I've been trying to get my 71 started and I think I tracked down most of the issues. I had to replace the fuse links at the starter and I've tested or replaced the ignition cylinder, neutral switch and ignition switch and it's all good. I hooked it to my truck(car battery is dead) so I was sure I had enough juice and verified 14.2 volts at the fuse box. Hit the key and it turns over sloooooooowwwwwwly. It ran when I got it last year so I think the timing is OK. I suppose it could be just seized from sitting but I've had cars sit longer than this and fire up so I'm on the fence with that theory. Any suggestions? I'd really like to move this thing and start working on it.
They are new-ish. I was thinking bad ground maybe. I had the starter out to replace the fuse links. I think I cleaned up the mating surface to ensure a good ground there. I hate tracking down electrical problems.
I guess I'll have to swap the battery out of the truck. I was trying to cheat by running jumper cables to the Riv but I guess I'm not going to get the amps to kick it over. I'll report back when it's done. p
Well...back to the drawing board. I installed the battery today and all I get is a sickening clicking noise like every relay in the car goes crazy for 3 seconds and then nothing. It doesn't even try to turn over. I've never run into something like this. I was really hoping to get it started.
If it ran last year and clicks now then the problem could lie with the battery post clamps. I've had these things fail over a winter; they look good, but they seem to crystallize or something stupid and then it either drags or clicks when you hit the key. That's where I would start, particularly if the battery that was in the car is showing signs of leakage or corrosion on the posts. My experience with the standard cheap lead clamps is that they can't be cleaned up, I've used scrapers, cutters, baking soda, you name it; all of those things just seem to buy a little time and then it's shot when you need the car the most. Plus it then helps kill the battery off because it won't charge right and the juice being used is incredible. Next, check the cables. Devon is right when it comes to decomposing cables. They may look good, but they aren't for the same reason the clamps aren't. It just seems to get to a point where it won't conduct electricity and then you're dead. Usually it's the ground that rots out first. If all the copper is green, black or crumbly, there's your problem. This can't be cleaned up; it has to be replaced. After the cables, then go to the starter/solenoid. Here again, anything green means replace, don't even bother to try and clean it. I've taken solenoids apart and cleaned things but it didn't work; it'd fire a couple of times but then the real problem would come back. The real problem is usually a combination of heat, oil, dirt and old age coupled with a bit of moisture caused corrosion or oxidation. I've only had moderate success changing brushes in the starter, usually it's all mica'ed up and and there's heat issues to contend with. It's easier to just get another starter. One other thing to look at; the wiring harness along the side of the block. On Big Block Buicks the harness runs alongside the passenger's side of the block, is somewhat sealed, and tends to pack with dirt, oil and because of the heat tends to split and come apart. I don't know how many of those crappy things I bypassed, re-ran, or just removed altogether over the years. Good luck; let us know what you find...
Starter is a reman. Not sure from who or how old but it looks fairly fresh. When I bought it, the previous owner was jump starting it with a bump start switch tapped into the purple wire in the harness because there was no ignition key. I'm wondering now if there wasn't more to it than that. The new starter seems to imply they were having starting issues as well.
And you removed the "bump" switch and connected the wires back together, correct? Sounds like with everything you did you may still have a wiring issue. Especially seeing that the previous owner had that switch installed. I would look at the wiring from where the "bump" switch was and trace back to your current ignition swutch. You may find a bad connection in the wiring harness. Might be easier to just get a new harness though. You also might want to double check voltages at the starter connections, i.e. battery cable voltage, key on voltage, cranking voltage.
The bump switch was one of those Craftsman models with the alligator clips on the ends. He just "gnawed" a hole in the wire with one of the clips and tied it to power. I have one too but I haven't messed with it too much. Maybe I'll give that a whack.
Well, I cheated again and hooked the cables to my truck and the bump start switch to the purple wire and got the motor to turn. It turned really slowly but I could hear compression blowing out the exhaust manifolds(open) so I pulled all the plugs and it turns over "faster" but maybe not as fast as I'd expect. I'm thinking of just putting a set of plugs in it and see what happens.
You might want to try arching the pos post with the ign post on the solenoid using a flat screw driver, sparks will fly but if it turns over faster there's a wiring problem. I can't tell you how many times I've done it to cut through all the bull. If it still cranks slow then the starter might be bad or the cables aren't getting enough amps to it.
It for sure is getting fuel. You could see it blowing out the plug holes when I cranked it over. Spark is questionable. The plugs were pretty ugly. The points look new though. And I put a new coil in it right after I got it due to one of the posted being cross threaded and nearly ripped out of the coil. Whoever worked on this thing was a maniac. I'll have to crank it over again and ground a plug wire to see if everything is working. I don't get enough time to work on this so I just have to "hit and run" with all these tests. Thanks for all the suggestions guys.
Ugh....put new plugs in and before I tried to start it, I figured I try to fix a little leak from the filter inlet. Put a little turn on the nut and it kept going. Great. Stripped the treads out of the carb. ou: Luckily, I have a spare. I'll probably throw a rebuild kit at it first. I took it off because it seemed like the float was stuck. I'm just guessing by the gas pouring out the top when the motor was running. Any fix for the stripped threads? I like to have spares around. :TU:
