Sluggish Starter

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rdh778
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Sluggish Starter

Post by rdh778 » Sat Apr 23, 2022 12:36 pm

My 1967 m151a1 is very sluggish when I try to start it. Today I actually had to push start it. I tested the voltage going to the batteries and it is very good and the batteries are at 12 volts each.
Does this mean I need to rebuild my starter? Feel free to email me at herrmann00@aol.com.
Thanks,
Bob


Rickf
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Re: Sluggish Starter

Post by Rickf » Sat Apr 23, 2022 4:30 pm

You may want to edit out your e-mail from the post before the post is deleted. It is in the rules. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=326977

As far as the starter be sure to remove and clean ALL of the battery connections and also the ground connection on the body. Check to make sure your ground strap is attached between the engine and the body. If you are still having problems I would put a voltmeter across both batteries and read the total voltage, it should be 24.4 for fully charged batteries. 12 volts on a battery is actually just about dead. But with the voltmeter attached to the batteries hit the starter and see what the meter shows during cranking. Should not go any lower than 20-21 volts at the lowest. How old are the batteries? Anything over 4 years is about it for battery life on standard batteries unless they are kept on a maintainer all the time. There are two other connections to check if all else fails and they are the battery cables on the starter switch. Be sure the ground cable is off the battery before taking that switch out. hitting the hot terminal on the body with show you why welders use 24 volts to get 300 amp welds!!!!!!!!!!
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone

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W. Winget
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Re: Sluggish Starter

Post by W. Winget » Sat Apr 23, 2022 4:58 pm

What Rick said, plus:
If you have another vehicle that's only 12V, you can hook up jumper setup to the grounded battery, adding some charge to the system (NOT THE 24V POSITVE POST... :shock: ) only the 1st battery that is grounded plus it's positive terminal where it joins the other battery...

Also once started check the charging voltage..."Very good" isn't 26-28V that a proper 24V system will be charging at.
If "Very good" is only around 24V, then you're not charging the batteries and can possibly adjust your output upward depending on which system you have.
Are both (or all three) belts in decent shape? loose or old belts may be allowing the Gen/Alt to not spin up to speed.
V/R W. Winget
Looking for 1918 Standard B 'Liberty' truck parts

rdh778
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Re: Sluggish Starter

Post by rdh778 » Sun Apr 24, 2022 10:45 am

Thank you both for your comments. I will do some testing and see what I have going to my batteries while running and during starting.
Bob

hambone
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Re: Sluggish Starter

Post by hambone » Sun Apr 24, 2022 10:54 am

You can have your batteries load tested at local auto parts store free of charge.

rdh778
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Re: Sluggish Starter

Post by rdh778 » Sun Jun 05, 2022 1:49 pm

Turns out my alternator was adjusted all the way down. Who knew? Thanks for all your help.


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