Replaced radiator, now it wont start :(

Not necessarily.

If it's a cheap meter and it's reading a bit high that could be valid. If the starter is not engaging at all, and turning the key to start turns off other loads (like headlights), it's quite normal to see a voltage rise like this.

At this point, you have to look why the starter is not engaging, and the next step is to see if the solenoid is triggering. If it is, then the problem is in the high-current patch between the solenoid and the starter. I had an older Dodge Caravan that the 'transfer bar' was pitted and had this exact symptom. I couldn't get a replacement part on a Sunday, so I took it apart and put it back together with the bolts used for contact rotated 180 degrees (they were pitted only on one side of the bolthead so this exposed it to fresh metal) and put it back together. I picked up new parts from the dealer on Monday, but they stayed in the glove box for 10 years and were still there when the van was gone.

If the problem is no signal to trigger the solenoid, then you have to backtrack from there.

Reply to
Mike Y
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I agree with the others - bad meter or you're not using it right. No way you have over 13 volts anywhere with the engine not running and no charger on it.

You need to be looking at the *output* side of the solenoid contacts/input to the starter motor - *not* the hot wire from the battery to the solenoid.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Reply to
Bill Putney

Bull Crap. The chances of an electronic meter being 40% off is nil. Hell I've got a handful of meters here that came from Harbor Freight for $1 each. You aren't going to get much cheaper than that and they are dead on every time.

To the OP: You need to have the meter on the DC Volt scale and on the setting somewhere near 20V (depends on the scales on your meter) Mae sure you have the leads plugged in to the right two hole. The black one should be in the common and the red in the voltage (usually indicated by a straight line for DC and a wave line for AC and the letter V). Start by checking the voltage across the battery terminals. This will tell you that the battery is charged and that the meter is set and working properly. Voltage should read somewhere close to 12v.

You want the black lead to go to ground and the red lead to go to the power lug on the starter itself (not the solenoid). It should read

0.0 until you turn the key to crank then it should go to whatever voltage the battery was at from the step above. Decimal points don't matter but if you read 12v at the battery and 8 volts at the starter then you know you either have a bad connection / bad points in the solenoid or the engine is locked up and the starter can't move it. If the engine is locked up the cables should get warm to the touch after a few seconds of trying to crank.

CAUTION: You most likely have bad contacts in the starter as others here have said. Those contacts can suddenly work again at any point in time! You should connect your meter using alligator clip leads and have yourself safely away from the car when someone attempts to crank it. If it cranks while you are under there holding leads to the starter and not expecting it you will jump and that jump could cause you a great deal of injury. You can have the car fixed but you can't necessarily get a mangled arm put back right again.

Steve B.

Reply to
Steve B.

Bull Crap? You obviously don't know anything about meters!

I've seen a cheap flea market meters read a whole volt offset across the board. While that is a cheap meter, better meters rarely have problems like this.

I've seen an otherwise decent B&K meter read over 1.5x high on every scale as the battery went weak. Most meters don't do this until well after the batteries are too way too low for use, but if someone doesn't notice the battery indicator.

In either case, you can still use the meter to see a trend or what is going on, it's just not valid for quantitative measurements.

Before you say "Bull Crap", learn about what you speak!

Reply to
Mike Y

That's nice but the OP said he was reading 17v. Don't know where you live but here 17 - 12 = more than 1

And I've seen catfish fall from the sky. Neither is even remotely likely to be happening in the OPs case./

Bull Crap. You are so full of it your hair is brown.

Steve B.

Reply to
Steve B.

Now YOU don't know what you're talking about. Vehicles are not 12v! It's the nominal voltage if you want to pick nits. And that seems to be the extent of your ability in this.

Why? Do you have hidden knowledge of this situation? Or are you all powerful.

Just asking.

I'd have to ask what color your hair is. You may be mechanically inclined, but you obviously know little or nothing about meters or how to use them other then emperically. God forbid you have to use a meter that wasn't 'accurate'.

I really hope you're not in a position to service anything electrical in a vehicle where a customer is paying for the service!

Reply to
Mike Y

See my very first post, as well as recent ones, in this thread.

This particular starter/solenoid is not the type that you can rotate the solenoid contacts 180°. Again - read my earlier posts in this thread. I have this exact year and option package/engine Concorde, and I replaced the solenoid plunger/contacts (Nippon Denso starter) just a couple of months ago.

Yes - we (several of us) have been addressing that with the OP, giving specific details.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Reply to
Bill Putney

Without knowing what kind of meter (analog or digital) or anything else about it, if the batteries are going out, all bets are off about what any reading means. IOW - I wouldn't draw any conclusions whatsoever from the OP's post on his readings whether it's due to low batteries or something else.

If a meter is reading 17 volts on a wire that can't possibly be at more than 13 volts (engine not running), I don't draw any conclusions (other than something is seriously wrong with the reading).

The tension between you two aside, I have to side with Steve on this.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Reply to
Bill Putney

I'm just saying that a lot of non-electrical type people leave the meter in the box and forget about it. They don't use it for quantitative work on a regular enough basis to trust absolute readings. The meter may be in there for weeks without use, then when they use it it's lucky to work at all.

In that case, even a bad meter still tells you something. A failing meter may not be close at all to registering an accurate voltage, but you can STILL use it to see what's going on. Does it matter that it reads 12v, or

14, or even 18? The meter is going to be used to see the 'trend' and see 'what happens', not take a measurement. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that 99% of the time with automotive work, a test lamp would tell a good tech almost as much as a meter. Especially when it comes to diagnosing a starter issue.

Sorry, I guess I just tripped off on the incredibly helpful comment telling the original poster nothing other than that he didn't know how to use a meter.

Reply to
Mike Y

Again, I don't know how the do math where you live but down here in the South 40% is more than a nit. This car hasn't run since the 27th of August and the battery was charged on that date so it is reasonable to expect his battery is still in the neighborhood of 12v. If he was reading 13 and it should be 12.6 thats a nit... 5 volts on a 12v system is not a nit.

Yes, God forbid I can't afford to run down to Harbor Freight and pick up another DVM for $1.07. Have a handful running around here now and each is as close to accurate as I will ever need to get. And yes, I still have the Simpson with a needle for the stuff that matters but have never needed it on a car.

Yeah Yeah Yeah. You don't know me and I don't know you. You really shouldn't let old farts like me get so far under your skin. It isn't healthy.

Steve B.

Reply to
Steve B.

The OP is the same guy who hooked up the battery backwards in this same car in the middle of July. Many people tried to help with that problem. He never bothered to let us know if anything helped or what became of the car. He didn't share that incident with the group this time even though that kind of info would be kind of handy to have when helping to troubleshoot an electrical problem.

Then the radiator and now the starter and the meter that reads 17v...

Steve B.

Reply to
Steve B.

Don't worry, it's not the skin!

Hmm, you're a cantankerous piss. Probably someone I'd share a beer with if we met in person. After we both got done pissing.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Y

Minor Correction: He never said 17 VOLTS. He just said 17. That is why I asked if it was set to voltage. If it was, then my maybe it was set to AC volts, although I'd think that would display as less than DCV.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman

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