Yes.

Did you miss this in the previous post?

You do have a multimeter (VOM), right?

Would a hose cause it to completely not start? I feel it should still at least pop off, air/fuel/spark. It's not even combusting.

Update time: 6 month old battery checks out fine. Over 700 CCA per the machine.

So now we have a good battery/good CDI. I'm going to get a new distro cap and rotor.

I checked the bottom trans ground strap and it is in good health and connected.

EDIT: I am going to swap out the starter. I say this because maybe this has been the issue from the start. The starter is not spinning the engine fast enough. It is a high torque starter and it was the initial cause of the no start issue. When I first had a problem it did not turn the engine over and just ran the FP in the start position. I will listen to how my 83 sounds when it starts, also with a hi-torque starter.

Long shot but I remember seeing on Home Built By Jeff that his starter engagement sprocket thingy became loose and failed. The starter would still spin but the sprocket was just spinning on the shaft and not engaging the engine.

Super PITA to remove and check but it sounds like you’ve picked all the low hanging fruit.

Yes, vacuum leaks can cause non-starts.

But listening to that video, the starter doesn't sound happy at all and it does look like it isn't cranking normally based on the spark intervals. As showdown said, engagement issue ? Starter ring teeth ok ?

Nick,

Have you done the smoke test? Since your motor failed to produce any sign of engine combustion during your investigation, culprits could be poor ignition source or excessive unmetered air. A needed smoke pressure test could be your answer. BTW, I don’t like the sound of your high torque starter. It seems to be struggling(?). Keep us posted.

Tony

With FP jumpered and key in run (not start) can you hear injectors squealing?

Have not done a smoke test yet Tony.

I can hear the injectors whining if I lift on the plunger.

Old hitorque is out. I should know tonight if that was the issue.

With FP jumped and just the key "on" you will hear the FP but you won't hear any injectors squealing as the there will be no fuel forwarded by the fuel distributor until the lever below the air flow meter is moved upwards. :-)

Betty is running again!!!

The new Hi torque starter is in. I'm going to attempt another cold start later today. It took several cranks with the engine turning faster to get started. After the AAV closed tge Hi idle dropped to around 1k.

Thanks all for the advice. Chalk this one up to bad starter.

Perseverance………..
 

Nick,

Good to hear that you got your car running again. So what happened to your high torqued starter? How old is your high torqued starter? From watching and listening to the video, it clearly showed that the starter was struggling to gain momentum for a good start.

Tony

True if everything is working properly. But if the plunger is stuck or sticking high in the bore it will squeal without lifting the AF sensor plate.

Yes, but as you correctly said, "still no catch". The cylinder still should have fired, e.g. white smoke. There may be another problem.

Congrats !

That starter did make a racket crapping out, instead of simply going silent. Perhaps the motor's OK but the "hi torque" gearing system's trashed.

Tony,

The hi-torque starter was purchased in late 2018. I am happy to have gotten 5 years out of it with all the grocery getting I do, as well as commuting.

I'm not sure what exactly happened to it, but the initial issue was it just didn't turn over at all. I thought loose connection or it was dead. When it finally came back I didn't realize how slow it was turning the engine over.

The car has been starting up really well now.

You're right, I just overlooked your question mark in your quoted post above.

Did you inspect the ring gear ?

How do the teeth on the starter look ?

No visual issues seen on the ring gear or the starter teeth.

On most cars, the the spring-clutch pinion gear on the starter can be replaced. On American cars it's colloquially called a "Bendix." If that's what failed, check to see if you can get a replacement, so then you will have a spare starter. If the starter motor is worn out, then toss it. New ones are cheap enough that it's not worth keeping in your parts pile.

Thanks for that info Peter. I actually reached out to the company Autotech Engineering, in Riverside CA, that sold it to me. They said they can repair it. The new one I had on hand was for a project so I'll get this repaired and put it in the new project.