Help newbie with 94 r t10 no crank

[dklumpp]

Hi, just bought my first viper. 94 with 50000 miles.
I absolutely love this car but the problem I have is that the previous owner installed a brand new battery and I keep a trickle charger on it but it cranks so slow before firing. Now when the car is hot and I shut it off it will not restart I just get a loud click from the starter solenoid but will not turn over. When it cools down it will fire. I'm leaning towards either a bad ground or cable. Anyone know where the main grounds are? Also, has anyone had to replace the battery cable?

[Steve-Indy]

Check the connections at the battery itself and at the starter. You are correct to worry about the cables themselves as after the many years of out-gassing and/leaking that can occur around the terminals, the multiple small strands of wires may be eaten away where they enter the connectors. A good tug here will usually answer this question. I would suggest that you have a couple of new connectors handy or at least accessible before you tug too hard. You might want to test the battery itself while you are working there as not all new batteries are good. I have seen them fail within hours after installation when purchased in haste at a parts store with no pre-purchase testing. Finally, you might consider putting a smart charger on the battery to see if and how it fully charges. Good luck.

[GA-Viper]

Agree with Steve a possible bad battery. I would
pull it and have it tested.

[Viper98]

^^^^^Also be sure to check the cable Inside the sleeve. I had some that were so green they wont allow power to go through
You may have to cut the cable back some to get somewhat clean cable
Clean as much as you can
Let us how you fixed it
It may be good info for other members

[jimuaya]

You need a new starter.

[dklumpp]

Thanks for the responses I will pull the battery and have it checked and check the cables this week as well

[dklumpp]

Another thing I noticed and possibly a secondary issue is the gas gauge will drop to empty then slowly start to climb

[dklumpp]

IMG_20200208_152147406.jpg

[dave6666]

IMG_20200208_152147406.jpg

What troubleshooting info are we supposed to learn by that?

[BLRDViper]

Change the Battery.
When I bought my used 97, the battery was doing exactly what you describe. Prior owner had it stored and had to start it off of a Pro grade battery charger booster.
Replaced the battery (with a local no name brand battery) in 2015. I have it on a Quality trickle charger (not H Freight) , drive it at least once every summer months (sits Nov to April) and on Trickle over Winter.
Battery cranks like a new one and no other electrical issues.
Now, the moral to the story.
-new batteries are top charged only at best at the store (no matter what the seller says).
-New batteries should be fully charged before installing by the owner.
-new batteries installed in cars that are less than daily driver requires constant trickle charging.
-The trickle charger needs to be a high quality (open the wallet) unit that may cost a little more than $9 bucks.
I have used this process on my seldom driven toys (Cars,Bikes,ATV,Boats) and consistently get over 10 years of battery service I can rely on.
BLRD

[dklumpp]

If it turns out to be a starter who carries them?

[99RT10]

If it turns out to be the starter, you can probably get it rebuilt locally.

[BadAndy]

I'd had mine replaced not long ago before I sold my '94. Dealer actually had one new, old stock. Imagine that. Wasn't cheap, but first one lasted 25 years! I want to say it was like $400 if I remember correctly.

[Bill W]

Looks like the hood was replaced.

[GA-Viper]

Looks like the hood was replaced.

And that is relevant to the original poster

[Bill W]

Ten posts and you're the new moderator, huh?

[dklumpp]

Yes hood was replaced and gen2 intake looks to have been installed as well

[BLRDViper]

Any Fix Yet?

[dklumpp]

Any Fix Yet?

Took the battery out yesterday and tested fine. There was what appeared to be a brand new negative cable installed. I removed it and cleaned the mounting post on the frame and reconnected it. Positive cable looked original soni cleaned the post bolt and re installed. I took the jump point under the hood apart and wire brushed both cables including the stud and bolt and reconnected. Still has a very slow crank. I even went as far to put jumper cables on the jump post and the engine block and hooked that to a tundra battery and still a slow crank. I assume next step is to check the starter? How about the relay? Any other suggestions?

[99RT10]

If it is turning over, relay is good. Sounds like the starter is bad. Unusual to see them go bad. You can replace with a new or used one and probably be fine.

[Fatboy 18]

My first call would have been to try Jump starting the car using the positive terminal under the hood and the earth to the chassis. But reading your posts it seems you have done that. You mentioned you tried it from another battery? Have you tried jump starting the car from another running vehicle? How thick are your jump leads? Are they a good quality? Did they get hot when trying to crank the car?

How are the headlights if you try cranking the car? do they fade out? What does the Voltage indicator read on the gauges when Cranking?

How does the oil look in the engine? Any moisture? Gen1s were known for head gasket problems?

Another call might be to remove all spark plugs, remove fuel pump relay (in trunk). Crank engine to see how it turns without compression?

Hoping you don't have a partially sized engine!

Keep us posted

Mark UK

[dklumpp]

I have access to a gen2 starter are they compatible or do I need a gen 1 specific? Thanks!