My car was down for almost a year and during that time I changed quite a few things around with one of them being moving the battery to the back of the car. Since getting the car all back together I have been experiencing a constant starting issue. Sometimes when I go to crank the car on the starter solenoid just clicks as if the battery was low or as if there was a bad ground. I end up having to cycle the key on and off a few times before it eventually turns on. The strange thing is sometimes the car will start on the first try and I may or may not have any problems the rest of the day and others it takes a few tries before I can get it to start.

With the key in the run position the gauge still reads ~12 volts so I don't think the battery is bad. Once the car is on I don't have any problems with lights dimming or anything like that it's just the initial issue of getting the car to turn on. On a few occasion I thought maybe the battery was low even though it was reading 12 volts so I jump started it and the car will turn on instantly without any hesitation.

My buddy handled the wiring up front and honestly I haven't taken a real good look to see the size cable used but I think it resembles the gauge cable used with the factory setup. I know the fusebox has a cable going to the alternator, the alternator has another cable going to the starter, and the starter has a cable (2 gauge-Taylor) going to the battery +. The motor is grounded with 2 gauge cable from the block to a threaded hole/nut along the underside of the frame rail. Now this might be an issue the battery is grounded with 2 gauge cable with a bolt and nut that go through a hole that was left when the rear bumper support was removed. I did grind off the paint around the hole if that makes any difference. Initially I had a ground cable running from the block all the way back to the battery because I figured it would be the best way to ground it but even then I had the same issue.

As mentioned the power cable is 2 gauge Taylor brand and for the ground cables I used the cables you can buy at Autozone or Oreilly with the terminals already on them. I have tried two different batteries on the car the original Die Hard Sears battery that I had up front and now there is Optima Red Top that a buddy gave me.

There are a few things that I think I should do differently but before I go changing stuff around I would like to get some opinions/advice from others that have done this. For one I think the ground in the back should probably move elsewhere but I'm not sure where else is a good grounding location for the battery. Two I think I will change out the 2 gauge power cable to a 0 gauge and I think I need to makes sure the cables upfront are at least a 2 gauge? Finally, I just may need a different battery.

Any help is greatly appreciated and sorry for the long post. I haven't been driving the car much recently so I haven't been worried but I'd like to get this fixed cause it's pretty aggravating not being able to start the car right away when I need to get up and go.

 

I had this exact same problem all cables passed a voltage drop test btw. I ended up switching to a lt1 style junction block( 11.55 at local gm dealer) Then I bought some 2 guage welding cable and ran a new hot wire from the junction block to the fuse box, starter and alternator. I added 2 good grounds made from the same cable first but that didnt help anything so i replaced the cables, since then it starts quickly and consistantly every time.

 

Sounds like maybe not a great ground from block/chassis/battery, or maybe have the starter tested because you could have a bad spot in the armature of the motor, causing your issue. I've seen that happen on other (non-performance) cars.

But yeah, bigger cables, more/better grounds is always good.

 

This is actually the second starter I have tried I thought the first starter may have been the issue. Where would be the best place to ground the motor and to ground the battery?

Here is a diagram of what my wiring looks like. Should the positive from the battery go to the starter or to the alternator? I don't have a kill switch on the car as it doesn't see much track use and I don't like the look of one either on the car.

 

loose connection either block ground or starter power cable...might be stripped on the starter check that...bad crimp on the cable...

 

First, make sure you have a good ground from the battery to the body and from the engine to to body. You can hook it anywhere to the engine block and to the body, just make sure both connection points are good, clean metal.

after your certain that the grounding system is good, take the + lead off of the starter and hook your load tester up to it. that's an easy way to help determine if the cable running from the battery to the starter is bad, not big enough, etc. When you said it was wired with 2 gauge wire, is it 2 gauge or 2/0? There is a big difference between the two, and if it is regular 2 gauge it might not be big enough...other than that, just check all your connections for corrosion and tightness (even back on the battery!).

I would tend to think that your keyswitch and start circuit isn't the culprit, but you can check the lead that energizes the starter solenoid on the starter to make sure it is getting 12 volts to it.

As was mentioned above, the starter could have a bad spot in it, which typically gives the clicking noise that you are hearing. You could take it to a starter / alternator shop and have them test it for you...they would probably rebuild it for your fairly cheap if thats what it needs.

Good luck, you'll get it.