Hot starting problem

Had my 302 upgraded to 347 by Peter Frost (South Africa). Mild at 370 hp and 530 Nm. Now has a hot starting problem (Checked timing etch). Starter (Ford V6) cannot turn the motor over due to the increased compression?

Visited Peter Bailey (Bailey cars). He provided a geared starter and adaptor at very reasonable cost so hopefully this will save me a red face :embarassed: every time I start the car.
 
something to try, check your earth leads etc on the motor/box. sounds strange but i had the same problem when i moved a battery location away from the motor. when engine is hot, it would wind over real slow (or even hardly wind over) but when cold would wind over fast etc. i put another battery earth lead to engine directly from battery and all hot start problems were fixed.
something to try anyway.
 
The Bosch Hi-torque starter works with the 302 the standard V6 starter is not man enough to turn it over when it is hot. I had the same problem with mine. There is one issue with the Bosch if it gets wet after a while the points corrode and they cannot be replaced it's a new starter. Symtom of this is the solenoid clicking in but the starter does not turn over.
 
Check your ignition timing. With 9.5 or more compression ratio, an engine will want to kick back against the starter if initial timing is more than 10 or 12 BTC. Make sure to verify the timing marks are correct and 0 degrees is actully 0 degrees. Race cars use a separate switches for ignition and for the starter motor. The procedure goes like this. First, crank over the engine until oil pressure builds. Once you have oil pressure, turn on the ignition. Separate switches for starter and ignition are also the best for high performance vehicles that to sit for extended periods of time allowing for a pre-oiling before the revs build. If your starter still can not whirl over your SBF, go to fordracing.com and purchase a compact hi-tork Ford starter motor. Ranger Jim
 

Pat

Supporter
Good point on the ground wires and other connections for corrosion.
Assuming your battery is good and the starter bearings and solenoid are OK; check the output of your alternator. Mine was doing the same thing until I pulled it out and had it rebuilt. It was only producing 1/3 of the rated amps yet the voltmeter read 13-14 volts.
 
I second the earthing lead issue.
Caught me out at the LMC last year. Ian Cowan suggested the problem & Ian Stewart provided the fix: connected a set of jump leads between engine & chassis & bingo! No more problems.
 

Malcolm

Supporter
GTDs use to get this issue. Apart from checking grounds etc, the common solution was a geared starter motor.
 
As is common with many mechanical failings, you may have multiple contributing factors here....undersized starter, small/partially corroded earth and positive leads, weak battery, etc.

Best thing to do is to a) get the biggest and heaviest ground cable to ground the block, b) biggest and heaviest positive cable to the starter, c) oversized/geared starter, d) new battery, and e) clean all major battery connections. Doing this will eliminate 80% of starter problems. After that it gets a little more complicated - things like ensuring the tooth engagement of the starter is proper, checking alternator output (as suggested above), etc.

Good luck!
 

Mike Pass

Supporter
Use voltmeter and check the voltage at the starter motor, the battery and at whatever ignition system you are using. This will tell you what is going on with the starter and ignition. I checked a GTD which had starting issues and the voltage at the ignition system (MSD) was too low. Any big drops in voltage will lead to lots of problems. One of the little yellow plastic spark testers that fit over one of the plugs will tell you if the sparks have gone awol.
Cheers
Mike
 
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