[burningsquirrels]

SO... after a few months i changed the oil in the nova and tried to start 'er up. the starter just clicked, so after some troubleshooting i decided it was a bad starter and i replaced it.

i put the new starter in and check the gap using the metal rod. it's gapped correctly. i go to start the nova with a second optima battery hooked up via jumper cables. the starter just kept clicking.

so, i know it's not a weak battery. the starter is installed good, so that can't be it either.

i checked the cables with a multimeter, connections are good reading a straight up 12.58 volts. the red cable goes straight to the starter, and the negative goes straight to the cylinder head, and a test light shows a good connection as well.

i removed the spark plugs (well, 7 of 8 coz i can't find my low clearance spark plug removal tool) and i put some oil in each cylinder, and it still wouldn't start.

i undid the clutch cooling fan and crankpulley and tried to turn the motor over by hand. it turned as easy as it ever did.

i tried starting it again, the starter just clicks. dang!

so, the electrical should be good, starter seems to be installed ok, and the motor turns just as good as it did the day i rebuilt it.

any ideas, anyone?

 

[wskaiser]

Sounds to me like the starter solenoid is gone. The click is from the solenoid pulling in but not making a good contact to send the voltage thru to the starter windings.

 

[the FLYER]

i agree it could be the solenoid, but check the wire connections on it first... just in case they're loose...

 

[1975ssnova]

Bad Connections , Check The Ground Strap On The Head.wire Brush All Connections.

 

[kceb10]

try running a ground directly to the starter case and see if it works it may not be grounded good enough to turn it over

 

[burningsquirrels]

two solenoids in a row though?

yeah, the wires are tight...

i don't know how they internally work. is the solenoid jsut a really big relay?

 

[1975ssnova]

You need to remove all wires and wire brush them. This happened to me before'After my car sat over the winter.Wires were tight but were corroded underneath.so they had bad connection.Usually it is the ground. Take off battery connections and clean them also.

 

[72GreenRally]

The problem is a connection, as the others have already said, or a low battery. One thing I saw that may be getting overlooked is you said you hooked the second optima battery up with jumper cables. You should either charge the battery in the Nova, or put the optima in it to get it started. 99% of jumper cables are junk. They don't have the ability to carry enough amperage to start an engine that has a low or dead battery. IMO they are just a way to charge the battery in the car enough to get it to start while wasting the gas of the car charging the battery for you!

Randy (charge the battery and clean the connections!!)

 

[burningsquirrels]

that other post was actually in response to the first post. i got hung up on the phone (hopefully buying an 01 ss camaro ) and i realized i didn't hit reply until much later lol...

yeah i've got the neg. batt cable going to the cylinder head accessory bolt hole with a star washer.. i'll take that apart and brush it up tomorrow. we'll see what happens. it's supposed to hit 80 degrees for the first time, much warmer than the ice cold we've been having all winter. i can't wait to get this thing out on the road! it's been since last october ! <gasp!>

http://web.njit.edu/~gag0046/gogo_nova.zip

 

[1975ssnova]

You may need to take off wires on starter and batt and clean them also.

 

[JR]

The wiring has to be the culprit. They can get a glaze on the connectors that looks OK but will not conduct the current. Clean em all off with a file or wire brush.
I bet it starts

 

[65 Post]

I agree it could be a low battery. Had that happen once. Didn't have enough juice to push the bendix out. Also, do you have alum or steel heads? Alum is not a good place for a ground. COLD in Georgia? I'll trade you any day of the week. Dave

 

[Custom Jim]

I had to start the company jeep the other day and when I went out to it I left the door open and the dome light was dim and I tried starting it. Nothing but a clicking starter and when I tried cranking it over the dome light went off. I knew the battery was down (you can also turn on the headlights at night to see how the battery voltage drops if the vehicles dome light does not work) so I grabbed another battery and used some el-cheapo jumper cables that were inside the truck and it did the same thing. I then ran an extension cord out the the jeep and put on a 10A battery charger. After about a half hour I tried it again and it cranked over slow but I got it running.
The problem with this one, and probably yours, was a low battery and with you jumping it the cables you used they might not have been the best like the ones I used. You also have to think that a dead battery hooked to a good battery and then with trying to start it has the jumper battery trying to bring the voltage back up in the dead battery AND start the vehicle's engine so now this jumper battery is asked to do two things and this jumper battery cannot put all of it's juice directly to the starter.
I've seen it a lot jumping cars through the years and by putting on the cables, letting the discharged battery become somewhat charged and then trying to start the engine works better than just hooking up the cables and trying to start it.
I would also look at the connections. On the jeep this one had the one dollar ends on both cables going to the battery and they clamp onto the wire and on this one you could see that the wires were corroded. Ideally if yours is like this put new ends on the wire after cutting back into uncorroded wire starnds and then crimp and soler on the terminals.
Jim

 

[burningsquirrels]

cleaned the neg. batt cable and tightened it up as it was a little loose... then slapped in a new optima. BAM. i've never seen the motor crank so fast. ever.