Problem with my V8 conversion Blazer, any mechanics?

[NeverEnuffBass 10+ year member]

1988 s-10 blazer with a 350 chevy TPI in it. Will only start when I have a battery charger or cables on it. It has an optima yellowtop under the hood a battery isolator and another yellowtop in the back. I disconnected the back battery to get as much juice in the front as possible. When I crank the ignition, the voltage drops, and the starter doesn't have enough juice to kick it over. The starter is from a newer Corvette. I'm convinced its the battery, my father dissagrees and thinks its the starter. Any ideas or suggestions before I go buy another battery?

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[THUNDERBIRD 10+ year member]

only thing i can say is to pull the starter and battery and take them to autozone or murrays and have them test them. i know you know this but i will say it are your terminals corrided( horribly spelled)? i have that be an issue with my car not starting. you can take the battery from the back and move it up front and see if that works.

 

[95bat 10+ year member]

Hook a meter up to the battery. If it reads like 4 volts, you know its toast and need a new one.

 

[Silver 10+ year member]

If the car is starting with jumper calbes on it. Then why would it be the starter?

Try swapping batteries.

 

[NeverEnuffBass 10+ year member]

only thing i can say is to pull the starter and battery and take them to autozone or murrays and have them test them. i know you know this but i will say it are your terminals corrided( horribly spelled)? i have that be an issue with my car not starting. you can take the battery from the back and move it up front and see if that works.

Absolutely no corrosion. Its just wierd cause this problem radomly started. I'm trying to avoid taking off the starter do to the fact its not to easy to get to on the truck.

Hook a meter up to the battery. If it reads like 4 volts, you know its toast and need a new one.

First think I did was put my meter on it, reads 12v with a load on it, car off. 14.4 running.

If the car is starting with jumper calbes on it. Then why would it be the starter?
Try swapping batteries.

I'm gonna go buy a new yellow top tommarow and give it a try.

Thank you for the help guys.

B.J.

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

sounds like a battery or wiring/ground problem to me. BTW the bat could read 12v but when you put a load on it it just drops. Put the dmm on there while he is cranking. But the best thing to do is put a load tester on it with nothing else hooked up tp the battery and see what kind of amperage you are getting. If you dont have one then you need to take it to the autoparts and have them do it

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

why not take the battery out of the back and put it under the hood? That would eliminate a battery problem

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

also sometime the added power from a jumpbox will kick over a starter with a bad spot, seen that hapen

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

also make sure the wire from the battery to the starter is good and not corroded inside the jacket. Sorry for 4 posts, shit just keeps popping into my head

 

[NeverEnuffBass 10+ year member]

sounds like a battery or wiring/ground problem to me. BTW the bat could read 12v but when you put a load on it it just drops. Put the dmm on there while he is cranking. But the best thing to do is put a load tester on it with nothing else hooked up tp the battery and see what kind of amperage you are getting. If you dont have one then you need to take it to the autoparts and have them do it

Tried it while cranking, holds 12v. I had the battery load tested when it first acted up on me, and it was good.

No garage wants to even look at it due to the fact that literally everything in it is custom and pieced together from blazers, corvette's, and firebirds.

 

[NeverEnuffBass 10+ year member]

Thanks, JDawg

 

[Blazin_Jason 10+ year member]

Ever get it dyno'd?

 

[NeverEnuffBass 10+ year member]

Ever get it dyno'd?

Nope but I'm guestimating 300+ at the wheels.

 

[95bat 10+ year member]

If the battery holds 12 volts at cranking then I wouldn't think the battery is the problem... sounds like you have some kind of other weird problem going on.

 

[Blunt 10+ year member]

and stock chevy starter pulls 125amps give or take. a bad chevy starter pulls 600plus. wouldexplain the need for jumper cables