Hard starting ?

[CtownRunner]

Got my car last Dec 03. Sat a long time before I got it, but fired up well enough after electric pump ran a little.

Battery would go dead but checked out ok and charged up. I figure I have a short somewhere but have not found it yet. I have a disconnect switch on the batery so it will not drain when not in use.

Alternater was not putting out enough and was replaced with a new belt.

Lately it cranks over but may not fire up right away or at all. Swaped battery from by small block conversion van with same effect. Both batteries are 850 CC amps. The van fires right up with its battery.

Do I need a higher amp battery. What does everyone have in there big blocks to start it?

When I put jumpers on it from a running car it lights up instantly! Once it starts it runs strong and steady. No problem driving it at all.

This is frustrating! Any ideas I'm getting ready to put it up for the winter but want to have a reliable driver when I wake it up in spring again.

Thanks,
Chris
CtownRunner

[road chicken]

Mopars.... with electrical gremlins??? Never happen

Batteries nowadays last maybe 7 years because they are made with lead oxide instead of lead. If they get full drained- even less, and have less ability to recover fully. If it's questionable, ( less than 13.5v 24 hours after being charged ) replace it. It will show 12-13.5 volts UNTIL you drop a load on . Then it will drop to 10v or so,( IE a dead cell). and it will sound like the car is cranking through cold molassass, or the dreaded clicking starter.

Next assuming the battery is good- check the connections for corrosion and that they are snug. A loose,dirty, or poor connection drops voltage faster than a fat chick on a bucket barbeque wings. This goes for the negative side also. If those are ok thers MAY be a internal problem with the started,( Partially shorted, bad shoes in the motor- ). This would possibly explain the battery draining. But anything not running through a positive ON/OFFswitch for power could be culprit. When you hook up the second battery,( jump starting) your adding a lot of extra power in amperage- that is able to cover up a voltage drop. I wonder- how does it start with the electrical fuel pump not running? I know it won't run for long, but that might be a source of V drop also.- if it is, you may need to put that on circuit that is "ON" during "run" but not during "crank"

Good luck, these sorts of things are never fun to trace down. Hope this helps.

[PaulRR72]

I would say bad groun. this would put a large power source needed to turn it over and slow or almost stop the charging capacity. if starts good with a boost, it's getting the necessary ground thru the cables. ground wire from the body to the engine would be where I would check. it's usually either at the back right of the engine or front left and bolted to one of the intake bolts or into the head. also check the wire itself. could be tight but corroded or loose in it's own ends.

[CtownRunner]

Thanks for the input. I just happen to be cleaning the fire wall a little a few days after my first post and I took off the ballast resistor and had 3 new ones so I put one on and tossed out the old. It has started great ever since!

Ctown