1963 Starter or Flywheel Issues

[ericmartin1994]

Hello,

I purchased a 1963 T-Bird last week. I had been working on the deal for a couple weeks. When I first looked at the car we had it running for around 40 minutes. It was shut off and when we went to restart it, it would not startup. It was cranking, but would not turn over. We looked at the battery and it was low, even though it was a week old. The voltage was going down to ~7 when trying to start it up. Had the seller replace the starter, starter solenoid, battery and battery cables. Looked at it again and everything seemed fine. Went through with the purchase and brought it home. After a ~30 minute cruise yesterday I heard a weird sound and pulled over. First video shows the sounds coming from the engine area. Was able to restart the car after jumping it and got it home. Today I tried to start it up again and it will not turn over, even with a jump. Could this be a flywheel issue?

 

[HKelly]

Sounds like a bad alternator or generator, whatever your car has.

 

[ericmartin1994]

Sounds like a bad alternator or generator, whatever your car has.

Thank you for your reply. Any troubleshooting tips to help me figure out which one it could be?

 

[74 Harley]

I couldn't see your video, however if it wouldn't start with a jump I would check the battery cables, especially where the ground connects to the block.

 

[HKelly]

Thank you for your reply. Any troubleshooting tips to help me figure out which one it could be?

Get a volt meter check the battery with the car doing nothing, then have a helper watch the meter as you crank. Record both those readings ( static should be 12v, cranking should read around 10 - 10.5v) If the car starts the reading should rise back to 12 and then to 13.5 to 14.5v). If you don’t get this then your alternator is not charging the battery. This could also be a external regulator causing a no charge but I don’t know your setup. I run a single wire alternator for simplicity of troubleshooting

 

[64ZCODE]

I couldn't see your video, however if it wouldn't start with a jump I would check the battery cables, especially where the ground connects to the block.

Ditto on the battery cables and making sure the connections are clean and not corroded. Best to just replace the cables as they can degrade internally and look OK on the outside.

 

[ericmartin1994]

Get a volt meter check the battery with the car doing nothing, then have a helper watch the meter as you crank. Record both those readings ( static should be 12v, cranking should read around 10 - 10.5v) If the car starts the reading should rise back to 12 and then to 13.5 to 14.5v). If you don’t get this then your alternator is not charging the battery. This could also be a external regulator causing a no charge but I don’t know your setup. I run a single wire alternator for simplicity of troubleshooting

Thank you for the help. I used a volt meter and the alternator was not charging the battery. Ended up taking the alternator off, a fun 6 hour process, and had it rebuilt. There was a bad rotor and voltage regulator on the alternator. Could also explain why my brand new battery was killed within a week. Now I just need to get over my covid so I can pick it up and reinstall it.

 

[HKelly]

Thank you for the help. I used a volt meter and the alternator was not charging the battery. Ended up taking the alternator off, a fun 6 hour process, and had it rebuilt. There was a bad rotor and voltage regulator on the alternator. Could also explain why my brand new battery was killed within a week. Now I just need to get over my covid so I can pick it up and reinstall it.

I’m glad this helped, and get well soon.

 

[ericmartin1994]

I’m glad this helped, and get well soon.

Finally got the alternator installed, but the connector and plug don’t align completely. Started it up and drove it 40 miles yesterday and now it’s not starting again. Taking it back to the alternator shop tomorrow to see what they can do. The joys of an old car!

 

[HKelly]

Are you sure it’s the correct alternator?

 

[ericmartin1994]

It’s the original one I had taken off the car when I purchased it. I had originally bought a new alternator with more voltage, but I didn’t know how to switch the wiring so I returned it. As you can see in the image, the bottom plug is hanging off the connector due to a misalignment on the connector.

 

[HKelly]

Having a hard time following what your problem is.

 

[ericmartin1994]

The battery is not charging while driving. The car requires a jump after each time I drive it.

 

[74 Harley]

Have you checked the regulator? A '63 doesn't have an internally regulated alternator.

 

[ericmartin1994]

Have you checked the regulator? A '63 doesn't have an internally regulated alternator.

Turns out I had the plug that connects to the alternator upside down. Additionally, I discovered I had a faulty neutral switch. Everything is running good now! Thank you for all of the help.