CoronetGuy Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 So I have been working on my 52 dodge coronet, trying to get it ready to cruise to Iowa in May. Few weeks ago I installed a Champion radiator, new water pump, hoses & thermostat. I started the car to check for leaks & to make sure everything was working properly. No issues. I decided then to change the battery cables since they looked to be in poor shape. I had some left over 2 ga wire from my dual battery/ winch install on my 4x4 truck so I ordered some battery terminals from Speedway & got to work. Got the cables made & installed them. I also replaced the cable that goes from the starter solenoid to the starter. When I went to start the car it would only turn over like 1/2 a turn & then stop. Released the key and tried again. Same thing. Checked voltage of the battery and it reads just over 6 volts. Thought maybe we screwed up a cable or something so I just went and put all the old cables back on. It still does the same thing. Am I missing something here? Has anybody had a similar experience? After work today I'm going to put the charger on the battery just in case (battery is pretty new) clean all the connections real good and put new star washers on everything. The car is still 6 volt positive ground. I have a cable going from + battery terminal to the cylinder head (with a star washer). The - terminal cable goes to the starter solenoid. Then another cable from starter solenoid (with star washer) to the top of the starter. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_shel_ny Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 For maximum electrical surface contact be sure to place the star washer between the cable and the nut, not the cable and the surface to which it connects. The function of a lock washer is to keep things tight, not to provide a connection. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldguy48 Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 You might try monitoring the voltage at the starter when it's cranking. Then do the same at the starter side of the solenoid. Then repeat on the battery side of the solenoid (again, while the engine is trying to crank). Then do the same at the battery's negative post. Those voltages should be close to the same. If all looks OK there, take a voltage measurement from the positive post of the battery, to the engine block. (again while the engine is trying to crank). Here you should see practically zero voltage. If you get a voltage reading here of more than a volt or so, your ground cable is suspect. When you're only working with 6 volts, it takes a bunch of current (amps) to crank your engine over. And resistance(i.e. bad connection or too small cables) anywhere in the circuit equals less voltage to the starter. You were smart to use star washers at your connections. Let us know when you track down your problem. It's sure to help out someone else here. Good luck! Wayne 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldguy48 Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) After re-reading your post, it seems to me that your battery cables are kinda light for the current they have to deliver to the starter. I'm sure someone will jump in here about the cables, but 2/0 AWG or even bigger would be a better choice. Wayne Edited March 9, 2015 by Oldguy48 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) what is the core thickness and rating of the cable used..is it thin strand or coarse stranded wire? coarse stranded 2/0 copper is only 19 conductors..if so it is rated only at 195 amps and you will be needing 300 amp capacity Edited March 9, 2015 by Plymouthy Adams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Also insure that the battery posts are clean. Use sand paper and make them shiny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoronetGuy Posted March 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 2/0 gauge is the cable that I am using. Which I believe was the same size as the old cable. The cable from + battery terminal to cylinder head is coarse strand (it's what I had available) The other two cables are fine strand. I'm pretty sure the old cable that I removed was coarse strand. Tonight I will clean up all the connections & charge the battery. Then try and get the car started with the old cables. Then I will swap them out 1 at a time so that I know if one of the new cables is inncorrect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayfarer Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Sounds like a poor connection, old and new parts. How did you attach the terminals on the new cable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoronetGuy Posted March 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Sounds like a poor connection, old and new parts. How did you attach the terminals on the new cable? Battery terminals are the double crimp kind. All others were soldered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldguy48 Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) OK...your original post stated 2 ga. wire, hence my comment about that gauge being too light. And I'm going to toss out something else here, although it might not be related to your problem at all. We just had an issue starting our old John Deere front-end loader. Fully charged battery, cables in good shape, but bitterly cold outside. Even a 200A battery booster wasn't enough to adequately crank it over fast enough. Tried using a heat gun aimed at the starter solenoid. Well, we observed water dripping out of it, and after a good warm-up, it fired right up. Looks like it got moisture inside it, and froze, preventing good solid contact. Again, that tidbit might not be remotely related to your issue, but it came to mind as I read the subsequent posts. Wayne Edited March 9, 2015 by Oldguy48 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_shel_ny Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Good point on the solenoid. Before doing anything else you could try bypassing the solenoid with a heavy jumper, or a solid screwdriver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoronetGuy Posted March 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Thanks for the tip Wayne. It was very cold last night when I tried starting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg g Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Make sure both connections to the starter solenoid are good and tight. Also make sure the connection to the starter is clean and tight. Next time you crank it have an assistant check for heat being generated at any of the connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoronetGuy Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Well, I got it started. Charged the battery for awhile. Took off all the old cables again and cleaned everything very thoroughly with a wire brush. Put it all back together and she started on the 2nd try. Engine wasn't running quite right but I was just happy it started. I then went back and replaced 1 old cable at a time with the new ones I made. In between each cable I would start the car. Each time it started up. After farting around under the hood for a good 30 minutes or so, I finally realized I left out the plug in the intake manifold. I was also in the process of hooking up a vacuum operated dash fan and totally forgot that I didn't put that plug back in. D'oh! Thanks for the help guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldguy48 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Glad to hear you were victorious in your battle!! And the plug in the intake manifold?.....HaHa.....I'll bet most of us here could share a similar experience of a goof we've made. Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 (edited) If you think the car is still trickling off battery power while parked, you can always add one of these battery cutoff switches to turn off the system power. Edited March 10, 2015 by BobT-47P15 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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