VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 Starter 53 Chevy pickup

Rebuilt 216 engine. Turned over with crank and have about 100 miles on the truck.....running smooth. Problem is that the starter seems incapable of turning over the engine. Very sluggish. I have rebuilt the starter motor and it spins fine. Wonder if I have a linkage issue....it seems straight forward enough. Suggestions?

David I am placing my money on poor electrical connections between battery and starter. Good clean ground path is all too often the problem with slow starter. Might be connections at battery or other places. If you use star lock washers the bite into both the connection and bolt or nut.

Can also be the cold cranking amps in the battery. Need at least 600cca to have the required battery power.

DavidB, Welcome to the VCCA web site!

This is definitely the right place to ask questions and receive knowledgeable answers about your pickup.

If you join the club, you'll get access to a lot of great stuff, like technical resources, the ability to use the site's Search function, and an award-winning monthly magazine, the Generator & Distributor.

Cheers, Dean

Check the ground connections for engine paint? If the areas where the starter contacts the bell housing and ground cable wasn't masked off, remove them and sand the paint off.

If you have good clean connections and proper size cables I would suspect the starter. Fields, armature or?
If it turns the engine over cold but not hot give the engine a couple of hundred more miles to loosen-up.

We need to emphasize the need for large enough battery cables. Because of the numerous times we have mentioned that 6 volt systems require at least twice the current carrying capacity cables as 12 volt systems it doesn't instantly come to mind. That means a minimum of 2 ga. with 0 or 00 gauge better. BTW I am using 2 ga. on most of my 6 volt vehicles with good result.

Amazing how even a little corrosion on the post can make all the difference.

Also, with a rebuilt engine, clearances are tight so run a light oil like a 10w-30/10w/40. Heavy oil only adds to the problem.

For break-in run 5W30 or 5W-20. Chevrolet said #10 which was a very light oil years ago.

Thanks guys....I believe that my grounding system is light and will up the gauge and check connections. Also, I put in 30 w oil so will move to a 10W - 30 for brake in.....I am determined to keep the 6 volt system.

Will let you know, thanks
David

David,
The vast majority of us have 6 volt systems in our 1954 and earlier Chevys. When in good shape 6 volt is all you need.

Does your 53 still use the foot starter. My 48 coupe was starting to not turn over very fast. Change the starter and went to 00 or 01 gage cables. It now spins over like a 12 volt. Did find the top terminal on the starter housing was loose. One of the two or both fixed the problem. That is why you should change one part at a time to know what fixed it.

Thanks Keith. Yes, my truck still has the original foot starter. Thanks for the advice

Ok. I have 2 gauge cable on the negative (gnd) side of the battery and I ran the cable directly to the bell housing (right next to the starting lever). The plus side cable is not 2 gauge. It is a standard cable I bought from an auto parts store and is obviously smaller. Is this cable need to be 2 gauge also? Also, I am going to remove the starter and make sure that there is no paint on the the flanges.

I remember when my grand daddy and father ran the truck regularly and never had a problem turning it over!

Hi DavidB,

Yes, both cables need to be 2 gauge or larger. The electricity flow is restricted by the smallest or dirtiest path.

I suggest changing the plus cable and then, if the motor is still not turning over correctly, take out the starter and clean the grounding connections.

Cheers, Dean

The negative cable does not need to be as large as the positive for most of the conditions. Both cables need to be large enough to carry the initial load needed to "start" the starter. When the starter is running there is less current in the negative cable. The difference is due to the loss of electric power in the circuit from the work done by the starter and heat generated. The negative cable does need to be 2 gauge or larger.

The original neg, cable was of the flat braided unisulated strap type.

chipper or gene: what was the current carrying capacity of the factory-correct flat braided cable, or what would be the equivalent awg size (if it was round)?..

I followed all suggestions and have good cranking power now. I think it was a combination of things but solid grounding was definitely the problem. I now have 2 ga cables from my batter to the starter bolts. I removed the starter and polished the flanges and bolts....there was paint on the starter flange. Thanks! It still isnt running but firing. I may have a fuel pump or carburetor (Rochester) issue. I will check other forums. Thanks again.