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Old 08-06-2004, 12:25 PM   #16
95Convert
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Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Murfreesboro, TN
Posts: 123
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Let me start out by apologizing for the long post, but it is necessary.

I have a problem with Leslie’s ’65 fastback that we cannot figure out. Periodically, the car will not turn over, just click when you turn the ignition. First, the setup:

This car has a rear mounted battery. We used 4AWG wire for the ground to the chassis, and the same for the 4 ft length from the battery to the solenoid. The battery is a brand new Optima red-top with a full charge, even under load. It has 910 CCA, so this should not be an issue. The solenoid is new, and the starter is a PowerMaster hi-torque unit intended for cars with 12:1 or greater compression ratios. (The ’65 is 9.3:1)

When the car was first assembled, it seemed like everything seemed fine. The car would started with the AutoZone starter with no problem. Then, one day I went out to start the car and when I turned the ignition switch, all I got was a “clicking” sound. I know what you are thinking, and I did too, low battery or bad connection. I checked all of the connections, which were good, and had the battery checked. It was fully charged. My next guess was the solenoid, but after checking it out, it seemed fine as well. Just in case, I replaced it. Same thing. By now I am frustrated, because I cannot figure out what the problem could be. I finally gave up for the day and pushed the car into the garage.

The next day, I pulled the starter off the car to get it checked, and lo and behold, it was bad. AutoZone switched it out for a good one at no cost, and I thought my problem was solved. Wrong. I put the new starter on an the same thing happened. Knowing that the battery, starter and solenoid were good, I was dumbfounded. At this point, I decided to do some things under the car and take some time to think about the problem. I pushed the car around in the garage a little before putting it up on jack stands and worked under the car for awhile, checking all of my bolts and hardwre to see if any had worked loose. While I was under the car, I re-checked the cable running from the battery to the solenoid to ensure that it had not worn through and was grounding out anywhere. It was good, as so was the ground cable.

After getting the car back on the ground, I pushed it back over to its resting place. On a whim, I decided to try to start the car again. To my surprise, it turned over and started up with no problem. Okay, now I am thoroughly confused. I had done nothing at all under the car but check for leaks and check for loose hardware. No drilling, hammering, etc. I think to myself, great, one less problem, and proceed to do a little tuning on the car. I finish of the session by driving the car around the block and park it back in the garage. Just to be sure, I try to start the car again and it turns right over. Looks like the problem has solved itself. Wrong.

The next afternoon Leslie goes out to start the car and again, “click-click-click”. Okay, I think, it must be that AutoZone starter. It just can’t handle turning over the stroker, even though you can turn the engine at the crank by hand with only minimal effort. I decide to go ahead and order a nice PowerMaster racing starter with plenty of torque and put it on. I do so and, you guessed it. The same exact result.

Can anybody help me figure this out. Its not like there are that many parts to a starting system, and I have checked and re-checked all of mine. What is going on?
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2004 DSG Mach 1
1965 Mustang Fastback
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