1971 240Z - won't start - help!

[rbednar]

I'm a bit perplexed with my father in law's 240Z. We backed it out of the garage this morning for the first time since the fall, and hooked up the battery charger. The battery charged at about 2.7-3.0 amps for about a half hour so we tried to turn it over. The starter clicked repeatedly (like it does when your battery is too low to turn it over). Probably a bad battery, we thought. So we put the car on a boosting charger to try to get it started, and when the boost kicked in, it did the same thing. I bridged the posts on the solenoid with a screwdriver, and it only hummed and did not turn over. Any ideas? Any help is appreciated!

[Nissanman]

Apart from the electrical problem, does the engine actually turn over?

I mean, can you turn it over with a socket and bar on the crank pulley?

It may be well and truly locked, for whatever reason, and the starter has not a hope in budging it.

You may need to remove the spark plugs and lube the cylinders if the engine has been sitting.

Then try rotating it with the bar.

If it spins OK then you are back to your starter problem:rolleyes:

[beandip]

how long has the car been setting and or not in use ? Otherwise that short of time on the 3 amp charger is not nearly enough . Overnight another story. I don't know what kind of ''booster'' was used. If the engine is not frozen from rust then it is likely the uncharged or bad battery. Put the car in gear and see if it will cause the engine to rotate. With the key to the off position. Just in case! Trying to start the engine with a low charged battery puts a great load on the starter , not a good thing to keep doing. Gary

[rbednar]

Thanks for your help - the engine does turn, and the car has been started regularly over the winter. My father in law took the battery to Sears to be tested - and lo and behold - the battery was dead as a doornail. So he picked up a new diehard and we will pop it in tomorrow morning to see what's happening. Thanks for all your help so far. To be continued....

[DoesZ]

New member with similar issue here. My car started fine when I was running it regularly (about once a week). After a little more than a month of not starting it , the battery (which is a few months old) is completely drained. I tried jumping the car,letting it charge for about 5 minutes before attempting to start it. Having it hooked up to another running car makes a difference but the car still doesnt start. Does it need a longer charge time? Is it normal for batteries to drain after a month?

[Nissanman]

Your starting woes may be due to dud fuel:( .

Try draining the float bowls and then re-filling them with fresh fuel.[Assuming you have carbs. not EFI]

Providing it cranks and has spark it should fire:rolleyes:

As for the flattery going batt over a month, not normal.

However, storage batteries don't like getting cold.

If you have a cold climate, store the battery in a moderate temperature area and re-install it when you need it.

If there is a small current drain on the battery, over time and coupled with no input charge, it will go downhill.

Check that the rear window demister[if there is one], clock, interior light etc. are not draining the battery.

Overall, disconnection from the electrical system and regular trickle charging should keep a battery fresh for starting, excluding fuel issues.

[rbednar]

Problem solved! It was the battery. It's about 7 years old and was just not holding a charge anymore. New DieHard = fixed the problem. DoesZ it sounds like you have exactly the same issue. From now on I will disconnect the Batt for the winter, bring it inside the basement and trickle charge it during the winters. Thanks all for your suggestions and advice!

[Carl Beck]

Overall, disconnection from the electrical system and regular trickle charging should keep a battery fresh for starting, excluding fuel issues.

Ah... time for my Firestone Forever Battery story....

Back in 1975 I was working for a Firestone Dealer (another long story)... and I needed a new battery for the Z. So I bought a Firestone Forever... the best they offered at the time... My employee price was around $24.00 then...(for a 69.97 battery).

Since that time, Firestone had replaced that battery free of charge about every 4 years....As I added more cars to the collection I tired of finding them with dead batteries every time I decided to drive one.. so around 1995, I bought several Battery Minder's.... smart trickle chargers... and hooked them all up when the cars were parked in the garage..

When kept on the Battery Minders... the Firestone Forever's lasted an average of 6.5 years... as are most of the batteries in the other cars now..

I had to have the Firestone Forever replaced a couple years ago.... So I took the battery into the local Firestone Store, the counterman looked up the new replacement battery, then went and got one out of stock. Sitting it on the counter, he said "that will be $79.95 plus $5.59 sales tax and $5.00 Battery disposal fee - $90.54." I said, "no, that is a Forever Replacement and it is free". I then dug out my paperwork to show him the words "Forever" on the invoices and guarantee.

The counterman said he had never seen anything like that... so he went to get the Store Manager. The Store Manager knew what it was - but said he hadn't see one in years... So he started looking through the computer screens, to see if he could find the proper codes to charge the battery out of stock to... Finally he found them.. still on-line, still being honored...

I wonder what will happen the next time I have to replace it... At any rate, if your car sits for prolonged periods I'd highly recommend hooking the battery up to a good smart trickle charger... the car will start when you are ready and the battery will last for many additional years...

There are many others and you can shop the web for the best pricing, but I've been very happy with <a href=http://www.thebatteryminder.com/ TARGET=NEW> the BatteryMINDer </a> Check Standard Battery Chargers - 12V-1.33A BatteryMINDer They do more than just trickle charge.. and won't overcharge. No need to remove the battery if the car is garage kept, just plug in the trickle charger.

Of course none of this negates the requirement for clean, tight battery terminals... I switched to Gold Plated terminals years ago - and have not had a problem since...

FWIW,

Carl B.

[jmark]

I agree Carl. I use the Battery Tender Jr. on all my Z cars. They work great.

http://www.batterytender.com/

[Sean240Z]

DoesZ,

I agree with Nissanman's advice (and also Carl's, of course). I had a problem with my battery draining last year. The problem was one of the relays for the dealer installed AC (which has been in a box in the garage for the last 16yrs) was drawing current and draining the battery. When I connected the battery, I could here the relay "click" and when I felt the relay's case, it was very warm to the touch. As I wasn't using the AC, I just disconnected the relay and no more battery draining problem.

If you battery is in good shape (and you don't have anything significant drawing current), I'd think that you should be able to the battery in the car for a month, and it would still start.

Good luck,

[DoesZ]

Thanks all for you help. I finally got a chance to give the Z some attention after finals being over. Turns out my battery was dead too and couldn't hold a charge. Threw a new one on there yesterday and it started up on the first turn of the key. I will definitely take all of your advices and look into a trickle charger. Thanks!

[beandip]

Just a hint here. Even a new battery will fail if allowed to discharge and left this way. When the battery discharges and if not recharged soon it will not be able to recharge back to it's capacity when you do recharge it. There is an explanation for this I won't go into here. If this happens a few times the storage capacity will be greatly diminished. If when you do let the car sit idle for the winter. If you put a charger on it once a month this will keep the battery charged and fresh. Just as long as you don't have a short or relay drain as was previously mentioned . I had the relay situation on my Z as well from a after market dis-abler I installed. If this is the case simply disconnect the ground connection on the battery. If the car is stored in a unheated garage in cold country , I recommend removing it and store the battery in an area that will not freeze, still charge at the monthly interval. I have done this with my boat, trailer batteries for years, with great results. I have has ''trickle'' chargers over charge and ruin batteries. Gary