[flyrpwc2002]

i have a problem that makes every battery i put in my car go dead within a few short cranks. i thought the cells in my battery was dead but then i put a different one inthere and it did the same. i have even tried recarging the batteries. the battery cables on the car look pretty old but they seem to be well connected. is there anything else it could be? thanks ahead of time.

[flyrpwc2002]

i have a problem that makes every battery i put in my car go dead within a few short cranks. i thought the cells in my battery was dead but then i put a different one inthere and it did the same. i have even tried recarging the batteries. the battery cables on the car look pretty old but they seem to be well connected. is there anything else it could be? thanks ahead of time.

[Carla]

Check your voltage regulator, if it is the old style you can unscrew the cover and verify that the contacts are switching. If they are not you will be draining your battery.
c

[Bungee]

Something to consider, even this may not be the exact cure to your problem, is that grounding straps on the Pontiac motor are often secured close to the exhaust. With the constant heat/cold fluctuations, the integrity of ground strap contact is often quickly comprimised. For this reason, I use a "0" gauge strap, and make sure that connection stays tight.

[flyrpwc2002]

the motor is a 74 catalina in a68 firebird and the previous owner said that the alternator had an internal regulator and that the wires to the voltage regulator have been capped. i am also haveing a hard starting issue. does anyone know if this could contributeto it? thanks

[428GTO70]

They switched to internal regulator alt's in 1971, its quite easy to make the swap into an older vehicle. theres 4 wires that go to the external regulator. A dark blue, a black/white, a black/red, and brown. Now basically all you have to do is cut all 4 of these wires and splice them together so they are now 2 wires. what you need to know is the black/red is the constant power wire and the brown is for the alternator light on the dash. The other 2 are running to the current alternator plug. Its up to you to make sure that once you splice them, the Black/Red(Power) ends up on the top of the internal reg alt plug and the brown wire(dash gen light) ends up on the bottom. I hate crimp connectors, I cant stress this enough, especially under the hood. I like to strip about an inch of the wire on each one and twist them together so they are still in a straight line, then solder them together and then tape em. Crimp connectors will always come back to haunt you later especially on underhood and other moist or hot areas. If you still had the original external reg alt plug you could simply stick a very small flat screwdriver to release the wires from the plug and them reinsert them into the new internal regulator style plug to save from cutting too many wires. Since you already had a conversion done yours will not be original any more like this but maybe you can use this as a reference.


GR-RRR!

[428GTO70]

Another thing to check if your car starts hard and backfires is maybe your vacuum. If you have a large leak somewhere, open vacuum ports on carb, bad intake gasket. Get it running and partially close the carbs choke with your hand, If it starts to rev higher you most likely have a vacuum leak somewhere. You can use a can of carb cleaner to spray around, when you hit a leak it will temporarily seal it making the car run different. Dont chop off your fingers!


GR-RRR!

[flyrpwc2002]

today i found that the positive batterycable was pinched between the oil pan and the frame. when i got it out i noticed that the previous owner had taped around a bare wire spot. does anyone think this could havebeen the problem?

[george kujanski]

I doubt it. The battery cable shorting to the frame like that would cause some major damage, fried battery cable and perhaps even an exploded battery.

Regards, George

[Half-Inch Stud]

For best results; be sure about the Starter Solenoid having a solid copper disc.

Then be sure about all aspects of the Starter assembly having clean metal-metal contact. Not painted. Then scrape the block mounting boss free of paint&rust.