Bad starter?

[yakmastermax]

Hey all i'm sure this is a simple question. i multimetered the battery and it reads right under 13 volts. i just installed some new gauges (water, oil pressure, fuel, tach and voltmeter). i wired the volt meter positive terminal to the "bat ->" slot on the fusebox. the volt meter is also reading around 13 volts. i also just added some power steering fluid and kind of overfilled the resevoir. i'm not sure if these details are related but i thought i'd share to just give the largest picture possible. anyway, when i turn the key to ignition the starter just clicks and the dash volt meter drops down to zero or less but the engine does not turn. the car was running and starting fine just a few days ago, i put it up to take apart the rearend and do the gauges plus some leaks here and there and now it isn't starting but battery voltage is good. i even threw the battery on a charger and it drew .5 amp for a few minutes but then it stopped drawing and was full again at a full 13 volts. another quick detail: the way i wired the volt meter it is always reading the battery, key on or not. it was like that for about 48 hours before i tried to start it and it would not.

is this a bad starter? anyway to double check?

 

[British Slave]

I would start by checking battery terminals and the battery cable at the starter.

 

[Jessie James]

I would start by checking battery terminals and the battery cable at the starter.

Agreed. Something is loose or corroded.

 

[Fordum]

Almost certainly not the starter.
Unless you see smoking battery cables when the voltage goes down.

Put your voltmeter on the lowest voltage setting, turn on the lights and fan on high. Assuming a post type battery, measure from the center of the post to the clamp attached to it. Do both posts.
You should see 0 volts, but a couple of millivolts is OK. Odds are you are going to see several volts on one post or the other.
That post has a bad connection.

If you don't see it, then measure from the center of a post to the cable attached to it. Push your probe through the insulation.

With lots of stuff turned on, you should not see more than a couple of millivolts between commonly connected points.
If you do, there is a bad connection between the probes.

If you have a side terminal battery, go ahead and pull off the cables and clean the connection.

Then turn on lots of stuff and measure from the bolt head to the cable through the insulation.

If all that checks out good, then check the battery cable hookup on the starter solenoid.

 

[British Slave]

I think the big clue here is the voltage dropping to zero on the dash volt meter when trying to start. Classic corroded terminal symptom.

 

[Fordum]

I think the big clue here is the voltage dropping to zero on the dash volt meter when trying to start. Classic corroded terminal symptom.

Yep, but a totally bad battery can cause that too. It will take a charge, show good voltage, and then go to zero when you load it.

Its easy to spot, because when you turn on the lights and fan, nothing happens.......

Most of the time when you see that, its been boiled out of water and is dry.

 

[yakmastermax]

Yep, but a totally bad battery can cause that too. It will take a charge, show good voltage, and then go to zero when you load it.

Its easy to spot, because when you turn on the lights and fan, nothing happens.......

Most of the time when you see that, its been boiled out of water and is dry.

indeed, thanks for the tips everone. i ended up taking it to my dad's work where he hooked it up to their big power source. the tech said the battery was bad so we got a new one and she cranks right up. lesson learned, good voltage does not mean a good battery.who knew, i sure did not.

 

[YZEATER]

You need to rewire the volt meter, it should be wired to a keyed power source. Otherwise it will draw power and slowly kill your new battery.

 

[yakmastermax]

You need to rewire the volt meter, it should be wired to a keyed power source. Otherwise it will draw power and slowly kill your new battery.

yup my dad thinks that's what killed the last one. i'm gonna put a switch inline.