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454 's starting problems

J

jubilee

New member
Looking for feedback on this issue. Port engine and Starbd.engine will not start unless i have P & S battery switches in the All positions. After starting i can switch to normal P#1 and S#2 but if i turn engines off at key i then get nothing. When they run both run fine but i don't want to leave in parallel. Can battery switches go bad? (Guest 2300A) or should i be looking elsewhere

1986 454's
Port:
Battery load test ok
Grounds at battery and block verified clean and tight
Coil Pertronics Flamethrower II
Electronic Dist. Pertronics ign II

Starbd:
Battery load test ok
Grounds at battery and block verified tight and clean
New starter
Coil and Dist same as Port
 
Boy, do I HATE stupid electrical problems like this!

You need to do some detective work (actually, a LOT of detective work!) to see where the bad connection(s) are. I chased one on mine for over a year--turned out the positive battery cable was bad. If I jumped the batteries and the motor would fire right up; try to start on its NEW battery and...nothing. Sound familiar?

Put a voltmeter on the terminal on the starter where the juice goes to run it--not to where the cable attaches to the solenoid. Then have someone hit the key as you watch the voltmeter. (Disable the ignition so she won't start by pulling the coil wire from the distributor and ground it to the block.) Now, if you see 12 to 13 volts there initially, but it drops to near nothing, then you have a bad cable--positive or negative--or a bad connection.

Jeff
 
Last edited:
Port Starbd.
#1 normal setting #2

#1 no power #2

All starts..switch to #1 eng. stops #2

#1 starts All..switch to #1 port eng. runs
switch to #2 port stops
#2 no power #2

#1 #2 stb starter clicks

#1 All stb eng starts
 
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