Starter Issue

Trying to get my Dad's 67 running again.
cranked for a bit, then stopped. just got a loud click click so figured starter was bad.
Son put a new starter on , and nothing. not even a click. Put a charger on the battery over night, next day hit the switch and started right up! figured great, problem solved. pushed it out of the garage and went to start it for a test drive and nothing again! no click nothing. Battery is reading 12.9 after sitting over night so no issue there. any thoughts or ideas?

 

All the connections clean and tight? Starter solenoid?

 

Prestotlite or Delco starter?

Voltage does not tell you much about a battery. I'd look to bypass the solenoid and see if the starter motor spins.

 

And/or then try a known good battery, or at least check the voltage while cranking.

Could easily be a hinky connection too. Check both ends of both battery cables.

 

Battery cables are new, starter is new, It's just weird how it worked perfectly for a min then nothing. I guess I'll start checking all the connections again.

 

Check your grounds, battery to block, block to frame, frame to body. Then Positive to battery, battery to solenoid, solenoid to starter. Somewhere something is dirty.

 

We know the starter will not turn if the solenoid won't make internal contact (click) so start there with troubleshoot. Put test light on I terminal of solenoid and see if it lights up when key turned to start. If not then just work backwards toward ign switch.

 

I have a similar issue on a sbc in my willys pu....it will start perfect for months,then out of the blue nothing.turn the key on shows 12 volts hit the starter not even a click.I have cleaned every connection and it starts,sometimes just wiggle a cable it starts,never know what will work,sometimes just repeated hitting start button will work....thinking of replacing the cables

 

V6?
They have been known to have an issue with starter engagement.
I solved the problem by installing a Ford solenoid on the fender back in the 90's and that fixed it.

 

with test light on start wire on solenoid . when you hit key
does it light .
will it crank with a remote starter button or screwdriver

 

Possibly bad brushes in the starter, even the new one.

Try a jumper right to the starter stud from the battery. (Transmission in neutral!)

 

Suggest you remove battery and take it to an auto parts store. They can load test the battery and tell you if it's good or not. Doesn't cost anything and could help diagnose. In my experience charging a bad battery can give you a good voltage reading even though it can't handle a load. Batteries do weird things when they go bad.

 

I recently had a similar problem with my 1971 V6 Cj5. It was the ignition switch. Sometimes it would work, other times click click. Sometimes nothing at all when I turned the key. I used a mechanics remote starter button clipped onto the starter solenoid terminals to help diagnose the problem. After replacing the ignition switch, I took the old one apart. They are pretty weak.

 

I'd be looking at the soleniod, but a test light/volt meter and known-good battery are a must.
-Donny