The Dodge Challenger Message Board

Dave, I hope this problem is similar to Caledon's.

I just got my car back two weeks ago with rebuilt 318 and 4-speed. It now has a new ministarter and new positive and negative cables. Ignition is the Mopar electronic ignition which I put in a few years ago.

The car ran great every day for a week and started immediately (the new starter is far superior to the original).

The car sat for a week. This weekend I decided to add a small connector to the positive side post on the battery; this would provide a better connection for the electric fan (I just used an alligator clip before). I added the connector (it clamps in place with the terminal bolt) and tried to start the car. Nothing.

I have power to the lights but nothing is getting to the starter (apparently) - it is not making any noise. I checked the battery two ways - my voltmeter guage reads at 10 and drops when turning the iginition. I used a multimeter too and it reads 12.46 - that makes me think the battery is OK. I tried to start with my portable booster anyway and nothing - the starter still does not crank. At this point, I do not know about power to the coil.

Note: I am not sure if I could hear the starter solenoid activating. I checked this morning and I do not hear it.

The only other things I did when adding that battery clamp are these:

I took out the battery and cleaned it, placing it on the garage floor for a few minutes.

I disconnected a green wire running from the starter relay to the firewall - I am thinking this may go to the transmission. I reconnected the wire after running it through a cable tie - it has a bullet type connector. I checked it twice and it seems to be properly connected.

The starter relay is brand new and all connections look good - also clean.

I would appreciate any ideas - meanwhile I will look at the wiring diagram.

Thanks
Duane

These mini starters have their terminals very close to the block. You sure you are not shorting something out there?

Try disconnecting the battery and running a continuity test (resistance) on all the wires, making sure nothing is shorted to earth that shouldn't be.

Dave,

Thanks for the rapid answer; I will check tonight.

Duane

I think if you just short out the starter-relay contacts that pull in the starter motor solenoid with a screwdriver ... you'll notice immediately if the starter starts turning over. These are the two larger nuts on the starter-relay itself. If that works then my guess is that the ground wire from the starter relay (the left most one on mine, at the bottom) is floating ... due to a faulty or disconnected transmission-park sensor. You can bypass this by unhooking the starter-relay ground wire and jumping the ground terminal directly to ground. If it starts ok, then your park sensor has probably fallen off the transmission. It is a small black three pronged affair that plugs in right near the armature that connects the shifter linkage to the trans ... on the transmission itself. If when grounded, it still won't start ... it's something in your ignition, that goes to the hot (right bottom) terminal of the starter relay. Good luck !!!

i know it sounds stupid but make sure the car is in `p` or `n` on the shifter.

Guys,

Thanks for the help - however this is a 4-speed.

The problem was a dead battery. I was confused on this by three things:

First, I had 12 volts at the battery, so I assumed I had power. But the starter would not turn.

Second, my portable power booster, fully charged, would not turn the starter either. It had always worked before (although on other cars).

Finally, I had disconnected the clutch safety switch wire near the starter relay - the wire has a factory bullet connection. I did this just to reroute the wire, but I thought later that I might have broken the plug (I had). I thought that this would prevent starting the car like the neutral safety switch on an automatic. It would, but ONLY if the clutch pedal was up. Since I depressed the clutch pedal to start, this was not the issue whether the wire was broken or not.

A coworker taught me a trick to test the battery for amperage, not voltage - turn on all lights in the car, including high beam, and hit the horn. He said if the battery was good, I would get a loud and sustained sound. If not, the battery would be dead. When I performed this test, the battery failed. I brought it into the local parts store and they said it was indeed dead. They also said that the portable booster would not be able to start a battery as dead as this.

The battery was about 5 years old and had sat, with the car or on the shelf, for long periods. I am hoping age and lack of use were the culprits in draining it, and not something else, like a bad ground. The car started flawlessly each day for a week (first week of sustained use since the battery was new) - but then died.

All in all, an interesting lesson learned.

Just a note - both battery cables, the ministarter, starter relay, the alternator and voltage regulator are either new or just a few years old. The coil and the ignition is also relatively new; ignition is a Mopar Performance electronic system. However, the engine harness is original and I wonder what gremlins it is hiding...

Duane

Lead/acid batteries like to be kept charged all the time. NEVER leave one standing for long periods without charging it every couple of weeks.

Well in that case, I will just have to drive it tonight!

That's one way to charge it!