Project Franken-Riviera -1964 Buick Riviera-

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It's here!!

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Of course the day after it arrives it's raining all day so I can't do much on it since the garage is only 1/2 emptied out.
It does run and drive but the transmission is in "limp home mode" due to it being wired to nothing which gives me 2nd and Reverse. My neighbor did put down blue mats cut up into carpet and fill in all the pieces of the dash that were missing with duct tape as well as tape the console down so it looks semi finished inside. The drivers finally didn't balk at it this time with having to pull the shifter (B&M Megashifter ratcheting) back a second time once it was in "D" to make it go but they did twice before. When it stops raining I'll check the fluids and see if the oil pan is leaking. I had it dripping slowly from the drain plug and if it's keeping it up I'll empty the pan and skim and sand it flat with epoxy as well as put a new copper crush washer on it. More updates when I can get to the car and take pictures.

[DanStokes]

Glad that it's now in your possession.

Rock On!

Dan

[74NovaMan]

Good news! Cool car!

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Well got the other half of the garage emptied out and the stuff along the far wall decently well organized so I decided it was time to get the car in before the cold weather that many of ya'll have been feeling makes it here on Thursday.

Of course it won't start... No power under the hood but 12V on the battery. I decided to charge it for a few days ~3hrs twice a day to bring the battery back up. Still no voltage under the hood so I worked my way forward and after jiggling stuff on the starter solenoid in the trunk (using the MAD Electrical model of unpowered thick wire for the starter and separate for the rest of the car junctioned at the starter solenoid in the trunk) I got power up front. Went to try and crank it over and the starter clicks like it engages but then ALL power in the car dies. Jiggled wires, checked stuff and it did it repeatedly. Putting a wrench on the crank lets you turn the engine but you can hear/feel the gear disengage when you first turn it. Starter tests good at the NAPA and nothing happens when you turn the key with the wire off of the starter.

Thinking back to no power up front I'm wondering if my Ford starter solenoid is bad. Its a NAPA unit (I think it's an Echlin) from a early 90's F-150 so it's got two tabs on the base instead of hanging off of a bracket. Do these things ever go bad? Mind you that the car started and drove just fine to get here but has been sitting since early Sept without being touched.

Suggestions for troubleshooting?

[DanStokes]

It's relatively easy to jump the Ford solenoid - just use an expendable screwdriver. I'd start there.

Dan

[Russell]

Yes they do go bad. is there a solenoid on the started as well as the ford one in the trunk? if so can you bypass the solenoid buy bolting the cables on the same post. Might want to do this with the batter cable un hooked.

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Yes they do go bad. is there a solenoid on the started as well as the ford one in the trunk? if so can you bypass the solenoid buy bolting the cables on the same post. Might want to do this with the batter cable un hooked.

There is a solenoid on the LT4 starter but it's wired directly to the big wire coming from the Ford solenoid in the trunk already. Will get a new solenoid this evening and try it.

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Also have to say that the oil pan only dripped from the drain plug though the gasket looks wet. Put a new drain plug in with new washer that should stop that leak. Transmission hasn't leaked a drop and yes it's full, I checked.

[Deaf Bob]

Been to DC and that area... Humidity is/was bad when I was there.. If it was me, I'd clean all connections from the battery... All connections from the selinoid....if you have a bolt on post clamp, remove it and clean it.. Do not eyeball it.. Scratch or brush it! ... I was thrashing to make a show 2 hrs north of me, I was an hour from home.. My long 2/0 cables were home.. So I put 2 together to make one long one.. This was about this time of the year, the show was indoors.. Come 4th of July, my next show, the car started fine, played in the fields fine..entered the arena doing a donut, it died. After the show, I took off the roll of tape from my splice, it looked good.. Took it apart and brushed it and put it back together, no more dying! .. Sooo clean all connections in trunk, under hood and try again.. Could also be the battery will show 12v, but will not hold it.. Look at your case.. If it bulges, prolly no good.. Not always tho..

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New solenoid is on, about half of the terminal and cable ends cleaned and the problem presists. It's like the car dead shorts through the starter itself or atleast the output terminal of the solenoid when it has something to ground to. Has to be something up at the starter end coming off of the terminal as well since the solenoid with no load on the cable doesn't trip anything.

I'm doubtful that the battery is juiced because all the interior power dies as well. It's almost like there is a breaker on the battery cable that trips when the starter engages.

[Deaf Bob]

Yep, weak battery.. Swap a known good one in and watch magic happen... I'd guarantee it BUT I'm 3500 miles away, not a good idea

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Yep, weak battery.. Swap a known good one in and watch magic happen... I'd guarantee it BUT I'm 3500 miles away, not a good idea

Hehe... why I put a Walmart battery in it. I'll get a new one this weekend and try it out again.

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Was thinking, it still seems like a short since the power doesn't come back until 20-30sec after you let go of the key and it's back at full power, not a slow recovery. Do Ford solenoids have breakers in them?

[DanStokes]

IIRC, all the main body power on the Riv flows thru the horn relay. I think that might screw up the trigger wire to the starter from the key. Anyhow, if that circuit is still in place on yours it might be worth a look.

Dan