Re: Intermittent Starting Issues

Posted by HH56 On 2022/9/1 21:08:52

Did you clean the battery cable terminals when you put in the battery. Headlights do not go thru the ign switch. Power is always present and is connected directly to the battery via one of the red wires that is on the same starter solenoid terminal as the battery cable. That red wire goes directly to the ammeter, then another wire out of the ammeter has a splice point where it branches to the headlight and ignition switches and a circuit breaker.

The symptom sounds very much like what happens if one or both battery terminals has corroded or is making a poor mechanical connection. At times the connection might be good but other times the least little jar and the oxidized layer will act like a huge resistance and current will not pass. The usual place that gets dirty is in the round circle that goes over the post but if there was a lot of corrosion at one time the corrosion could have grown and creeped down inside the terminal where the wires are. Corrosion down there is usually not seen but can be just as insulating. It could also happen at the other end but not nearly as often or as likely. Rust at the ground connection is more the issue at the engine ends.