How long is your positive cable and what gauge? If it's longer than 2 feet I'd suggest using a length of welding cable, 2/0 should be sufficient, with appropriate ends.

 

A battery with 600 to 750 CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) should be plenty. Should be printed on the battery. Check all your cable connections right after cranking for a hot connection. Is this a new or freshly rebuilt engine? Are you using a gear reduction starter? With a big block, you should use a gear reduction starter.

 

Since the engine is turning over, I suspect you have another reason for it not starting... remember, we used to start our cars by a partial turn of a hand crank!

The two basic questions: 1. Does it have gas? 2. Does it have spark?

Has this engine ever been apart or the distributor out of it? Did it run before installing it? Have you ever seen it run?

Is the starter an old style direct drive starter or a newer style gear reduction starter?

What are the CCA - Cold Cranking Amps of the battery?
.

 

Thanks everyone, I've had starter problems before this, The cables are over 5 feet long but I have 2/0 or bigger on both the ground and the power, I had a 725 Cranking amp battery, now I have 825 cranking amps. Read the thread about getting the starter right size holes in, But after many calls including Car Quest, no one in Washington or Oregon seems to know anything about that but I did add the stabilizing strap. I have gas had spark, have heard it run, but I though about the timing because that can make it turn over slow, my distributor was loose. So now do I buy another replacement starter or go to a gear reduction starter, are there adapters to do it with out changing the flex plate or pulling the motor, Sorry got off the size of battery. Thanks for all the help

 

cranking amps at 32 degrees and COLD cranking amps at -0- degrees are two different things...

https://www.amazon.com/DB-Electrica...-SDR0031-L-2-1691-DR-2-2-2323-DR-2/dp/B00KGIEUJS/ref=sr_1_7/132-8757777-0477152 ... newer GM style... $49... or free... your choice... direct fit...
.

 

This is a chevy, here is a suggestion, see what GM has for the starter. That's where I would start (pun unintended), I say this because there seems not a week does not goes by these starter match ups and the problems that loom are posted .

Are you using the block for ground, is this the same starter that gave you trouble before? Are the terminals/lugs at the starter and ground soldered onto the cable?


I think 850 is a good number for the battery myself


Buzz ....... hand crake LMAO !

I'm your age and the only thing I've stater manually and driven were go karts


Greg

 

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...talog/chevrolet,1997,c2500+pickup,7.4l+v8,1033377,electrical,starter+motor,4152

Click on above. Pick a gear reduction starter.

 

I have a walmart 540 CC amp battery that spins my 10:9 compression sb chevy, but I do have a high torque mini starter
did you try a battery charger with a boost while cranking? don't have one, use a welder
I have used a hand crank on an old tractor

 

How does it turn over without spark plugs? What compression ratio?

BB :thumbup::thumbup:

 

How does it turn over without spark plugs? What compression ratio?

BB :thumbup::thumbup:

Just ordered a gear reduction start this afternoon, when I'll see what happens. Thanks

 

A properly tuned carbureted car should usually start the first time a piston goes up on the compression stroke... shouldn't even hear the starter cranking it over most of the time... should start 10 times faster than the new EFI cars!

 

Put a digital voltmeter on your batteries posts, not the wire lugs and turn it over. You should have over 9.5 volts while cranking. If so, put your meter on your starter. Pos. on the nut where your cable connects, negative on the starter itself like one of the through bolts which mount the electric motor on to the starter body. Again you need at least 9.5 volts. The difference between your 2 readings is your volt drop in your wiring. You can do this to the positive, and negative side separately to determine where your problem lies. Don't rely on a body ground to send high current to your starter. Make sure to connect your meter to the battery posts while checking so you will be testing your battery connections as well.

Sent from my XT1096 using Tapatalk

 

Battery/Starter Issues

Thanks every one, I was reading a alert that was with one of the starter I bought, It has a list of problems, that will not light the trouble light, and of those problem, I have about half, these are caused by the crank sensor signal having the system fire to many times. I have someone coming in to plug into my module to see if the trouble code is there, I have replaced the crank sensor, but a cheap one. Will see if that is the problem, I'm still planning on putting a gear reduction starter on.

 

unless the battery is outright bad, i wouldnt worry about that. did you crimp the lugs to the cables yourself? if so, did you use a real crimper, and not a vise or hammer?

see if there's voltage drop across the *cables* while cranking. with such long cables thats a PITA, but you could measure voltage on the BATTERY POST while cranking, then the voltage on the STARTER STUD while cranking, and subtract the two values. if it's more than a couple tenths of a volt that's bad.

ditto the ground lead. be sure to do these measurements not on the cable or connectors but on the battery post metal or starter stud -- youre trying to measure the effect of those other parts.