle. Also, sometimes the guages can be inaccurate, if you have serious concerns you would need to check it with a properly calibrated guage. Likely you don't need to go that far though. Cold start oil pressure will be high, and as it warms up it will drop back, the main thing is that you do have oil pressure, especially hot. If it were to go to near zero hot, while driving, you likely have worn bearings. Even if you are just a bit under spec., you should be fine for normal driving. Using the next higher grade of oil will help in this situation. Put fresh oil in it and give us some more info, when you can.

The charge rate depends on engine speed, regulator cutout settings, and how much the battery is depleted. Just after starting, it will be high, near the max side of the guage if its' working right, and will drop back to the middle position after a few minutes. At slow engine speeds, it won't charge much, even if it needs it, but will go higher when you speed up. Sounds like yours is working properly. As long as it charges, that's good, but if it keeps charging hard, for a long time, it might mean the reglator isn't working properly, unless the battery is very low.

Hope that this helps a bit.

Keith

Howdy partners ! yes , the weekend is over and we ended up on a positive way . Checked the batt. and it was dead dead. Got a new one , connected and no buzzing sound coming from the voltage reg. . Everything went well ! But a few question marks from the ride ... Going around 25 to 35 mph i notice my oil pressure at 15 pounds ! As i step on gas i can see it going up . But isnt 15 too low ? Also the generator often charges O (zero ) and often moves up. But gladly never discharge . Is that how it goes ? I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR THE HELP !!! HOPE TO SEE YOU AT HERSHEY AND EVEN NOT GETTING TO KNOW YOU PERSONNALLY, IM SURE WE ARE GONNA PASS BY EACH OTHER AND JUST SAY HI ! THANKS AGAIN FOR THE FRIENDSHIP !

Everything sounds normal to me, there are many varyables when you own something old,but I would say your good to go. remember (Eight in a row makes em go)

Actually, it is not an ammeter, Buick calls it a charge indicator. If you compare the dash "amps" gage to a real ammeter you'll see the difference. At least that is so with my "38. As long as the battery stays charged and the "amps" dont go negative when you turn the lights on, you are OK.

As far as the low oil pressure - Buicks are notorious for that. The fix is drop the pan and remove rod and main bearing shims to get proper bearing clearances - good time to clean the pan too.

I'd back Don up on that.

Cheers

Grant

Well Don , actually now i see the amps go down quickly and stay at 0 when i turn the lights on ! So mainly when i turn the lights on they are not charging.

It is probably working fine. That means the battery is fully charged and doesent need any juice. If it werent working right the "amps" would stay negetave with the lights on. That meter can be very confusing. Dont worry... Yet

Thanks very much for all the help ! Im taking the car for a quick drive every other day , just to enjoy the last fewwarm days in jersey.