I have a 1966 Mustang and have been having troubles with the starter. The parts store said it takes 250+ amps to engage the starter. Is this correct? I do not see where the battery would produce this many amps. The parts store also said there is another starter I could get that uses fewer amps, would this fix my problem? My problem started with my coil post exploding and burning the wires from the coil to the firewall and back to the solenoid. I have replaced this wiring harness and I am thinking about replacing the ignition wires under the dash. I have jumped across the solenoid to send current from the battery directly to the start, bypassing the ignition, and the start will still not engage. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ort4

 

Cranking amps for most starters is somewhere in the 80 amp range. I would take the starter off and take it to have tested at a parts store, and also pick up a new solenoid.

 

Soaring.. this is my forth new starter I have gotten, all from different stores. All of the starters would engage at the store, but will not engage off my battery or any other battery I have tried. I used a battery charger capable of 225 amps and it still would not engage. The last parts store said it took 250, which I think is b/s. The solenoid is new and I have jump the posts, taking it out of the equation all together. I have checked all grounds and even added a ground directly off of the starter to the firewall. I am at the point of getting really really ticked off and I believe I have tried everything there is to try to get the dang thing to turn over. Any other suggestions?

 

get you car and put it into Neutral and then roll it back or forward about a foot then try to start

 

well for starters (no pun intended) there are three terms you need to be aware of..

CCA - A performance rating for automobile starting batteries. It is defined as the current that the battery can deliver for 30 seconds and maintain a terminal voltage greater than or equal to 1.20 volts per cell, at 0degrees Fahrenheit (-18Celsius), when the battery is new and fully charged - This is probably the number the auto parts store was referring to
Amps - The strength of a electrical current measured in amperes
Amp Hours - One amp of electrical current flowing for one hour. Expresses the relationships between current (amps) and time. The Amp Hour rating tells you how much amperage is available when discharged evenly over a 20 hour period.

Now back to your problem. When you arc across the starter solenoid, do you get a click or anything from the starter? If not, I'd start with your grounding points. You may have a loose or bad ground strap. After that take a look at the battery cables themselves. A lot of times they are corroded from teh inside and you can't see that. You can use a volt meter to make sure the starter is seeing 12.5-12.75 volts and also check teh resistance in wire. I don't remember what a good number is but a quick search on the net should give you what is considered allowable for the Ohm resistence per foot of cable.

 

OK, if the starter checks out at the store, and your battery is good, and you have good cables that are grounded well, then I would suspicion the flexplate and starter aren't matching somehow so that the starter is binding up. First, make damn sure you have the correct starter. Then, take the starter out, and manually turn the engine over a few times. If you have a boogered flex plate cog or two, maybe this will get it passed those. Then put the starter back in and try it again.
If you still don't get any reaction from the starter, then get a multi-meter and hook it up to the connection at the starter, then have someone try to start it and see if you are getting juice to the starter. If not, then you may have a corrosion problem inside the cable that you can't see.

 

I would still say that it is an ground issue. I had that issue last week after changing cables and the starter. I tried to jump the silenoid etc and got nothing. I ended up taking an wire brush wheel to the ground bolt on the engine and took the bolt out and cleaned it Obsessively good. after I hooked everything back up, she cranked over like an champ. just take an test light and check the silenoid to make sure you are getting juice to the other side. if not, I hate to be a broken record but it sounds like an bad ground.