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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Electrical => Topic started by: Stepside Billy on September 16, 2016, 12:15:22 PM
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Have a problem with my truck. 1987 G.M.C. 350, all stock. I started her the other day and went to the store. She always took a couple of spins to start. After about a half hour I went to start her and I was greeted with a very slow cranking engine and no start. I put a new battery in her, cleaned the negative ground on the block, got her started and went home. Checked the timing, turned her off and got the same very slow cranking and no start. Has a new starter, new battery, new cables. I also had previously cleaned the grounds in the engine compartment and used dielectric grease on them. What else should I check? Thanks.
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well if you have spark you need fuel also. have you checked for fuel? when you say slow cranking do you mean like instantly it was slow or after a few seconds it slowed down?
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No, instantly just like a very weak battery. I got it to start to get it home.
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Ok you say you have a new starter in it....how long ago did you replace the starter and where did you get the new starter from?
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Starter less than a year old. Got it from Autozone. Bench tested ok but it was not under any kind of load.
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I have never had any luck with electrical items from Autozone or Advance....Very possible it might need a shim if the starter is to tight to the flywheel and it bogs it down.Also if the batt cables are not thick enough it can cause that too....Just because they are new doesn't mean they are the right thickness....especially the positive cable because it runs all the way from the batt to the starter.
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The cables are both 2 gauge. The starter has been working fine for the time I've had it in. I just picked up a remote starter to see if maybe it's the ignition switch. It has been acting up a little. This problem has me baffled as the truck had been running good up to this point.
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whats your voltage when cranking?
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Sounds like heat soak problem with the starter.
Sounds like your eliminating everything else.
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I just went thru this problem with my Impala. I had a new less then 400 miles Jegs mini starter, and due to heat soak from my headers, it ruined the starter. I also had a very expensive Pertronix billet Dizzy with less then 50 miles, and it had a bad cap and rotor. And I had a battery that had around 500 miles on her, and it too had a bad cell. As stated above I had bad luck as well with Autozone, there is a reason why the majority of their electrical parts only come with a 6 month or less warranty, and most at Oreillys are Lifetime. Also double check your timing. Good luck and keep us posted.
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Well as of the last few days I've replaced the starter, battery, and cables and it still cranks over like the battery is very weak. When it was running, I checked the timing and it was good. Went over all the grounds and all were good. I'm running out of ideas where to look next!
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Are you checking the timing with a light and the mark on the balancer? I had this issue with my 86 Olds 307. It cranked beautifully when cold, but behaved like a total heat-soaked mess when hot. I had replaced the starter, cables, and put heat shields on both. Since, according to the mark on my balancer, my timing was correct, I refused to believe this was the problem. I finally gave up and played around with the distributor position a bit, and lo and behold, it was a timing issue. Apparently the ring on the balancer can slip. This has happened in my car and truck. Neither mark shows the correct timing.
Good luck! I know I was pulling my hair out with this one, and whatever your issue is I hope you figure it out easily enough.
Jim
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Are you checking the timing with a light and the mark on the balancer? I had this issue with my 87 Olds 307. It cranked beautifully when cold, but behaved like a total heat-soaked mess when hot. I had replaced the starter, cables, and put heat shields on both. Since, according to the mark on my balancer, my timing was correct, I refused to believe this was the problem. I finally gave up and played around with the distributor position a bit, and lo and behold, it was a timing issue. Apparently the ring on the balancer can slip. This has happened in my car and truck. Neither mark shows the correct timing.
Good luck! I know I was pulling my hair out with this one, and whatever your issue is I hope you figure it out easily
Jim
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This what has me so baffled. The truck had been running good. It got me to the store and when I went to leave it cranked over very slowly like a near dead battery. I put a new battery in, messed around with it, not sure what I did but I got it started and went home. Hasn't started since even after replacing the battery, starter, and the cables it still acts like it has a dead battery but it's new and was tested before I left the store.
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So, even when cold, it won't crank at all?
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Nope.
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Try jumping the solenoid bypassing the starting circuit to see if it will turn over?
Battery, 2 cables and the starter.
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how many grounds do you have. i know you said you cleaned the one on the block but what about the one on the alt bracket? you should have the alt bracket then another from the body to the back of the head then a few more for the frame and front clip
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Starter less than a year old. Got it from Autozone. Bench tested ok but it was not under any kind of load.
I'm a little unclear, is the starter a year old or did you just replace it again with a different starter and have the same issue?
What is the voltage at the battery when trying to crank, also check it using the engine as the ground and see how big of a difference there is.
If you have 10.2 or better when cranking slow, my money is on the windings have shorted inside the starter creating a less powerful magnet when energized. This would allow it to crank slow but bench test ok.
Another thing, if the cable or connections ever turned blue as a result of overheating the cables, change them out, they will not pass the amps the same as copper colored ones, they turn into a point of resistance.
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I have the negative ground from the battery to the alt bracket and to the firewall which are new. I have the ground from the engine to the firewall, and the ground from the frame to the body. All are good. AZ4X4SQBDY I did get another starter yesterday but I still have the same problem. It cranks over slow like the battery is very weak but everything is new and charged. All replaced within the last 3 days.
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Ok......
I would still like to see what the battery volts are when cranking. Does trying to jump start it make it crank faster?
When you say it cranks slow, is it a steady slow crank or does it crank, stop, crank, stop like it has too much initial timing?
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I had a battery charger on it and it didn't help. It cranks slow, stops and cranks slow again. Timing was good when I checked it before it died. Jump starting made no difference.
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What is the voltage at the battery while cranking? Did you check to make sure your alternator is not seized up?
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I had a battery charger on it and it didn't help. It cranks slow, stops and cranks slow again. Timing was good when I checked it before it died. Jump starting made no difference.
This still makes me think it might have something to do with the timing. It really can't hurt, and is such an easy thing to check. Loosen the distributor hold-down bolt and turn it slightly in whichever direction you need to retard the timing. You may need to try several different positions, but at least you will have eliminated this as a possibility. I know how frustrating it was for me, and how I could not wrap my head around how much timing affected cranking. It may not be your issue, but what can it hurt to try?
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That's the thing. When I had it running I checked the timing and it was good, set to stock specs. Turned the truck off and it hasn't started since. And that's with replacing everything.
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Since, according to the mark on my balancer, my timing was correct, I refused to believe this was the problem. I finally gave up and played around with the distributor position a bit, and lo and behold, it was a timing issue. Apparently the ring on the balancer can slip. This has happened in my car and truck. Neither mark shows the correct timing.
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Truck had been starting with no problems before all this went down.
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best thing i could suggest is to start eliminating everything....start with removing # 1 spark and get piston to top dead center and then see where your mark is on the balancer and where the rotor is pointing.....if rotor is pointing to number one or six then the timing is right and then go to electrical.....we all can't guess what it can be put to be able to help better we need a lot of input. :)
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If trying to jump start it and hooking a battery charger to it did not change the way it cranked it's time to look elsewhere. As others have mentioned, loosen the belts and make sure none of the accessories are seized.
I personally had a 92 Sonoma SLE 4x4 that the alternator seized while I was driving, just out of the blue, with no noise. The starter would only click, because the truck was running excellent before it happened I doubted the motor went and the first thing I did while waiting for the flat bed was pull the belt, low and behold, it fired right up.
Place a mark so you know where the original position of the distributor was and try jumping it forward and back a little bit to see it it's in the timing.
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How about just disconnecting the power to the distributer and see if it turns over normal. That will eliminate the timing.
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have you checked to see if your alt is good and spins freely like vile said or got a reading on the battery while cranking like a few of us have asked?
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Not yet. Rained a lot yesterday and had other things to do yesterday. Will be back at it soon.
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Fixed it! After checking and cleaning all the grounds, I came home tonight and for shits and grins I moved the negative cable to a spot on the upper alternator bracket. dang it she didn't start right up! I had checked that ground before so I thought it was ok. Thank you all for the replies!!
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Congrats!
8)
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Glad to hear it!