Bugeye won't start - help please

Bugeye won't start - help please

Went for a nice drive in the Bugeye last night. I went to start it this morning and nothing. The lights come on, but when I pull the starter switch, the lights go out. I ran a test light between the two poles on the starter switch. I turned the key to start, and the light lights up. When I pull the starter knob, the test light goes out. Wouldn't this have to be a bad starter swtich? This is a fairly new switch. Any help would greatly be appreciated.
Kevin

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

Your battery terminals are dirty.
Clean the battery terminals and the connectors and you should be good.
BillM

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

If that doesn't work then you may have a bad battery. Or possibly a charging system that's given up the ghost, but I expect you'd have noticed the ignition light if that were the case.

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

My Bugeye is newly restored and all connections are clean. My battery is new too. What confuses me is the fact that the lights come on and yet nothing happens when I pull the starter knob. I checked the battery, and is fully charged too. Any other ideas?
Kevin

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

Loose wire to the starter?

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

How did you determine that the battery is fully charged?

Lights take much less current than the starter. So, even a weakly charged battery may turn them on, but when you load it by trying to start, they go out. Which is what you're seeing. This seems to me that it has to be (1) the battery isn't charged, so maybe there's a problem in the charging circuit, or (2) the terminals are not making good contact due to a corrosion layer or looseness.

New batteries can fail. It's happened to me.

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

Kevin,
I always use the KISS method (keep it simple stupid). So the car want start you say? You say you have a new battery, you say that you have a new solenoid since you have a done a full restoration, and you say you have a new starter too. First you start with the battery to check to see if there's any amps in it by jumping the starter solenoid; this is done by a screwdriver jump across the two battery connectors on the solenoid. If the engine turns over then you have a bad contact in the solenoid which means bad solenoid. If nothing happens then you go to the starter to see if its lock up and the connection are tight. If that appears ok then you want to go in other direction and check connections on battery and check amps of battery, you may end up going back to the starter after you check a few more things. The battery may show twelve volts but no amps to start engine, in which case your charging system is not operating correctly. This would mean the battery voltage is not being replenish which means voltage regulator is not set correctly or generator is not producing voltage or the generator needs to be polarizes to start the generator to generate correctly. If all this is correct and working properly then it leads back to a bad starter.

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

What is the test light connected across? If across the starter switch, yes, when you close the switch there would be no voltage differential across it. A) charge the battery, B) clean the cables and terminals on the battery, C) make sure the connections on the switch are clean and tight, D) same on the starter proper, then E) ground strap clean, tight, and in position.

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

Will the car start if you jump it? It so then test the voltage, meter on + and - of the battery. At idle of 11000 - 1200 rpm, you want to see at least 13 - 15 volts. If its less than that, your charging system is out of whack.

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

Did you bother to check and see if the Bendix Drive retracted on the Starter. Little square knob sticking out of the starter. If it has stuck and did not retract this could easily be your issue. A small 1/4" wrench down there and spins the Bendix the other way. Could well be your issue. I always carry a small adjustable box wrench in Bugsy for this very problem. Hasn't happened since I changed out the starter but with the old starter used to happen once or twice a year and at inopportune moments.

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

Jim_Gruber said:

Did you bother to check and see if the Bendix Drive retracted on the Starter. Little square knob sticking out of the starter. If it has stuck and did not retract this could easily be your issue. A small 1/4" wrench down there and spins the Bendix the other way. Could well be your issue. I always carry a small adjustable box wrench in Bugsy for this very problem. Hasn't happened since I changed out the starter but with the old starter used to happen once or twice a year and at inopportune moments.

Click to expand...

That is what I was thinking Jim, I don't know about midgets but with some of the LBCs there was actually a little key in the pouch with the owners manual for that. I had one for a mini or something, I might still have it, hmmn...

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

Thanks for all the information everyone. Looks like I have some work to do. I will get back when I have done as suggested.
Kevin

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

I vote for stuck Bendix. I had this problem all the time until I put a gear reduction starter in its place.

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

On my flatmotors, high gear and roll it forward usually pops them loose. Kevin, can you roll the engine, either in gear or by grabbing the fan?
If it rolls, it ain't a Bendix.

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

The horn is a better check of battery condition than the lights. If I'm not sure that's the check I always use. If the horn sounds full blast then the battery IS good. Many times my lights have lit, the turn signals work, the radio goes on, all seems well. Then I try the horn and get, bllllt,,, blltttt, instead of <span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 20pt">BLASTO!</span></span>. This is not LBC specific.

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

I tried turning the starter with a wrench both ways. I put my car in neutral and moved it back and forth a few feet. I also put it in fourth and moved it back and forth. In all cases, when I pull the starter I can here the starter motor turning, but it doesn't sound like it is doing much. It just turns slowly and then stops. Would this mean my starter is bad? My starter is a NOS I had stored for a while.I checked my battery again, and it is fully charged.
Kevin

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

I KNOW you have said that the battery is fully charged, but have you tried blowing the horn and at the same time pulling on the starter cable? If the horn continues to blow loudly and the starter turns over slowly, then it is NOT the battery. Make sure your engine/transmission is grounded well through the ground strap under the car. Make sure the electrical cables were makeing good contact and the bolts are tight from the starter back to the battery. Make sure the ground side of the battery is well grounded to the firewall.
If you check all of these things and the starter still turns over slowly, I would do one more thing. Get another battery and jump yours. If the starter still turns slowly, I would pull the starter and bench test it.
Good luck,
Scott in CA.

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

If you can hear the starter turning, it most likely hasn't enough power to SPIN and zing out the bendix drive. Got a voltmeter?

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

I thought battery at first, but now sounds like bad brushes to me.

Re: Bugeye won't start - help please

Easy stuff here, Jump the car with another battery. If starter turns engine battery is bad.

If starter does not turn starter is bad remove and have tested at your friendly auto parts store.

Install new starter or battery as required. About 30 min work all together.