Hello, I've got a '74 Buick Estate wagon with a rebuilt 455 and transmission and the darn seat belt starter interlock. Was drivin along feelin' good as the was car running great....when out of the blue I hear a loud "bang" shortly after starting it and then a high-pitched whining sound. I pull over and think for sure the motor's blown but everything looks fine, motor's cool, but motor won't turn over. Battery is only 3 days old. Flat bed time. Mechanic says starter and /or ignition switch is bad. I did read there are fuseable links but it seems like the solenoid must have engaged the starter while driving. Why would this happen? A short in starter switch? I'm guessing I now need to: (1) check switch and wires for shorts, (2) pull the starter, (3) check flywheel teeth, (4) shim? install (new) starter Other ideas? What am I missing? Any and all ideas are much appreciated!
Do you have interior power? If so, your fusible link is OK. Why was the battery replaced? Maybe this new one had a loose terminal and sparked the bang you heard. That would also explain not starting.
Thanks Steve! Interior power does work. Good to know that links are ok. Replaced the battery due to car sitting for too long and it went bad. I did check the terminals (bolt on type) and they looked fine. Bang sounded mechanical to me.
Thanks Jim, I appreciate your thoughts and I did check that to see if the battery itself shorted - you are right - that could happen with terminals, especially with them on the side of battery. But battery is secure.
Sounds like the solenoid fried and engaged. Probably cooked the starter too. The solenoid can fail because of any number of reasons, the biggest being filth, loose connections, arcing out on another post as the insulation burns off, I would suggest you climb underneath and have a look at the wiring to the starter; - check out the sleeve that the wires are encased in too, the one that runs in between the motor mount and the block. I've had that fry and then you'd be surprised what cooks and what doesn't.
I think your mechanic is right. I suspect the starter drive engaged while the engine was running. This could be from either a shorted S wire to the starter or an ignition switch being bad or even a mechanical problem in the starter itself. The mechanic is covering anything he thinks could have caused the problem. If it was a mechanical problem in the starter, it could be a broken yoke, a broken collar on the drive, a broken retaining clip on the armature shaft or the pivot pin of the yoke fell out. At this point the only thing in the starter that could be verified as the problem is the missing pivot pin as the other possibilities may occur after the fact as well as being the cause.
