510 wont start. starter clicks once.

[510Hansi]

hey i have a 71 510 stock motor 4 speed tranny. when i go to turn the car on & turn the key all the way, the starter/relay clicks onces. and if i turn the key again, it will click onces again. ( so for every turn it will only click onces per turn) i can start the motor by jumping the starter but it clicks when i use the key. how do i fix this problem? and make the engine turn with the key?

[510Hansi]

Starter Booster Relay Kit?

[Laecaon]

I had that problem. New battery wires were the cure for my car. Could be your starter solenoid going out. But try new wires, they are cheap, and you probably need new ones anyways.

 

Basically check all connections and clean them between the batter and solenoid, solenoid and ground, and batter and ground.

[erichwaslike]

I had that problem. New battery wires were the cure for my car. Could be your starter solenoid going out. But try new wires, they are cheap, and you probably need new ones anyways.

 

Basically check all connections and clean them between the batter and solenoid, solenoid and ground, and batter and ground.

 

it looks as tho ur "Y" key is malfunctioning.....

 

to the op, u have a bad connection somewhere. if it will crank fine with jumping the post on the starter it isnt the solenoid. check ur bat cabels, the back of ur ign switch, the solenoid wire at the solenoid, and the wires leading to the fuse box from either the bat or starter where they are fed positive power from. something is loose or dirty or both.

[ggzilla]

Cleaning the battery cables usually fixes these symptoms. They should be cleaned once a year, all corrosion brushed or scraped off.

 

This is the most common car problem for cars new and old.

[Laecaon]

to the op, u have a bad connection somewhere. if it will crank fine with jumping the post on the starter it isnt the solenoid. check ur bat cabels, the back of ur ign switch, the solenoid wire at the solenoid, and the wires leading to the fuse box from either the bat or starter where they are fed positive power from. something is loose or dirty or both.

 

The fact that there is a "click" means the solenoid is getting power and "closing" the circuit.

 

So its left to the connections between battery and starter, or the solenoid is not actually closing the circuit. I still vote connections/wires.

[datzenmike]

If you can start by jumping the starter terminal to the solenoid then the cable obviously is is working don't you think? The solenoid also works when getting a full 12 volts so the ON signal from the key is likely weak. My 710 sedan had a random click click start problem. I traced it to a 5 volt start signal to the solenoid from the key. The fix was using this weak start signal to work a Nissan relay to supply 12 volts directly from the battery to the solenoid. Never happened again.

 

The 5 volt start signal from the key is caused by power traveling about 8 feet to the ignition key and back about an even amount to the solenoid on 40 year old wiring.

[Spades]

There are many things that can cause the dreaded click-no-start condition, anything from a weak battery, bad wiring, dirty battery terminals, bad starter solenoid, or a starter going out and pulling too much voltage.

 

The tests you can perform to see what the cause is are limited to what you have at your disposal in the way of tools. If you have a VAT40 or other carbon pile load testing device, you can load test your battery to make sure it is good, then if the battery passes the load test, you can then check to see how many amps the starter is drawing. Unfortunately, load testers can be expensive and not everyone has one sitting around in their garage.

 

So, we need to figure out what is going on with very limited diagnostic equipment, so lets start with what we know first. We know that you can put a cable to the starter and the engine turns over...the next question is, are you placing the jumper on your starter solenoid for the signal from the key, or are you talking about running a jumper cable from the + on the battery to the big + on the back of the starter. If you are talking about jumping running a new cable to the + on the starter, that means that the wiring is old and tired, or corroded, which often happens in old cars. If you are talking about jumping the solenoid, it could be a tired out starter relay, worn out ignition switch, or the wiring in between, or a solenoid on the starter dieing. I would advise using a multimeter and look at your voltages as they go through the key, to the relay, and then the voltage the starter solenoid is getting.

 

If the parts are cheap enough and you don't have a multimeter, you can start throwing parts at it and clean your battery terminals and wiring, but to know for sure what the problem is, a few minutes with a multimeter and a load tester can tell you everything you need to know.

[john510]

I had the same problem for years,but i was always able to get it started eventually.I checked and cleaned all connections,i had good battery cables and good battery.The solution was the Bosch relay.Real simple to wire up.I installed it on the fender well near the starter.Starts every time on the first try.Somewhere on here there are instructions how to do it.I think the relay was less than ten bucks.

[Spades]

I had the same problem for years,but i was always able to get it started eventually.I checked and cleaned all connections,i had good battery cables and good battery.The solution was the Bosch relay.Real simple to wire up.I installed it on the fender well near the starter.Starts every time on the first try.Somewhere on here there are instructions how to do it.I think the relay was less than ten bucks.

 

 

If the old relay is going out and is the problem, I would suggest a manufacturer other than Bosch. They are not the best electrical parts manufacturer available...there are many other more reputable companies offering a simple relay than Bosch.

[banzai510(hainz)]

still could be a wore out selinoid on the starter but try everything else first.

Then if another starer dont fix it its a low voltage on selinoid and the Blk box relay would be a good fix.

 

I have this proplem on my yellow car. swap a starter and same.

 

tighten nut at starter

[510Hansi]

I had the same problem for years,but i was always able to get it started eventually.I checked and cleaned all connections,i had good battery cables and good battery.The solution was the Bosch relay.Real simple to wire up.I installed it on the fender well near the starter.Starts every time on the first try.Somewhere on here there are instructions how to do it.I think the relay was less than ten bucks.

 

 

ok. so i started messing around with it today and it seems i have those same problems. i dont have a ignition hooked up but i have the back part of the ignition so i can start it with a screw driver, if i sit in the car and turn the key ( from on to start position) like 50 times, it will start one of those 50 times. so the key will start it, but it takes multiple turns to start it. but when it does engauges, its starts up really fast no problems. & if i turn off the car and turn it back on immediatly it will start fine. it wont start however when i let it sit for more than 1 minutes, then its back to turning the key 50 odd times till one turn starts it.

[banzai510(hainz)]

510Hansi

If all connections are good have good cables. then swap a starter. if still same proplem then add a relay

PM if you need the diagram as I need a personal email adress to send photos for some reason.

 

you could always reseat the plug near the key incase its there were its loosing the voltage.

[Spades]

ok. so i started messing around with it today and it seems i have those same problems. i dont have a ignition hooked up but i have the back part of the ignition so i can start it with a screw driver, if i sit in the car and turn the key ( from on to start position) like 50 times, it will start one of those 50 times. so the key will start it, but it takes multiple turns to start it. but when it does engauges, its starts up really fast no problems. & if i turn off the car and turn it back on immediatly it will start fine. it wont start however when i let it sit for more than 1 minutes, then its back to turning the key 50 odd times till one turn starts it.

 

I would say time to clean up battery and starter cables, if that doesn't do any good, see what voltage you are getting to the starter solenoid, that will tell you if the relay is bad. If you do not have a voltmeter, and cleaning and tightening all battery and starter cables doesn't help, try a relay. If that doesn't fix it, it would most likely be an ignition switch or some severe corrosion or a loose connection on the wiring going from the battery through the ignition switch to the starter relay. Without a voltmeter, you are kinda stuck throwing parts at it :(

[mklotz70]

To see if the relay will take care of the prob..........

 

Take a medium gauge wire....10ga(about 3') or so....disconnect the smallest wire from the starter solenoid(it's a spade terminal and that's the signal from the key). Jumper the 10ga wire from the pos batt term to the spade connector on the starter. Make sure you're out of gear since this will bypass any neutral safety switches. You're not looking for the motor to start, you just want to see if it cranks every time. So....touch the wire to the spade term for about a second. If it cranks right away, do it about 6-10 more times. If it does it every time, then your starter and solenoid are fine and as Datzenmike said, you are simply not getting enough current from the key signal to fully actuate the solenoid. Anyway.....Since the starter clicks every time when you turn the ign switch, you know that circuit is working well enough to trigger the relay.

 

It's about a 5 min check and a 30 min fix...if you have the relay on hand.

[mklotz70]

btw...you'll see a pretty spark every time you touch the 10ga wire....just fyi :)

[metalmonkey47]

Cleaning the battery cables usually fixes these symptoms. They should be cleaned once a year, all corrosion brushed or scraped off.

 

This is the most common car problem for cars new and old.

 

I'll usually just clip the exposed wire and peel back the jacketing to expose fresh new wire. Little bit of Di-electric grease keeps the wire looking fresh.

[ggzilla]

Good idea for corroded wires. For the battery cable ends, use a battery terminal brush, or what I do is scrape with a screwdriver until it is shiny metal both on the battery and on the cable end, then put a light coating of grease on it to prevent quick oxidization. Then remember to do this once a year!