Starting and electrical woes

[bbt]

I need to solicit some opinion on my current woes. I've been stranded several times over the past year with the ignition not engaging the starter. If I wait , say anywhere from 10 to 50 minutes, it will then eventually start. The situation seemed to go away after installing a new battery a few months back, but last week it happened again. Voltage at the battery while running is at 11.84 which seems low to me. I'm wondering if others agree that this figure is low and whether or not a low reading could be due to a bad transmission ground strap. I 'd like to know this before suspecting the alternator.
Any good advice will be greatly appreciated. BBT.

[Prestallion]

Originally Posted by bbt

Voltage at the battery while running is at 11.84 which seems low to me. I'm wondering if others agree that this figure is low and whether or not a low reading could be due to a bad transmission ground strap.

According to this thread the spec should be between 13.5-14.2v


I’m still learning myself so I’ll let someone more knowledgeable than me answer about why the voltage could be low.

[timmy2]

What did you do 7 years ago to fix your charging problem back then? (You never posted a resolution.)
Maybe that problem has returned?
Alternator output question

And check your battery clamps are tight....

[JSV798]

How old is your starter? Most likely the solenoid needs replacing. The solenoid takes quite a beating and its internal contacts get burned making hot starting difficult. What year is your car?

[pampadori]

you can test your ground strap. Here's how:
- check voltage at battery while engine is running and value is low
- use a set of jumper cables as additional ground path by clamping one end to the engine (metal part of course) and the other end to the chassis (also to metal).
- recheck the voltage at the battery not that you have added an additional ground circuit path.

if the voltage is higher, you likely have too much resistance in the ground strap and need to replace it.

[Rodsrsr]

It sounds like you just have a bad alternator, fairly straightforward. Running voltage should be at least 13.5. When you let the car sit for the 20 mins it will sometimes charge up slightly to its normal 12 volts needed to start, only to drain back down since your alt isn't putting out over 13 volts. Don't overthink it.

[kimlangley7]

Could be a number of issues -
Voltage regulator [part of the alternator] - get a multimeter - test voltage while car is just sitting - not running. Voltage should be 12.3 +/- some tenths of a volt. start car - at ~ 1000 rpm voltage should be 13.5 - 14.5v > indicates voltage regulator is working and producing increased voltage to keep battery charged to +12v. //

there are some threads out in Pelican land about adding a relay to the starter motor to help the starter motor in it's initial startup..

grounds can always be an issue

try one fix at a time - note down the result / keep at it...

[dlr308]

I just went through a similar problem....11.77 volts at battery with engine running and alternator/charging light on whenever the key was turned to run or engine was running.
I had a new tranny ground strap and ground at battery good, so I suspected the alternator or regulator. I had external regulator and replaced with new solid state unit. That didn't solve my problem so I removed my alternator. Pretty easy - just a bit fiddly getting nuts off the air guide behind alternator. Then lots of mucking around checking the ground from alternator to engine block. Making sure that was good and placing all grounds on same D- terminal fixed the problem for me. Isn't there an alternator-starter connection to check as well?

[walt]

At first I thought it might be a heat soak issue with the starter given you need to wait as long as 50 minutes for cool down, but first you need to investigate low voltage. Do the simple stuff like cleaning battery posts and both ground strap connections thoroughly. If problem persists use a meter at the starter and see what you get - should be 11.75 or more with a fully charged battery.