Hey,
Quick Q:

My car won't start after it warms up. Starts first turn of the key when cold.

•When at running temp, barely cranks over once, and then may or may not a 2nd time.

•The car is not over-heating when running.

•Had the battery tested - good.

•volts when running 14.6

•pulled the batt cable while running, and car continued to run, so: alternator is good

•When I touch the fuseable link, it is too hot to touch after attempting to unsuccessfully start it after running.
But it is not hot at all when it does start or when running.

•When the car is off, batt volts show 12.6 = so batt is charging ok.

•guy at auto store said my starter may be getting too hot. - on my prior engine, exact same set up, I never had this problem.

ONLY change from previous build, I have relocated the battery to the passenger compartment.
Long battery cable the problem????

Starter getting too hot kinda sounds logical. But how do I stop it?
Do they make a starter shield?
Anyone have to use exhaust pipe wrap?
Has anyone else experienced this problem?

*****Any useful suggestions would be appreciated*****

It's Summer, and I want to DRIVE! - ok - and then start again!

1986 RX7 GXL
302 engine - typical street build mods / Transgo AOD tranny
BBK short tube exhaust manifold

Thanks,

Troy Fitz.

I had the same problem with my Chevy truck. The fuse link would be hot after being under load, sounds like alot of resistence somewhere. I would say at the starter. Did you upgrade the wiring when you relocated the battery? The longer run will have more resistence than the short run, also I normally upgrade the grounds, as they are just as important as the positive. A wire with several smaller strands will have less resistance than one of the same size with larger strands. Heat is a major factor with those starters, and some wrap and a heat sheild should make an improvement.
Mark

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Mark Meyer
88 vert soon to be V8
2007 Mitsubishi Raider ex cab
2007 Mitsubishi Raider Quad cab (wifes truck)
69 Chevy truck 20" lift on 44's
65 Mustang coupe ( wifes project)
The Sound Doctor

SNDDOC1::::
"A wire with several smaller strands will have less resistance than one of the same size with larger strands."

Ok, that could actually make sense. Thinking I was upgrading my positive cable, I purchased an extremely heavy duty less strand cable from Lowe's.
It was *very* difficult to bend.
So then, it's possible that this very dense wire could be creating enough resistance in the cable to overheat the starter.

Makes sense to me.
I learned something today - thanks for the info.

Troy Fitz.

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it makes no sense at all. the difference in resistance is less than trivial. don't waste your time & money. we are talking about direct current here. there is no such thing as skin effect in DC

instead make sure that your connections are clean & tight. solder the lugs onto the cable. both the power conductors & ground conductors should be #2 AWG.

if you are interested in skin effect, the following is a good article.

Skin effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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On my ass, as usual.

I will most definitely check that out.
The question I would have then would be:
if the cable just needs to start the car, and the alternator runs it from that point on, I would assume that my connections should be fine. Otherwise, I wouldn't think the car would start at all- just my own rational) No actual current flows through to the battery while the car is running, so I would assume the heat is generated the moment I try to restart the car.

One other thing I forgot to mention in my original post was:
When I tried to unsuccessfully restart the car when at running temp, the voltage dropped to 8.99 volts - and then back to 12.4 when I stopped trying to start it.

Another car friend said I may have an internal short in the starter. A brush may be making contact where it is not supposed to, and that is generating extreme heat in the starter.
I let the car cool - started 1st try, drove it down the block and back.
Turned off the car, and I touched the starter wire that goes to the ignition solenoid, and it was hot to the touch- I could hold it for about 5 seconds.
The starter was also very hot.

Does this sound like a logical possibility?

Thanks again for the assistance,

Troy Fitz.

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sounds like with the heat load on it could be a loose or not so tight connection. make sure everything is nice and tight.

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1999 trans am cammed and slammed
1986 rx7 gxl under the knife for 5.3/t56 combo maybe a cam still undecided.

Not Necessarily. It Depends On How Your Cable Is Run.

Not True. If You Disconnect The Battery, With The Car Running & Measure The Voltage On The Battery Posts, You Will Measure About 12.5 Volts. The Voltage On The Lugs Will Be Over 14 Volts. Therefore, There Is Always Some Charging Current Going To The Battery. Usually About 1.5 Amps.

This Is Indicative Of Either A Locked Pinion Or Internal Short

See Above Answer

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On my ass, as usual.

Pulled the starter out of the car during my lunch , and will take it to have tested after work today.

I'll let you know the results tonight.

Thanks again,

Troy Fitz.

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The starter tested ok.

BUT, my original build was w/ a 1982 Crown Vic engine.
My rebuild, I used a 79 block. The starter for the 79 block is MUCH beefier, and I was using the 82 starter - not enough power.

I have a push button start on my car, and before I could push the button all the way in, that car was running. Let it get hot, started again w/ the same result.
Tried 3 more continuous starts, and it fired first 1 crank every time!!

I double checked all of my batt connections as well. It's all good.

Summer time, here I come!

Thanks for the assist,

Troy Fitz.


Now I can get started on the body and paint-
flat black w/ semi black combo.

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