Strange electrical problem

[Capsacto]

Hi guys, my 37 deluxe was fully restored to factory stock in 2007 including the correct wiring. I've had the car for 9 months and no electrical issues. The other day I went to start it and I got nothing when I pushed the start button. I toggled the ignition switch a few times and the amp gauge never moved. I figured I had a bad ground somewhere, maybe a dead starter, or the battery was dead. Checked the battery, I got 6.3 volts. Turned on the headlights, they are good. Tried to turn the engine over at the starter solenoid, no go. Got my heavy jumper cables and using one lead clamped it directly to the starter lug, and touched the other end of the cable to the negative post on the battery, (I bypassed the entire electrical system to see if the starter was bad), starter worked, it is good. Went back inside the car and turned ignition switch on and now the amp gauge showed the normal draw from the ignition coil. I pushed the button and the car started. Took it for a ride, no problems.
Something caused the starter and ignition circuits to become dead until I connected the starter directly to the battery??? I figure something behind the dash caused this. Is there a fusible link behind the dash? Or should I be looking for a loose wire. It's just weird that getting the starter to turn independendtly kinda reset things back to working. Any ideas? Thanks, and sorry for the long story.

[tubman]

I would guess a bad ground between the starter and the engine. When you hit it with the full power with the jumper cable, it "burned through" the bad ground and made the connection. I would remove the starter and make sure everything is clean and free of paint.

[Barry-ct]

I agree with tubman- Bad ground somewhere.

[37 Cab]

Bad battery connection maybe?

[MDC]

I agree with 37 Cab. Take both battery cables off at both ends, shine up all the parts that touch and reinstall.

[Binx]

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If you heard a click when you pushed the button, then the problem is between the solenoid and starter. If no click, then between starter button and solenoid.

Lonnie

[koates]

As for the amp gauge not moving to a slight discharge when the ignition switch was turned on that would depend on weather the timing contacts are closed or open in the distributer. Depends where the engine stops the last time it was turned off. As for the fault, I would remove both battery terminals and scrub them up inside and out to get bright and shiny surfaces. Also remove the starter switch from the dash panel and clean (file slightly) the inside of the dash hole. If this is a single terminal original ford starter switch it requires an earth or ground onto the dash panel to operate the starter solenoid. Leave it at that and see how it goes. If you do too much then you wont know what fixed the problem. Regards, Kevin.

[Capsacto]

Thanks all you guys for your suggestions and remedies. Binx there was no clicks when button was pushed, so that goes along with koates' suggestions about the starter button and bad grounds. I guess bad grounds bare their ugly heads without warning. Also, I forgot about the ignition contacts having to be closed in order to draw current and show on the amp gauge (thanks koates). I appreciate the knowledge all you guys have and share about these old cars.

[hotcoupe]

i had a similar problem with my `37 half ton. it turned out to be the reproduction battery ground strap, checked it with a multi meter = good, but under load it failed. took me a while to find that one. no one is ever going to call me the "electron wizard".
tom

[Mike51Merc]

Sounds to me like a bad solenoid or a bad switch at the dash.

[G.M.]

The amp gauge not moving indicates ignition switch, battery or ground
connection. If you have an amp draw with the switch on and the starter
button don't work among other things it could be a bad grounding of the
starter button. I have had lots of bad starter switch grounds. There are
two flat spring loaded arms, one at 3 o'clock and one at 9 o'clock. You
can get your fingers on them from behind the dash, squeeze them toward
the center of the switch and the switch comes out from the front. There
are two notches in the dash, clean them with a small file, clean the flat
springs where they come in contact with the dash and put some electrical
grease on the contact area. This will solve the problem. G.M. i

[Capsacto]

G.M. Thanks for the details about the start switch removal and cleaning. As you know, it's not very easy to see the backside of the dash, so now I know how to get the switch out and gunna clean all of the grounds up that have been mentioned.

Thanks again to everybody, you guys are great.

[George/Maine]

I don't think you need the key switch I would guess your problem is the starter lug Taxing that ign sw is not good

[koates]

George/Maine, who mentioned a key switch ?? We are talking about the press button ford original starter switch on the dash panel. And since when has the starter lug ?? taxed the ignition switch. Starter current does not go through the ignition switch. I suggest you proof read what you type before posting an answer and then we might be able to understand your meaning. Punctuation would be nice also. Regards, Kevin.

[George/Maine]

I wasn't sure if the ign sw was wired to stop people from stealing car.
Some of old cars the start button was live all the time. Those ign sw are not very good and don,t need extra amp thur them. understand now

[SuperDave]

It's been posted above but..I can't emphasize this enough. Clean BOTH ends of both cables. I have repaired many electrical problems when the owner had cleaned the battery terminals over and over but not the other ends!

[CaliforniaBorn36]

Could your starter drive been stuck/engaged with the flywheel. Maybe when you were messing with the car, you rocked it a bit and the drive broke loose. I have had that happen before and it seems like you are dead in the water. Put car in gear and rock back and forth, this causes the drive to free up and you are good to go.

[waterboychuck]

Have you tried to jump the starter solenoid?

[Seth Swoboda]

For under dash wiring repairs I have found it easiest to remove the front seat so you can lie down and work easier. It sounds like a lot of effort but the seat comes out in a jiffy compared to aggravating yourself with it still installed and working under the dash. Just a little tip if you like.

[Capsacto]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaBorn36

Could your starter drive been stuck/engaged with the flywheel. Maybe when you were messing with the car, you rocked it a bit and the drive broke loose. I have had that happen before and it seems like you are dead in the water. Put car in gear and rock back and forth, this causes the drive to free up and you are good to go.

I don't think the starter drive was stuck because when I pushed the button nothing clicked or made any type of noise and the amp gauge did not show any current draw at all. I think the gauge would have shown the electrical load if the starter got juice. Your suggestion is well taken in the event of future problems. Thanks for the tip.

Originally Posted by waterboychuck

Have you tried to jump the starter solenoid?

I did try to jump the starter solenoid with no success at the time. I then jumped the starter with a cable connected directly from the battery to the starter, completely bypassing the solenoid. The starter turned over and the original problem was healed. As others have suggested, I believe there was a bad ground somewhere in the battery cables, or as koates and G.M. suggested bad ground on the starter button. I have cleaned all of the battery cables top to bottom, and polished-up the connections on the starter button and cleaned-up the hole in the dash where the button fits. So-far so-good. Thanks again to all!