Technical 48 chevy 216 question

got a question, hope someone can help. My 48 fleetmster i finally fixed my transmission so after months i finally pulled it out. what was only supposed to be a quick drive early in the morning to buy a burger and test drive the transmission turned out to take up my whole day. when i turned it on it fired up quick with my battery charger set on jump start. drove it for about 10 min then it shut off on me. didnt want to start even with the battery charger. what it does is i hit the starter pedal and it turns for about 5 seconds then nothing the battery goes weak/dies. thought it was the battery so i got a brand new battery. still did it. auto parts didnt have points but it looks good it was new last time i drove it but bought new condenser and high performance coil. still did it. what could it be? when i try to start it without the battery charger it just dims all my lights and starter wont turn, but its a brand new battery. and with my charger set on jump start itll only turn for about 5 seconds then die out, dim out all my lights and stop turning even though i have the chager set on jump start directly to it. anyone know whats going on? before this it would start up without chager and at first hit fire right up. thanks in advance guys, been stuck on this all day

 

Very sorry for your troubles. I must admit Im not sure of what it could be but I would suggest you run your battery cables esp your ground and make sure you have a solid positive and negative connection. Good luck.

 

Clean all your cables connections and especially grounds , they could be tight , however underneath rusty...

 

As stated above, make sure all the connections are clean and that you have a good ground. Apart from the battery ground cable, you should have a ground wire from the frame to the motor. It's usually a flat,wide, braided, non-insulated cable. Next, you should have a smaller, similar ground wire from the frame to the body.
You didn't mention what type of charging system you have, but if it's the stock generator, I would check the voltage regulator, and the brushes on the generator. And if it's a Alternator, then have it checked at a auto parts store.

 

All the replies you've gotten offer good advice, but I'd also suggest you pull the starter off and have it checked out. You could have worn bearings in it that are bogging down the starter, and/or worn out brushes. You should be able to find a shop that can check it out and rebuild it for you if it's tired.

 

It would be a good idea to have your battery ground cable attached the the engine, not the frame or body, as that provides the most direct current flow for the high amps drawn by the starter. It is also necessary, as suggested above, that the body and ch***is also have clean, secure, grounding straps to insure ALL other electrical circuits have a sound current path.

edit: GeezersP15 offers a very suggestion too.....it's called "Starter current draw"

Ray

 

I Like It! I Like It! For once all are together on the RIGHT page. Just pay attention, gallogiro.

Ben

 

Try turning the engine by hand. Does it turn free ?

 

thanks a lot for the input guys, worked today so I wasn't able to try it but will try it in the morning. I'm hoping it is that, I haven't turned on the car in months so maybe it built rust on all the connections and where the starter grounds itself to the block. 302 gmc yes it does seem to turn free by hand. I am running an upgraded alternator all 12 volt, and have it grounded from the battery to the block to the frame but again, it sat out in the rain for months so I'm going to make sure all the connections are nice and clean. if that doesn't work ill pull the starter and have it checked out. again thanks a lot guys I will try it tomorrow =)