1957 Won't Turn Over- Video Attached

[Tomba55]

Good afternoon,

I have a 1957 that makes a 'winding' noise when you turn it over. Not the typical sound you get when you have a dead battery though. Video attached.
Possible solenoid failure in the starter?

I'm relatively handy, but no mechanic.
Thanks in advance!

 

[TJShea]

Sounds to me like low battery and/or loose battery connections.

 

[Oly Bob R]

Is your car running? Couldn’t tell if it was back round of another car or your 57. If your car is running then it sounds like the starter gear not fully disengaging if your car is not running then sounds like your starter is not fully engaging which could be starter or missing teeth on fly wheel

 

[74 Harley]

Dead battery.

 

[Oly Bob R]

You need to start by changing your battery

 

[ICON 56]

It sounds electrical short to me. Bad solenoid, or a bad adjusted voltage regulator. I would bench test both....

 

[74 Harley]

That's a solonoid rattle, either too low voltage in battery or very bad connection.

 

[Tom Alpers]

What I might try is... leave the key OFF. Using jumper cables jumper across the two large lugs on the solenoid. If it's a bad solenoid and you do that the starter should engage and turn the engine. If you have a bad starter (or the problem is the cables) you should hear the same noise you've been hearing. That assumes the battery is good. As others mentioned, if the battery is bad that might be the basic problem.

 

[Tomba55]

Is your car running? Couldn’t tell if it was back round of another car or your 57. If your car is running then it sounds like the starter gear not fully disengaging if your car is not running then sounds like your starter is not fully engaging which could be starter or missing teeth on fly wheel

Sorry, should have noted. I did have another car running in the background.

 

[Tomba55]

I'll double check the battery, that would be the easiest of all problems!

 

[seatramp]

If after trying what Tom A. said it still makes that noise try rotating the engine by hand a bit to move to a different set of teeth on the flywheel and try again. if it's bad flywheel teeth the engine should try to rotate. If not then it could be a bad starter motor, or the starter bendix gear is worn or stuck requiring starter removal. I have had a bendix gear extend and would not retract which was caused by a pins in the gear that keeps the gear extended during start until the flywheel spins the gear to unlock it. Unfortunately the starter motor doesn't have the initial torque to rotate the engine without the "spin up" required to drive the bendix forward. The pins can be manually released.
Just Google "how to release a stuck bendix gear on a ford starter"

 

[Tomba55]

The battery tests at 10.8 volts, so I still feel like it isn't a battery issue. I also thought I had a spare battery, but dont...
The motor fan starts rotating about 10%, then stops. Seems like there just isn't enough 'umph' to get it to turn over.

 

[ICON 56]

Did you bench test the starter ?...Generator? Alternator ?

 

[Tomba55]

Have not done that yet, but that's next on my list! Has to be in 1 of those!

Sorry for all my ignorance!

 

[ICON 56]

Not your fault, I always do the simple things first. Then go on to the hard issues.....

 

[Critterpainer]

A battery at 10.8 Volts is DEAD! It has to show at least 12.4 volts to crank an engine. Use a good battery, not a dead battery.

 

[Tomba55]

Oh wow. I thought that was enough.
Thank you,

 

[doug7740]

On the 12 volt system there are two important numbers to remember, they are 12.6 volts and 13.5 volts. 12.6 Volts: If you think your car has a 12 volt battery, it doesn’t. The 12 volt battery actually has six individual 2.1 volt cells (one under each fill cap). Thus, when fully charged, the battery should have a resting voltage of 12.6 volts. If with the engine off, the resting voltage is less than 12.6 volts, the battery is low and needs to be recharged. Of course, it begs the question of why the battery is low. It could be that the alternator isn’t working, or that the battery has reached the end of its useful life. 13.5 Volts: With the engine running, the alternator should output a charging voltage that’s about a volt higher than the resting voltage, or about 13.5 volts. The exact charging voltage may be as low as 13.2 volts or as high as 14.2 volts.

Take a multi-meter and set it to measure DC voltage, then measure the voltage across the positive and negative battery terminals with the engine off. On a 12 volt system, a fully charged battery should read a resting voltage of 12.6 volts. After you start the car you should see a charging voltage of about a volt higher than resting voltage. If the reading doesn’t increase by about a volt or if it stays at the resting voltage, it means that the alternator isn’t recharging the battery. This could be because the alternator is defective, the regulator is defective, or the wiring between them has failed. In any case, if you drive the car, the battery will run down. If the battery runs down enough that the ignition stops firing, the engine will stall. It’s really important that you don’t simply jump-start a car with a dead battery without checking to see if the alternator is charging.

A basic charging system health test: Use a multi-meter to measure the resting and charging voltages as described above. Then, with the engine running, gradually increase the electrical load by turning on the headlights and the blower fan. Then increase the engine RPM to about 3500 as you watch the reading on the multi-meter. If the voltage stays about a volt higher than resting voltage, then the car’s charging system is functioning. But if the voltage drops or increases dramatically at any point, there’s a problem with the alternator or the voltage regulator.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[doug7740]

If after trying what Tom A. said it still makes that noise try rotating the engine by hand a bit to move to a different set of teeth on the flywheel and try again. if it's bad flywheel teeth the engine should try to rotate. If not then it could be a bad starter motor, or the starter bendix gear is worn or stuck requiring starter removal. I have had a bendix gear extend and would not retract which was caused by a pins in the gear that keeps the gear extended during start until the flywheel spins the gear to unlock it. Unfortunately the starter motor doesn't have the initial torque to rotate the engine without the "spin up" required to drive the bendix forward. The pins can be manually released.
Just Google "how to release a stuck bendix gear on a ford starter"

The starter motor bendix can be retracted using the wire wheel on a bench grinder.

If the bendix will not retract using this method the pins are most likely sticking. It is not difficult to disassemble and rebuild this type of bendix.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[Pink T-Bird]

A battery at 10.8 Volts is DEAD! It has to show at least 12.4 volts to crank an engine. Use a good battery, not a dead battery.

Fully agree - you have a nearly dead battery.
Also it looks like you have one of the AGM reproduction batteries (do not add water tag is a giveaway). Those need a specific AGM rated charger. The supplier will not honor the warranty if the battery is damaged by a traditional wet lead/acid battery charger. The supplier also recommends charging the battery on the AGM 10A setting about every 90 days as the voltage regulator for a standard wet lead/acid battery will not keep an AGM fully charged.
I found out AFTER I bought the AGM reproduction when I complained to the vendor that it would not take a charge from the generator. So off to NAPA to buy a new $110 AGM charger, after the $400+ battery.... No issues since then with the AGM charger every few months. But I'm not planning to buy another ridiculously expensive AGM battery for an antique car.