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I have a 1968 Olds Cutlass S, with Rocket 350. When cold, the car starts fine, after driving, I have to let the car cool down for it to start. The starter does engage but it cranks very slow and labored. There was an oil soaked heat shield on the starter ( Kevlar cloth ) that I removed when pulling and checking the starter. All cables are solid and clean. I have spoken to several mechanics who tell me that its " an Oldsmobile thing ". I have watched several youtube tutorials that point out several possible problems. I am not a mechanic but I can turn a wrench and have a general understanding of things. the one constant that keeps popping up is the fact that the starter is too close to the headers and the starter solenoid gets heat soaked causing the issue. I have purchases a high torque mini starter but have not installed yet.........Any direction would help.
Thank You
The fundamental problem with the GM hot start issue is that the GM solenoid circuit is long with a lot of potential resistance points. On your car power comes from the battery to the junction block on the horn relay to the firewall connector terminal to the ignition switch to the neutral safety switch, then back out through the firewall connector to the "S" terminal on the solenoid. Compound that with the fact that the contacts and disk in the solenoid get pitted every time you start the car, which increases resistance. Every one of these increased resistance points causes a voltage drop, and it doesn't take much to prevent the solenoid from kicking in. If the contact disk is pitted and worn, that will compound the slow cranking problem. Worn brushes in the starter don't help either. Heat increases the resistance which is why this occurs when the starter is hot. A new high-quality solenoid, new brushes, and good, clean connections everywhere in the circuit goes a long way towards fixing this problem. And FYI, the problem with heat shields is that no insulation is perfect and eventually the starter heats up. Now the heat shield prevents it from cooling down. Also, don't assume that new replacement solenoids are anywhere near as good as original GM.
Thank You, I will check all the contact points on the solenoid.
In theory, if the solenoid appears to have bad or worn contact points, I will start with a new solenoid.............Thanks again
Last edited by Mitchm74..; March 8th, 2021 at 12:22 PM.
Some have installed a remote starter solenoid like Fords to help on heat soak. Not OEM but maybe could be hid and help.
The Ford solenoid is just a band-aid. It bypasses the resistance of the start circuit wiring and crutches a weak solenoid. The GM solenoid is still required to make contact for the starter to work, even with the Ford unit installed.
Your right I forgot that the starter needs to be the non solenoid type. Me personally name brand mini high torque starter.
All GM starters use a starter-mounted solenoid, even the mini-starters. This is what pushes the Bendix drive out into contact with the ring gear. It also serves as the relay that connects power to the motor windings. The factory Delco starters use the solenoid to actuate a rocker arm that moves the Bendix. Gear drive mini starters have the solenoid in line with the Bendix and they push on it directly.
Ford used a different starter design that used the magnetic attraction of one of the stator windings in the motor to actuate the linkage that kicked the Bendix drive out. This is why those starters have an external solenoid. Newer Fords use a more conventional starter with the solenoid mounted on it.
The one from CVR Protorque starter is the one we used with remote solenoid. Yes the starter has a solenoid in it at the bottom away from high heat area and running the remote solenoid aided in the problem we were having on race car.
thanks to all the replies, I took off the starter solenoid and found that the ground bar was snapped off, again, no mechanic but I think I see were it snapped off. Here is the picture, hope im on the right track...……..Thanks again
I don't know what you are calling a "ground bar" but nothing there had better be grounded. The long screw from the solenoid attaches to the high current power feed for the motor windings. That looks like a replacement solenoid. The original solenoid had a one piece copper stud coming out of the lower terminal.
Note how the copper stud on the high-torque starter on the right is one piece coming out of the solenoid end cap. Generic replacement solenoids are one-size-fits-all and use those tubular spacers.
I doubt if the solenoid would cause the slow crank problem. I suspect the problem is in the starter windings or the brushes if all connections and cables are good. From the picture it looks like you have a low torque starter. You may want to replace the starter with a high torque one or put in the mini since you already have it.If your pictured starter has only one lead coming out of the starter it is probably a low torque starter.
March 8th, 2021, 11:09 AM
