Hello - I bought my first Model T recently. It started, but turning over was very sluggish. I took the starter off and cleaned out the abrasive muck that was the remnants of old oil, then put it back on. The engine is still sluggish on turning over but it won't start. The questions in my mind are - I put a new modern battery on, does the amp hours and cca figure make a big difference? If so, what should the minimum figures be? Mainly though - is it just not turning over fast enough because of the starter being in need of a refurb? I bought a T with an electric starter, because I have a neck problem - so hand cranking isn't really the answer!
Len,
Is it possible for you to assure that the ground strap is making good contact with the frame? Remove it, sand the contact area and re-attach. Try that first, then the contacts from the battery thru the starter switch, to the starter. Need good, clean connections.
Dave
Len,
A 6 volt starter will turn over slower then a 12 volt starter but if the engine is good it should start well with the 6 volt system. It does not have to turn over fast in fact sometimes it will start without turning at all, that is called a free start.
Have you checked your engine basics? Compression? Spark? Timing? Carb settings?
Jim
6V battery? 'OO' cables? Clean it all up and see if that is an improvement.
Put it in neutral and crank it slowly without trying to start it just to see how tight it is.
Enlist the help of other Model T'ers.
If the oil in the starter case was muck how is the oil in the oil pan? If it is bad clean it out good and put a thin weight oil in.
Do you have coils or distributor? Check for strong spark.
Check your plugs to see if they are fouled.
There is a great thread on the forum that Hap posts for bringing a car out of mothballs. Look for it and review his suggestions
Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
I understand about the neck problem, but take a look at this. A T should start this easily, whether by hand or starter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCWnmPrxKo0
The starter doesn't have to be fast. If it will turn the engine as fast as pulling up the crank by hand, the car should start. If it's not turning fast enough, check all those connections. If it's turning as fast as a hand pull and still not starting, it's time to check those basics Jim listed.
I see you registered in April, so you may have already seen these. But in case you haven't, and since this is your first T, here they are:
http://dauntlessgeezer.com/DG80.html
http://dauntlessgeezer.com/DG79.html.
quote:Jim Thode wrote:
A 6 volt starter will turn over slower then a 12 volt starter...
A Model T starter on 6 volts will turn very slowly. On 6 volts you must have real 6 volt cables. The lighter 12 volt cables just don't have enough copper and the loss drops voltage at the starter to an extremely low value.