my starter is still haveing hot start problems. so far Ive installed a ford ignition switch, put on a new starter and GM solenoid shield. all the cables are in good condition.

so now could the only problem be the ground?
I put the battery in the trunk and am thinking the ground to the starter may not be so good anymore. I have the battery grounded to the frame.
is there anyway to check my ground?
thanx


------------------
Justin McIver
Sacramento CA
66-454-th350

Justin,make sure you got a good ground on the engine,I used a battery cable with eyelets on both ends and attached it to the engine by a bolt hole under the water pump and ran it to the frame near the idler arm mount. My battery is also in the trunk along with the solenoid and it starts great everytime. good luck dave

------------------
team chevelle#196
69 turbocharged mouse
irving,tx

Is your starter wire big enough? When I ran 4GA from my trunk-starter I would get this problem. I toased the 4GA and swapped in a 2GA wire, and even with a cheap-o Exide rebuilt starter and no heat sheild I don't have any problems at all when hot.

I don't have an engine-frame ground, but I'm running solid motor mounts so it's basically the same thing. Beef up your ground first, its the cheapest and easiest solution now.

Wes

When I had the battery in the trunk of my old 68 camaro,I used 00 welding cable,and never had any trouble....just a thought, remember,electricity is like water...the bigger the hose(wire) the more amps can flow

------------------
1972 Malibu,461 cid.

Change the cables! They may look good but the ends that are crimped to the terminals get corroded and build up internal resistance. My advice is to use welding cable #4 which is copper and get copper ends pressed on the cable.Poor bat. cables cause intermittent problems cold sometimes hot and in between!

would it help at all if I put my ford solenoid in the trunk?
I am using a very big wire as it is right now. it came with the trunk mount conversion.

I noticed when it doesnt startmy voltometer drops to 8 or below. but when I jump it and it starts. the volts stay around 10 while cranking. I dont know if that helps at all.

im going to try the engine to frame ground today.
thanx for all of your help.

------------------
Justin McIver
Sacramento CA
66-454-th350

I just moved the battery to the trunk and i have no problems, I have the main ground wire going to the frame in the rear with the eye lead soldered to the wire and cremped. Soldering is the big key to getting a good connection, the only other grounds are 2 off of the fire wall to the bell housing. I have no shield over the start or the wires and the only time I have ever had a problem was when I had a bad wire connection.

what is the best way to attach the ground wire to the frame?

My '68 El Camino SS-396 (with headers) had been giving me all sorts of hot-start trouble.

After struggling with this for quite some time I concluded that the real trouble was with the battery cables and connections. When the motor is hot, it needs every bit of current that the battery (an Optima in this case) can provide to turn it over.

First, the quality of the connection at the battery posts is critical. I tried tightening the positive cable on the battery, but I went too far and the lead ring cracked.
I decided that this would be a good time to go to side-terminal cables, which I believe are superior. So, I got a new set of 2 gauge cables (my Optima battery has both the top and side terminals).
I found that Checker Auto has gold plated side-terminal bolts, so I used a pair.

The other important aspect, of course, is the connection at the other ends of the cables. Since silver is known to be one of the best electrical conductors, I decided to take a couple of silver dimes and drill out the center to make washers. I then used these washers when bolting the cables to the block and starter.

So far, no more hot-start blues.

PS: The silver dimes I used were both Canadian.
Canadian dimes before 1920 are 92.5% silver. From 1920 to mid 1967 they are 80% silver. From mid-1967 to mid-1968 they are 50% silver. After mid-1968 they are 0% silver (all nickel). U.S. dimes from 1964 or earlier are 90% silver. After 1964 they are all copper/nickel.


------------------
Dan Carr
dcarr@chevelles.com
Team Chevelle Gold Member #11, ACES #701
Author of the GMC Sprint, El Camino, and '68-'72 SS Authentication pages.
See my GM A-body fleet at:
www.rmi.net/~dcarr/cars/cars.HTM (http://www.rmi.net/~dcarr/cars/cars.HTM)



[This message has been edited by dcarr (edited 09-25-99).]