Hard starting solved
 

My 83SC was giving me problems with cold weather morning starting. Would crank normally but would not start. Did not have time to diagnose the problem and would take another car and leave. Later in the day it would start but run like it was flooded. I checked the battery 12.75 volts, cranking speed sounded normal but I replaced the battery anyway with a new interstate i had for another project. Now it starts like it should. I think the long run between starter and battery can create a flooded condition if the battery is not really strong

12.75 volts should have been enough to start it.
12.5 and above is a fully charged battery.

the battery needs to generate sufficient amps to start car. the only way to check that is with a load test (simulates big draw on it like the starter motor). if your battery was strong enough to crank the starter normally it should've been enough to start the car, so your situation is odd.

I agree. But if the starter is taking almost all of the juice, and there isn't enough to drive other components, you can get a perverse situation where the starter can spin, but the other electrical components don't have quite enough to function properly.

I would be worried in this case about grounds and grounding straps. And not necessarily just the grounds related to the starter.

Thats my thought, enough juice to activate the fuel pump, spin the starter, then not quite enough left to get a strong spark. I notice that my car has two mounting points for a battery one is for a really large sized battery. I have the smaller size in it but it is new with high cranking power.

you should check the battery voltage while it is cranking. the voltage can drop low enough that the CSV will not open. i think it is around 9v, but cant remember. tony probably knows what it is.

resistance can also aide in the voltage drop. all major connections need to be cleaned. positive and neg. dont forget the tranny to body.

voltage might look ok but cranking amp might not.

Correct.......
 

Check the cranking amperage when dealing with a start problem!!!!!!! And test the fully charged battery using a battery analyzer and avoid guessing the condition of the battery. The data sheet would show the properties of the suspect battery.

Tony

The lesson for me is that proper starter cranking speed does not eliminate the battery in isolating a cold weather no start cause