Engine Cranks Slowly

[Johnnyboy]

I have a 1961 T Bird. My battery is well charged but the car cranks real slowly. Any ideas on what to check that is causing this?

[bbogue]

The first things I would check are the battery, starter solenoid and starter connections and cables. Remove, clean and reinstall the cables at the battery. Check for loose or corroded connections at the starter solenoid, starter and ground at the engine. Good luck.

Bill

[Johnnyboy]

The first things I would check are the battery, starter solenoid and starter connections and cables. Remove, clean and reinstall the cables at the battery. Check for loose or corroded connections at the starter solenoid, starter and ground at the engine. Good luck.

Bill

Thanks Bill I'll try that.

[JamesR]

What bbogue said is real good.

Of course, it's January, so cold weather is a factor, but I'm going to presume you know that. Make sure you have an appropriate gauge of cables that aren't too long.

[ICON 1956]

I had a 61, My suggestion think about installing a pertronix ignition system to help in starting. That is what I had. I did help ...

[RAVEN]

After checking all connections and motor rolls over slowly, try a little old country trick. Place a 100 watt trouble light under the hood, close it and then drape a heavy blanket over the hood, and any other old covers you have around home. Leave over night then try the starter the next day. You may be amazed on what happens.
Cheap experiment..
If it rolls over, then ambient is a little cool and oil is thick. A magnetic oil pan heater will assist in this cold temp start.
Just some back country tricks

[bbogue]

Some who’ve responded seem to be under the impression your car is outdoors, subjected to weather and cold winter temperatures. If so, I sorry. Weather can be tough on cars, especially old ones. I remember from the 1960’s how slow to turn over my Galaxie’s 390 could be in cold weather. In that case I think the issue was a combination of straight viscosity 30 weight oil, minimal battery power and my own ignorance. I’m better informed and experienced now. I use 10W30 oil (thinner when cold, thicker when warm) and pay attention to battery specs. My 61 Thunderbird came to me with a fairly new Interstate battery, 29NF size, but only rated at 420 Cold Cranking Amps, about the same as the battery in my wife’s Honda. I could not find a 29NF battery with better specs. Some battery mfrs list the 29NF battery size for our cars but I was happy to see that NAPA listed the 27F battery size with 710 CCA’s. It turns my engine much better than the Interstate 29NF.
Good luck.

Bill

[RAVEN]

Not all garages are heated. Many cars are stored indoors in unheated areas, but out of the direct weather. Sometimes it can actually be colder in an unheated garage as the building becomes an insulator to prevent the items within to experience the higher outdoor temps during the day.
My suggestion was a thought, which is low budget, and prevent possible wasted costs of experimentation. FWIW.

[bbogue]

I’d like to 2nd Raven’s idea about warming the engine bay with an incandescent bulb overnight, carefully. On the farm, we used to prevent freezing of our water well pump with a light bulb hung near the pump. As for magnetic oil pan heaters, I have no experience at all. Raven, you Canadians have ALL the fun! Brrr! Time for Florida.

Bill

[Johnnyboy]

My car is in a garage, but not heated. I live in Northern VA and it get down into the 20's and 30's overnight.

[ICON 1956]

I live in Illinois suburb of Chicago, We do get some freezing cold winters my garage is not heated. I would start the car once a month to keep the fluids going. My car came equipped with Pertronix ignition I never had a problem starting.

[RAVEN]

This post has gone off its rails. We are not weatherman. LOL
The original post was a question on why the engine rolled slowly. Some repos were given to warm the block, are there any other inputs?
Johnnyboy, have you tried starting, what is the feed back?

[Cliff Rankin]

How about taking a multimeter and do a few
Basic tests like voltage drop under a load. And
Load test the battery ? Worst case , some parts
Stores will bench test the starter if your weak
On diagnosing electrical.
My thoughts
Cliff

[OldRusty1]

I think Bill and Cliff hit it on the head. Assuming that all electrical connections are good, then a multi-vis oil, 10W-30 or I use 10W-40 along with a fully charged battery that has ample capacity, I'm running a Duracell 840 CCA battery then you should be good to go. If it's still slow cranking then I would suspect that the starter has issues - brushes or windings.
https://www.batteriesplus.com/productde ... 58/sli27fm

[Johnnyboy]

Thank you for the suggestions, I've been too busy to look into things further, hopefully next week I'll take you guy's suggestions to figure it out.

Thanks again.