Before you spend any money at all, do the following test:
Next time this happens, leap out of the car with a screwdriver in hand, and
jump from the "B" terminal on the starter relay to the wire which goes down
to the starter (it is probably a brown #10 but check me on that, I don't
have a 73 manual). You should see a healthy spark when you make connection,
and the starter should spring into action. If you've left the key on, the
car will start. If doing that makes the car crank, you have the dreaded and
all too common MOPAR starter relay problem. The cure for that is to go to
your friendly local NAPA store with the old relay in hand, and match it up
as closely as you can.
All of us MOPAR drivers have had this happen, sooner or later.
If doing the screwdriver dance doesn't elicit a spark or if the starter
sparks but doesn't crank, you have either a bad starter solenoid, or a bad
starter (respectively), and the cure is to rebuild or replace the starter.
I just did this exact repair on my 67 Convertible (in my case it was the
starter solenoid - the copper disk was corroded about 84,000 miles worth. I
turned it over to use the other side, cleaned and lubed everything else, and
Bob's my uncle again!).
Dick Benjamin
----- Original Message -----
From: "kenyon wills" <imperialist60@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "IML" <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2003 11:18 AM
Subject: IML: Heat soak & my starter motor
> I replaced the starter in my 1973 with a chain parts-store "heavy duty"
> unit. -Lifetime warranty!
>
> When the car is stopped after a prolonged run on the open road of 20
> minutes or more, the car will refuse to start until the engine
> compartment/block has cooled significantly, maybe 40 minute-worth. This
> does not happen in stop & go around town stuff, and the starter works
> strongly and well otherwise.
>
> When the symptom occurs, the relay on the solenoid can be heard to lightly
> click, but no physical movement of any sort occurs in the starter. No
> audible click as heard when the battery is low, so I'm assuming that the
> entire thing's expanded so far that it is just seized up. Works great
> upon cool-down immediately after.
>
> I'm suspecting that the starter is not defective, but is being exposed to
> too much heat from the non-stock exhaust pipe that runs within inches of
> the starter.
>
> Before I go and try to fiddle around with fabricating a sheet-metal heat
> sheild or buying heat insulating wrapping for the pipe, is there something
> that I'm not understanding here?
>
> =====
> Kenyon Wills
> San Lorenzo/SF Bay Area
>
> 196o Imperial LeBaron - America's Most Carefully Built Car
> http://www.imperialclub.com/YearbyYear/1960/Kenyon/Page01.htm
> 1973 Imperial LeBaron - Long Low & Luxurious
> http://www.imperialclub.com/YearbyYear/1973/wills/
>
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