Moparts

starter wont crank when warmed up?

Posted By: dirt

starter wont crank when warmed up? - 02/26/11 04:03 AM

the 03 5.7 hemi in my daytona , with a mini starter from my 360 that i had in the car before wont crank when warmed up. It just barerly starts to turn then dies like the battery is dead. I tried another battery and it did the same thing, then i took the batteries and tried them in my truck and they both worked fine so its not the battery. after the car cools down it starts right up.
any idea what it could be? i figure it has to be the starter. if it is is there any rebuild kits available for the mini starters that may repair my starter?
Posted By: topside

Re: starter wont crank when warmed up? - 02/26/11 04:32 AM

Sounds like either the starter or its solenoid are getting heat-soaked. You could try tying piece of thermal barrier stuff around it, or replace the solenoid, before replacing the starter. The obvious stuff like good connections, adequate grounds, etc should be checked first.
Posted By: radar

Re: starter wont crank when warmed up? - 02/26/11 05:08 AM

X2 for the silver blanket around the starter. It solved the same problem for me.
Posted By: RapidRobert

Re: starter wont crank when warmed up? - 02/26/11 06:48 AM

More info, it (the Hemi) always did this & the starter worked OK on the 360? Heat soak in the starter/too much eng friction when hot/too small of cables or poor cable end or terminal connection (only takes (1) poor connection to do it)
Posted By: Evil Monkey

Re: starter wont crank when warmed up? - 02/26/11 07:38 AM

I was having that problem with the 360 in my Cuda. It may be a different issue for you, but for me, it wasn't the starter at all. I had replaced the stock fan with an electric, and I found that I had wired the electric fan in a way so that if the engine was warm, the fan would be running while I was cranking the engine. The draw that the electric fan had was enough so that the starter hardly turned the engine over. Once the engine cooled enough, the fan wouldn't run anymore, and the engine would start fine.

I ended up rewiring the electric fan so that it will only run when the key is in the run position, and will not run when the key is in the start position. No starting problems anymore.

It is most likely what the others are saying - heat soaked starter or starter relay, but it's fairly easy (and free) to check to see if something else is using electrical power when your key is in the start position - fan, stereo, etc. If you pull the neutral safety wire (or ground wire if you have it rigged that way) off of your starter relay, you can turn the key to the start position and the engine won't try to turn over. You can then see if anything else electrical is running while the key is in the start position. If not, I'd think it's a heat soak issue. and try a heat shield for the starter to see if that helps.
Posted By: GO_Fish

Re: starter wont crank when warmed up? - 02/26/11 09:28 PM

Get your volt meter out and take some readings. The mini starters are a great thing, but they do not like lower voltages and will not work at voltages where the old Chrysler starters would.
Posted By: Moparmaniacc

Re: starter wont crank when warmed up? - 02/28/11 08:54 PM

Maybe your timing is too far advanced...try backing it off a little.

Of course I dont know if you can even change it...
Posted By: RapidRobert

Re: starter wont crank when warmed up? - 02/28/11 09:21 PM

Quote:

Maybe your timing is too far advanced


Good idea or cranking compression just too high but people (on here) have killer builds w no cranking probs. key off & crank it at the starter relay & you'll have your ans to that one in seconds
Posted By: dirt

Re: starter wont crank when warmed up? - 04/10/11 09:51 PM

i changed the starter and put on a new, rebuilt, one and it does the same thing.
i ordered some exhaust header wrap for the headers and exhaust pipe. they pretty much wrap around the starter very close ,closer than they did on the 360. i was also thinking of wraping it around the starter itself.
what do you use to keep that stuff attached to the pipe? do you need metal ties or will the plastic zip ties work. i am guessing that the plastic ones would melt.
how many volts should the mini starter be getting to work right? its a stock replacement for a 95 dakota,i got from napa. looks like the mini starter i got a while back for my dart.
Posted By: dirt

Re: starter wont crank when warmed up? - 04/13/11 02:34 AM

I tried putting a heat shield on it that i had on another mini starter and it didnt help.
i tried jumping the starter at the relay on the inner fender and it still didnt want to crank,
The wire that runs from the relay on the inner fender to the starter is 4 GA , i got it from the napa store, it is for starters. its a little long , about 2.5 - 3 feet probably. would the wire size cause it not to crank when hot?

I have the battery in the trunk but i used the biggest wire i could buy from summit to run to the front, so i figure it should be ok.
i got header wrap today but didnt get a chance to try it yet.

any more ideas?
Posted By: 74fldart

Re: starter wont crank when warmed up? - 04/13/11 08:58 PM

clean all the connections very well with a wire brush, maybe add another engine to chassis ground, if you have any old cables, replace them . where the grounds attach to the body, scratch off the paint to bare metal to make the best connection.
Posted By: RapidRobert

Re: starter wont crank when warmed up? - 04/14/11 03:35 AM

Quote:

I have the battery in the trunk


take the batt out of the trunk & reinstall it up front (wouldn't take too long) & that'll tell you if it's a voltage drop prob (my guess)
Posted By: 85_Ram_4speed

Re: starter wont crank when warmed up? - 04/14/11 11:14 AM

I had a similar problem (by your description anyhow), chased it around and was rewiring everything (kinda needed it anyway), and it turned out to be the starter relay in the end---yup, it was a new one i put on and it was junk appearently. Worked just enough initially so I didn't suspect it at first. And it was no where near any heat source either. Just throwing that out there for you.
Posted By: dirt

Re: starter wont crank when warmed up? - 04/14/11 06:09 PM

thanks for all of your help everyone. i think i have fixed it. I changed the starter and that wasnt it, i put on a heat shield and that wasnt it. so i decided to do the easiest thing since the hard stuff didnt work.
I cleaned the ground strap that goes from the battery to the frame. turns out it was a little loose and dirty. i took it for a ride and let it get warmed up and then shut it off and tried to start it. it started right up! hopefully that was all it needed.
so now i have a spare starter out of the deal and a roll of header wrap i didnt try yet. but i learned something so i guess thats what counts.
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