Ok, to clarify. I would agree that I have something weird going on, because before it would go right to 0Vdc. Now its actually cranking the engine over with the plugs pulled.

I have also noticed before in the past that the Negative terminal has been SUPER hot, like it could burn you if you touched it after the car was off and you popped the hood.

I will try and charge my battery over the weekend, run new wire from the starter to the battery (bigger) and a new and bigger wire from the alternator to the battery.

I will then check the voltage drop again to the starter and see what I come up with.

 

Here's another problem....you mentioned you have been driving with this setup for 3 months. "Generally" I would not expect your "original" wiring setup to just go bad.

Based on your original issue, your starter would not cause the car to just die(unless for some reason it caused a short). However a bad battery could cause the car to die. I know that from experience.

Where exactly did you get the battery tested? I would like to know the name of the place.

 

I actually had the battery tested at 2 Napa locations. Both said the battery tested good but needed a charge. When they tried their quick charge method it would say too hot and stop charging.

I still wasnt convinced that the battery was good so I went to a local shop in town that is well known and tried getting it tested there and they said the same thing, battery was good but it needed a charge.

I say 3 months because this is a summer only car. I have had this car for 3 years with this setup, I have changed the heads/cam but thats nothing electrical. Anyhow. I can only drive it from April 1 - October 31st. So it sits a lot. I know I should just plop some money down on a yellow top sense I store it for long periods of time without driving it.

Yes, I did try my wifes (Ford) 625CCA battery and I had the same symptoms that I received with my current battery.

 

I know you've stated the fuel pump engages w/ the key on, but have you actually checked the fuel pressure? Especially when it starts to act up?

 

Fuel pressure is good. I checked fuel. I am defiantly getting fuel. I need spark.

 

Ok, battery was defiantly almost dead. I put a charger on it and it was completely drained. I have had it on a charger for about 2 hours at 6amps charge and its now just started to hit the green marker of the charge point. Its about 1/4 charged. So my plans are as follows...

YellowTop Battery
ProStarter Gear Reduction Starter
New wiring again through out the engine bay.

 

What kind of pressure are you getting? Have you hooked a gauge up to see? Even if you smell gas it doesn't mean there's enough pressure to run the engine.

 

If your motor isn't turning over, how are you testing for spark? You said you tested for spark with the starter not even hooked up. If this is the case, then you shouldn't be getting spark. The ONLY thing you should be worried about at this point is getting the motor to turn over. Have you pulled the vacuum line off of the fuel pressure regulator to see if it's wet? If it is, then you have a bad FPR, which can flood the motor and lock it up. The next thing you need to do is go through ALL of your grounds and clean them and wherever they mate to the block or chassis. Let us know what happens after all of that.

 

lol i thought we came to the conclusion yesterday that you needed the wire

what u did yesterday was a voltage drop across the starter wire and u ended up with 8.9V, that means the wire is no good or u have a bad connection, make sure all the connections r good.

the reason your engine turns over with the plugs out is because it is easyer to turn over with no spark plugs, so since you starter is getting SOME voltage to it, it is able to turn the engine.

TRUST ME
if the engine is not turning over with the plugs in that means:
the problem is in the starting system
the problem is not in the igntion system lol

parts fail sometimes, even if they are onlly 3 years old

change the wire first, then the battery if you feel its week

and also change the entire wire (battery post to starter connector) with a factory gm part, unless you have some kind of aftermarket starter that draws more amperage then you do not need a aftermarket one even if its supposed to be bigger or better.

dont just start throing parts at it, as that can get very expencive

 

Well, I have always had a starting problem, due to the tight piston clearance with my buildup for nitrous. So I am getting a new gear reduction starter to help aid in starting. So I am going to get all new wire anyhow. Like I said, I will post after I have replaced all the wiring and load tested to verify that the new wire is sufficient enough.

 

Ok, haha. I was load testing incorrectly. I was putting the positive side of the meter to the negative side of the battery and the negative side of the meter to the postive side of the starter. I have a known working battery in the car now and I hooked up the connections correctly this time.

From positive battery terminal to positive starter terminal I get 0v. Then when I crank the car over I get .04v. So I assume the starter is drawing the other 9.6V.

This is with the new wiring btw.

So I would say the wiring is now defiantly good. I just need to determine what now is causing my non spark issue.

 

Ok, got all the plugs back in and tried to turn the motor over. The starter tried to turn the motor ovre about 4 times but SUPER slow, it kept getting slower. I got out of the car and the starter was smoking. So I went ahead and already purchased a new CVR ProTorque Starter to fix that problem. Hopefully after the new starter is in the problem dissappears.

 

did you say your negative cable was hot?

hot=resistance, so the connection needs to be fixed or the cable replaced as well

 

I replaced the following cables.

From passenger engine mount to battery
From passenger side lug by wheel well to battery
From passenger side, positive starter wire to battery
From passenger side, positive alternator wire to battery
From passenger side, positive red block to battery

If I am missing something let me know. The new starter should be here Wednesday.

 

shouldnt matter which lead u put on which terminal, you should still get the same thing, and you cant get spark unless the engines turning lol. change that starter im interested to see what happens