cranking 1936 engine (bad battery or bad starter)???

[throwback]

I am needing your help! I have kept my battery on a trickle charger, When I press on the floor switch to start the engine, Nothing happens. The starter does not engage or make a sound. I have put jumper cables to a fresh battery to the one in the car and it will make an attempt at starting to move the starter but that is all. I have pulled all the plugs and was able to easily turn the engine over. I put the plugs back in and again nothing happens. Is it the battery or the starter or something else? Looking for some input????

Thanks

Throwback

[Hoop]

Obviously bad connections. All must be really good ... INCLUDING a ground cable from the firewall ground point to the engine(oops, '36). The engine is easily isolated if not properly grounded.

[4dFord/SC]

Also, make sure you have proper 6v cables (00 gauge), and not the smaller 12v ones.

[Barry WNY]

I don't feel the switch is reliable, same with recently manufactured dimmer switches. Had a miserable experience with a Farmall Cub trying to make a perfectly good starter turn a perfectly good motor with a perfectly good battery. Sparks smoke & everything, made parts to make it work, for what it gets used I would go with the crank. I say use jumpers or somehow bypass the switch, doesn't take much to crank it should not be much draw unless it's jammed.

[jimTN]

Barry is right. Go direct to the starter with a jumper cable while the plugs are out and to one of the head bolts with the other jumper cable. If the starter turns fine, you can back track to fix things. I had to extend the switch lever on my cub giving it more leverage to get it to make good contact.

[41 Fords ohio]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Could also be the solenoid,might want to check it also.

[flatheadernie]

Lawson had the same problem , groung wire on the switch was the cure!

[richard crow]

stop guessing put a volt meter with a load test on the batt if you don,t have one take the batt to sears or pep boys or any store like that they check them for free

[PeteVS]

Sears used to sell a simple starter / generator amp meter that was just held over the wire. Perhaps they or someone else still has it. You can very easily check the current draw on your starter. Generally, if it's over 100 amps or so, it will need a freshening up. The other thing to do is put a volt meter directly on the battery posts when cranking. If there isn't too much drop, check to see if there's a drop from each of the battery posts to the cable terminal that's clamped to it. OK? Check from the battery post to the OPPOSITE end of the corresponding cable. If you have a bad connection, it should show up on one of these checks while cranking.

[Henryat1140]

<Soapbox Mode = ON>

The stock 36 Ford starting system is more than adequate for the job. What it ABSOLUTELY needs is good crud-free, tight, shiny connections. The important joints to examine are:

Ground Circuit

1. The battery cables/posts. Here you need clean tight contact. Just tightening the battery cable bolts is often not enough - you should remove the cable, and using a wire brush and emery paper clean the mating surfaces. reattach and wiggle the cables and verify they are securely installed.

2. The next most crucial connection is where the positive cable attaches to ground. Originally this was a cable from the battery to a bolt on the universal joint, but you can relocate the end of the cable to a nearby hole in the x member of the frame. Use an abrasive pad or emery paper to ensure the the connection is hospital clean and shiny, and secure the cable so the terminal end makes maximum contact with the metal frame. This ensures the frame and anything connected to it is at ground potential.

3. Next you want to make sure the engine and the frame are electrically connected. You can run a cable from one of the right hand bell housing bolts over to a nearby hole on the frame on the passenger's side. Again shiny and tight are important. Clean both the bell housing and the frame where the cable attaches. You can use a ground strap for this (Macs or C&G supply) or even a heavy gauge wire 10 gauge or so with appropriately sized terminal ends.

These three steps are the foundation of a well performing 6 volt electrical system. Without them, i.e. a good ground throughout you will never get the rest of the system to work well.


'Hot' side

1. Check the negative battery cable and terminal for cleanliness and tightness as described above.

2. The starter switch has two terminal connections. Take each one loose and using a wire brush or emery paper, clean the cable ends and the terminal posts. Reattach securely.

3. The last link in the chain is the connection to the top of the starter. Again, same old refrain, clean shiny and tight.

You may think these steps are tedious, but it costs nothing to do this, and will eliminate much of the troubles associated with the 6 Volt system, slow cranking, dim lights, low starting endurance to mention a few. It is my opinion that until you have performed this sequence of steps, you really have not done what is necessary to move on to the next step, diagnosing whether a component has failed.

Although this is specifically responding to a 36 starting problem, it is equally relevant for ANY 6 volt electrical problem, and any brand of automobile. Electrical problem? Check the connections first; CLEAN, SHINY and TIGHT!!!

You must also have a well charged and healthy 6 Volt battery to begin with. And as another poster mentioned, be sure you have 6 volt cables, not cables for 12 volt systems, also you need to look closely to see the cables are not a small diameter gauge wire with a heavy insulation.

<Soapbox mode = OFF>

I'm sorry to run on like this, but we get recurring questions about electrical problems, and if there is a post like this describing the preliminary steps, we can simply refer new posts to this one.

Other contributions, or opinions welcomed.

Henry

[broderchamp]

The other day I tried to start my 49 pickup with no luck. It did turn over, but not very fast. I felt the battery terms and the neg was really hot. I cleaned the cable and the post and it started right up. Everything has to be correct. Right size cables and clean connections. Make sure all nuts are tight on the starter and the rest of the circut.

[Junknshit]

Everything that Henryat1140 says is very good advice for any volt electrical system. One more ground strap that I add is body to frame. Body mount bolts don't always become good conductors of electricity. Bad connections can lead to early failure of some parts. A bad ground can cause a lot of crazy things to happen electrically, and a bad connection, negative or positive can cause enough heat to start a fire. Clean and tight connections are so easy and so cheap.

[Erik the Awful]

The ground cables are absolutely critical. 12Volt systems are more tolerant of poor grounding, but 6Volt systems require a perfect ground. The reason is obvious--less static pressure on the connections. If you are using a DC generator, a poor ground will ruin it. Be certain there is no paint or rust at ANY grounding connection. If your ground cable is insulated, not bare braid, be certain sulfates have not destroyed the cable inside the insulation.

[throwback]

Thanks to all who replied. I pulled the battery and had it charged. The auto parts stores that I checked could not tell me if the battery was good beyond a full charge. I cleaned the battery terminals removing all corrosion and sprayed battery cleaner and corrosion preventive spray. Installed and tightened the connection to the battery. I then tightened the connections to the floor starter button and tightened the cable at the starter terminal. That took car of the problem, It starts!

Thank you!

[ford38v8]

throwback, glad you got it covered, but just a comment here... just tightening connections will correct the problem now, but those connections will soon oxidize again, and the problem will return. All connections, including bullets, should be disconected, cleaned, protectred with dialectric grease, and reassembled. Do the job right and you do it only once.