[meyousikmann]

I've got a 78 TA that is very hard to start when it is warm. The battery is brand new. Whenever I park the car after driving some distance and try to come back and restart it within 30 minutes or so, it is very hard to start. It will crank very slowly once and then pause for several seconds then crank very slowly again. It has always seemed to get started after several very slow cranks, but I fear one of these times it will not restart or the battery will drain before it does.

Any clue on what this may be? Fuel pump? Vapor lock? ???

Thanks for any help.

[2manyT/A'S]

Sounds to me like a timing issue? (like to much initial?)

Set it back to 10 or 12 degrees & see if that helps.

Couldn't hurt to check your block to battery ground & pos. terminal as well.

[ta6point6]

sounds like heat soak is getting to the starter, the starter is very close to the exhaust. If you have headers it will make this problem worse. Try a heat shield or blanket to protect the starter from the heat

[turbo]

That used to happen to my first car, a 79 Firebird. Check to see if you have a heat shield on your starter. Sounds exactly what used to happen to me back in High school.

[autobahn]

I also have a 78 TA and have had the same issue, got a starter shield from Jegs retarded the timing a couple and installed a aftermarket distributor, no more hard starts. ya the distributor was overkill, but it looks good

[car guy]

I bought a 79 TA new and it was that way all the time. I restored a 68 FB 400 with that problem and a heat shield for the starter solved the problem.

[tqvhp]

I ended up going with gear reduction starters on both my birds.They work great,less weight and less amperage to start.

[meyousikmann]

Wow, heat shield for starter. Never would have thought of that. I am going to try it out. Thanks for all the replies.

[Ben M.]

Check the shape and routing of your wiring to the starter as well. 30 year old baked wires can cause hot start problems as well.

["QUICK-SILVER"]

Originally Posted by meyousikmann

Wow, heat shield for starter. Never would have thought of that. I am going to try it out. Thanks for all the replies.

Most I've seen had a heat shield over the solenoid from the factory. It was suppose to help with hot 'no' start situations.
The hotter the windings in the solenoid and starter get, the less current flows through it. Just the nature of the beast when dealing with copper. Same thing holds true for battery cables.
Batteries also lose power when they get too hot. About the same as severe cold.

Always make sure cable connections are clean and tight, battery, starter, and block.

Hot engines are harder to turnover also, where cold engines usually spin easy. So don't rule out starter getting weak. Worn bushings and brushes make the starter weaker.

[2002Z4CSS]

Do a voltage drop on thew negative and positive cable when the engine is hot. May need a new cable due to high resistance.

[ve3wireless]

I had an eerily similar condition to yours here with my '78 T/A, back some 18 years ago, or so...

Finally I got underneath the car, & to my surprise, found that one of the wires hooked up to the starter was loose! In fact, LESS than finger-tight...

I simply cleaned everything up down there, applied new lock "star" washers on all the appropriate electrical connections, & that was the end of my issues...

I'll wager you have something similar there, i.e. just a bad connection. There's no heat shield on my car, & it starts just fine in our 90F Ontario Julys here now, hot or cold.

Eddy
Ontario, CANADA

[77 TRASHCAN]

Loose cables/wires are nice to find BEFORE you go out and spend money...LOL

I was helping a friend w/ his 72, the starter bolts were very loose, AND the cable was loose...., for some reason, the thing had been still starting good...we were looking to replace the positive cable, because the battery end was goofed up, go figure....

Before you install the shield, make sure your starter is good, most parts stores can test them, beware of what you buy, though, I would much rather repair an original starter.