riggins44 Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 FYI: I don't know if this matters or not but it's a '69 Lincoln. Just wondering if I should be checking anything else due to the car's age... A 69 Lincoln isn't computerized, so it should be pretty simple to fix. Start at the battery and check all connections. Make sure they're clean and tight. Work your way to the starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 If it's in "later land", then stop off and get a volt meter. They're cheap. Pick up a battery terminal cleaner at the same time, they're cheap, too. (I'm assuming that you have the big, old-style, battery terminals.) (Since you're going to be cranking the car a lot while troubleshooting, you might want to consider a battery charger. They don't cost much, they'll come in handy later. But I don't know if you have power where the car is. Start by measuring the voltage across the battery. (Put the probes on the actual battery posts themselves, if you can, not on the clamps that are attached to them. Measure the voltage while the car is trying to crank. If it's the battery, the voltage will drop a lot. (It may go to 2 volts or so, but anything under, say, 9 is too low.) If the battery voltage stays up around 10 or so, then it's not the battery. Move your red probe to the clamp that's attached to the post and repeat. If it still stays high there, then start following the big red wire. Test the other end of the wire. (It'll be the starter relay). Test the other side of the starter relay. And so forth. When you're "downstream" of the problem, then you'll see that the voltage, while cranking, will dip really low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanCollins Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 this thread needs pics does it look like this? like this? or like this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riggins44 Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Dean, that first one looks nice. Got the Landau roof and Deluxe Wheel Covers. Probably has a 400 or 460 V8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanCollins Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Dean, that first one looks nice. Got the Landau roof and Deluxe Wheel Covers. Probably has a 400 or 460 V8. It does, I always liked the marks too bad so many got pimped out beyond recognition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashburnskinsfan Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 A 69 Lincoln isn't computerized, so it should be pretty simple to fix. Start at the battery and check all connections. Make sure they're clean and tight.Work your way to the starter. Yeh ... I had a starting problem on my car ... it needed a software patch to be downloaded :doh: :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manicd Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Can you help me with this? Car was clicking once. I had this with another car, and it was definately the starter. I would have to turn the key 1 to 3 times before it would start. I put a new starter in it, and it would start with the first turn for about 5 weeks. Then I would turn the key, and nothing. Not even a click. I'd turn it again, and it would start. After a couple more weeks, it has gotten to where it takes 4 turns to start. Each turn, no sound at all. Also, some tkimes it does start on first turn. It's very intermittent. Obviously I'm concerned it is not going to start one day. It's just a work car, an old 92 Subaru, but other than that, it runs excellent. However, I don't want to buy another starter if that isn't it, which I don't think it is. I read the whole thread, and got some tips, but it sounds like my problem is different from the original posters, so I was hoping for some guidance from the mechanically inclined. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Take a volt meter to the starter relay. (To find it, follow the big red wire from the battery.) Odds are, it has three terminals. (Three bolts with wires attached.) The terminal with the big red wire that you followed should have permanent 12V on it. (From the battery). The other terminal with a big red wire on it should have 12V on it whenever the key is in the "crank" position. (That wire goes to the starter motor. The relay's job is to send power to the starter whenever it's told to.) If somebody "cranks" the key, and there isn't 12V on that terminal, then either the relay has failed (it's being told to send power through, but it isn't), or the relay isn't being told to send power. (The small wire on the third terminal comes from the ignition switch and/or the computer. It may be set up so that, to crank, the switch puts 12V on the small wire (and the relay is grounded to the chasis), or the relay may have 12V permanently supplied (for example, by the big red wire) (and the ignition grounds it's wire when you turn the key.) So whether the third wire is connected to power or to ground when "cranking" depends on how it's wired.) (In either case, if the small-wire terminal has 12V on it when the car's "at rest", then it should go to ground when someone turns the key. If the terminal is grounded at rest, then it should have power when the key's turned.) If there's 12V on the "output" side of the relay (the "other" big red wire), but the car's not cranking, then it's either your starter motor, the wire from the relay to the starter motor, or (long shot) the engine grounding strap. If there isn't 12V on the output when the key's "cranked", then either the relay's failed (replace it, they're cheap) (Careful when you replace it. If you allow the big red wire from the battery to touch metal then you could have an explosion, complete with the spraying of boiling battery acid.) or the realy's not being told to crank. (I'd take it to a mechanic. There are a lot of switches and connectors that that wire passes through on the way from your ignition switch to your relay, and they're all a pain to get at.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Yeh ... I had a starting problem on my car ... it needed a software patch to be downloaded :doh: :laugh: "General Car Fault"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manicd Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Thanks a ton. My freind who is a bit of a mechanic said it was probably the relay before the starter, based on the info. I told him, but he hasn't got a chance to look at it. Thanks for the tip on the "explosion." That would really suck. I'm hoping it's a loose wire though. Wouldn't that seem a very strong possibility considering it is intermittent. Either way, I need a volt meter anyway. Thanks again. This board is awesome for quick information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the burgundy and gold Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 this excact thing happened to me about a month ago i drove it to the gym, it was fine i came out and got nothing but this clicking sound. took it in and they said it was definintly the starter. got the starter fixed and it runs fine now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 Followup to my comment about being careful around the starter relay. After further review, . . . disconnect the battery before you work on the relay. ----- And now for the followup, followup safety tip: How to disconnect the battery. Disconnect the negative terminal. See, if you're disconnecting the positive terminal, then there's a possibility of an accident. A wrench slips, or whatever. If your wrench is connected to the positive terminal, and the other end touches any metal in the car whatsoever, then you've created a short. (And a very slim chance of a battery explosion.) But if you're working on the negative terminal, and you experience a moment of awshucks, then the only way you can create a short is it you hit the positive terminal. (OK, you could hit the battery cable at the point where it's attached to the starter relay. But that's usually more than a wrench-length away, and the "danger zone" is still a lot smaller than "any piece of metal in the car".) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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