I have a 75 lesabre and it is hard to crank once i have driven it for more than 30 mins. It sounds like the starter is dragging but not sure. The only way I can get it to crank is if I hold the pedal to the floor or if I wait 15 mins. She has a 455 w/ Qjet carb. I have timed it using the specs from the book using a light but nothing is working. Any suggestions are appreciated
Your battery might just be too small. Had same problem with my 455 and put in 1000 amp one to replace the 600 amp that was in there. No problem now. What capacity is you battery?
My battery is 875 cranking amps and 700 cold cranking amps. I will go with a bigger battery for now. Are the Optima red top or yellow top batteries recommended as an accessory battery or as the main power supply since my car is a convertible. And thanks for the info.
That's what I was thinking. You didn't mention how old the starter was but these things do wear out. A bad starter can draw a lot of current, and like Curtis mentioned, especially when they get hot. First and easiest step would be to have your battery load tested. If that tests good then you could pull the starter and have it tested. I might think a little differently about stuff like this because I'm the kind of guy who wouldn't pull a driveshaft and only replace one u-joint. Anyway, if it were mine, and if I looked under the car and saw a greasy old starter, I'd just go get a new one. They're not very expensive, but they are also not much fun to change so I would only want to do that once.
Sounds like dreaded "heat soak" problem http://www.buickperformance.com/solenoid.htm ...but with 30+ year-old cars, could be corroded wires/connections. I'd start there and work my way up to solenoid/starter. If it is starter and budget allows, might consider gear-reduction replacement starter...less strain on our old electrical systems...
Thanks for the info guys. The battery is only 6 months old and the starter has to be at least 15 years old so that maybe the issue. Will pull it tonight and buy a new one this weekend. Any suggestions on a particular name brand or size?
If you can, get a new one, not a rebuilt. And while you're under there check the positive cable. They get old also. If there is any corrosion on it at all, replace it with a good HD cable because the cheap ones will not work as well and they will not last nearly as long. Check the ground cables as well. I'm a big advocate of doing things right the first time and not having to do it over again later.
Thanks. I was planning on replacing everything that looks old or worn. has anyone ever used those starter wraps that are supposed to reduce the amount of heat the starter is exposed to?
I agree with all the above suggtions too. Your battery should be large enough unless it is old and worn out. So do check out the other stuff first. Good luck, ain't this fun?
