This is a weird 1, similar to Ford Bronco

[porschpow]

I gave my Black GM to my dad. Lately, he told me that as the motor gets hot (operating temperature), and he shuts off the engine, when he restarts it, it barely turns over. Eerily enough I had the same problem with my bronco, but could never find out why. My guesses are:

Bad starter???
Battery not tighterned (dirty contacts)
Lousy ground somewhere (no clue where to begin looking)

If anybody had this problem and could care to share, I would appreciate it (my dad as well!!)

[1987cp]

If the battery is charged, you'll want to go through and clean all the relevant electrical contacts. I had one of my cars refuse to start during the winter - either salt had gotten into a critical connection or else one had gotten wet and then froze, breaking contact. I wire-wheeled all the contacts and applied grease once reassembled to keep water out, and so far so good.

[Lincolnmania]

weak battery, weak starter, lousy cable connections can all cause this

[91waggin]

Heat causes increased electrical resistance which means that your starter isn't going to work as well.

[porschpow]

So.. I will try to clean up the connection, make sure the grounding is good. (maybe knock the starter with a hammer a little bit-just to make sure there's no sticking). Other than that. I don't know where else to look at. Could it be the coil? Distributor cap? rotor?

[86VickyLX]

could also be misadjusted timing. Car will start nice and easy when cold, but when the engine is hot, the starter fights the firing of the plugs.

[sly]

yeah... clean the wire connections and battery terminals. I've also had the problem of a battery dropping a cell when warmed up. I'd have to wait about 3 hours for the engine to cool off enough to allow the battery to cool off and then it would start again. This was a park avenue though. It had lots of little issues.

[porschpow]

thank you all kindly for your help. I will do the easy stuff. I have a timing gun. But have no idea how to use it though

[Freshmeat]

Pull the starter and have it tested. It'll take an hour start to finish and you'll know for sure if there's a problem there.

[porschpow]

Pull the starter and have it tested. It'll take an hour start to finish and you'll know for sure if there's a problem there.

True! I am sure any Autozone/Advance Auto place can test it right?

[1987cp]

Reminds me, I need to try the new Motorcraft solenoid I've been keeping on hand, see if it solves the thing where it clicks once and nothing, then clicks again and cranks.

[Freshmeat]

True! I am sure any Autozone/Advance Auto place can test it right?

Should. Call ahead- the machine may be broken, which usually actually means they don't feel like dealing with it. If you don't know the age of your starter and battery cables now is a good time to replace them.

[1987cp]

thank you all kindly for your help. I will do the easy stuff. I have a timing gun. But have no idea how to use it though

It's also pretty easy. When you're ready, feel free to start a thread or poke through old stuff and someone will be more than happy to provide a profusion of information. FYI: If you do it my way, you may want to get a start on things now by turning an old spark plug into a piston stop. May also want to obtain a timing tape (6-3/8" IIRC) if your gun isn't of the advance-knob variety.

Should. Call ahead- the machine may be broken, which usually actually means they don't feel like dealing with it. If you don't know the age of your starter and battery cables now is a good time to replace them.

The good news is that old-style starters are relatively cheap. I paid about $50 for the last one I bought, which is a lot but not a bundle.

[marquisman]

Reminds me, I need to try the new Motorcraft solenoid I've been keeping on hand, see if it solves the thing where it clicks once and nothing, then clicks again and cranks.

id say your solonoid is gonna shit the bed soon.

[91waggin]

Reminds me, I need to try the new Motorcraft solenoid I've been keeping on hand, see if it solves the thing where it clicks once and nothing, then clicks again and cranks.

You should consider upgrading to the starter mounted solenoid style like the 90-up cars have. (mini-starter) I'm still on my original fender solenoid and I've replaced the starter and starter-mounted solenoid once and I got a lifetime guarantee one from AZ for right around $100. It involves running one extra wire.