Guest Ansis42 Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Hello all, I have a 1980 Buick LeSabre with a 4.9L 301 V8. I am working out the kinks after replacing both head gaskets. I am experiencing a very strange issue lately. I attempted to start it up one day. The engine cranked VERY slowly. But then out of nowhere, through some miracle, it started right up. I let it run for a while, and drove it around my neighborhood. I turned off the engine, then immediately tried starting it up again. Again, the engine cranked VERY slowly. This time, however, it never actually started. I figured the battery was dead or dying. I thought this was odd because this was a brand-new battery. So, I bought myself a multi-meter, and tested out the battery. It had almost a full charge at about 12.5. So, I thought that was weird. I figured I'd test for a short. The multi-meter indicated there was no draw at all at -0.00. So then, after proving that the battery was fine, I figured I'd try to start it up again. It cranked nearly perfectly (only a tiny-bit slow), and started right up. Let it run for a while, then turned off the engine. Again, I immediately tried starting it up again. Again, it cranked VERY slowly, and never actually started. So......starter?Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 It is usually one of two things(1) Bad connection.....which could be at the battery, starter, or ground..... possibly a defective cable. (2) Bad starter...often bad brushes or broken brush spring. Start by checking all the connections between the battery and starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Phillips Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I owned a 1979 LeSabre with the 4.9 or 301 V-8 for 14 years. Every three years, almost like clockwork, the starter would begin to drag and within a few days it would completely quit and not crank the car. I think the car had 4 different starters in the 14 years that I owned it. It's a small starter motor, maybe too small for the engine--that's just my guess, or maybe it is too close to the heat of the exhaust pipe. Anyway, I am convinced that there is some sort of design flaw in the 301 V-8s with regarding the starter motors. Replace it with a new or rebuilt one.Pete Phillips, BCA #7338Leonard, Texas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 I owned a 1979 LeSabre with the 4.9 or 301 V-8 for 14 years. Every three years, almost like clockwork, the starter would begin to drag and within a few days it would completely quit and not crank the car. I think the car had 4 different starters in the 14 years that I owned it. It's a small starter motor, maybe too small for the engine--that's just my guess, or maybe it is too close to the heat of the exhaust pipe. Anyway, I am convinced that there is some sort of design flaw in the 301 V-8s with regarding the starter motors. Replace it with a new or rebuilt one.Pete Phillips, BCA #7338Leonard, TexasI would vote that the heat from the exhaust was the problem. There was probably a shield that should have been there that might have been removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest buickkuhn Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 You replaced the head gaskets : maybe the starter was stressed out from hydraulic lock or not starting issue before fixing . That could be a factor also . If you can get a helping hand put positive test lead on starter then negative on battery - then crank engine (this will show zip then low amps cranking {bad starter} or it will be 11 volts or above will be the perfect world {good starter} ) .I test a lot of the newer vortec's GMs with a snap on computer and voltage while cranking is low with new battery is a bad starter - sometimes even causing needing to be jump started with a good battery is another effect. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 The minimum voltage on a 12 volt system that the battery should have when cranking is 9.6 volts. Anything less and the battery is bad or very discharged. And even then I would consider a new battery. I would say that you would usually have about 10.5-11.5 volts when cranking the engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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