hello im new to this forum just registered i have a 84 monte with a 383 stroker th400 411s its a driver i drive it everyday cruise out of state and plan on making a few passes on the track now and then i got this car about a month and a half ago it was a friends car he ahd someone build the motor and trans but it had no accesories carb alternator powersteering etc so anyway he had someone else put it together the rest of the way and install it in the car because the guy who built it wanted too much ive talked tothe guy who built it hes an older guy he told me all the specs and what was in it all that and told me he offered to put it in but my friend didnt have the money well the cause of this cheaper route was the start of my costly route ive always wanted an 80s monte i love all the 80s gm bodys i traded a 85 grand prix for it it barely ran when i got it well the spark plug wires were on the wrong posts on the dizzy timing was way off carb was trash exhaust was suspect i got a holley 600 complete accel ignition dizzy wires cap rotor delco plugs set timing by ear i think its off a tooth on the cam it it runs perfect but the worst thing on this car well 2 actually was an electrical prob that makes me have to unhook my battery if i leave it sitting for more than an hour it would kill it and the starter never worked right it would grind and they would go bad quickly ive had it 2 months and have bought 4 the 4th one was tonight and ive had 2 batterys now being my daily driver u could understand how this would drive me completely nuts ive had to get rides to work be late for work and not to mention pulling up in a bad *** monte carlo and when i go to start it up it sounds like someone threw an oven off a truck down the highway and having to unhook my battery when i go to the store there is 3 wires on the post on the starter solenoid the big positive one and 2 other ratty looking wires and the small one some of the wires appear to be added possibly but what got me thinking is tonight i went to autozone to return somestuff i didnt need and when i got back in my car to start it and it wouldnt start so i got out messed with it 2 hours and a friend to help later we took the starter in and got it testede to find out it was bad and it was a hi torque starter 2 weeks old gone! it never had a shims on it and always worked ****ty and one would be little and 2 too much soo i bought the staggered pattern shims and put a brand new stock starter on and it started perfectly everytime no grinding no noise nothing it sounded like it would hang on a little bit once it started but my friend said it was cuz my engine has alot of torque and it spins faster than the starter either way it worked perfect...press pause my electrixal problem...i bought a brand new battery since i thought it was time to replaxe the old one that i got with the car thinking mabye that was the problem and i put it in and left it hooked up all day and the voltage never dropped that i could tell but i drove it alot today well when i got home from advance with the new starter on working perfect i got home went inn and about 2 hours later mabye more i went out to go to mcdonalds and my starter just grinded it didnt even turn my engine it just made a spinning grinding sound and my voltage was like 8 or lower when i would thrn it to start so something is still draining my battery cuz if u try to crank a chevy with less than 8 volts it will do what mine is doing what i need help with is the starter wires i read on a few sites that there is either 2 or 3 and i have 4 also the #2 wire from my alternator thats supposed to go to the starter to excite it is ran to the output pin of the alterator it says 13-14 volts when im riding when i disconnect that wire from the output pin it wont charge mt battery so im going to run that to my starter so that will make 5? now u see my frustration my gauges act squirly too not my gas gauge tho just water and oil when u turn the key on and off the oil press goes up or down my tach jumps when u shut the engine off im pretty sure my electrical and starter problem are in the wiring since it was a backyard swap u can imagine the things that i can run across im a intermediate/advanced mechanic but mot too good with this part apparently can someone tell me what wires i need to find and run to the starter or wherever they need to go i can post whatever further info u need to help me do this wire color location routing etc i really need help ive put 3k in this car since the beginning of october and its unreliable due to this electrical/starter problem i love this car its my dream car and my ride to work todays saturday...monday is close lol any help u can give me even if its rigging it in a way that isnt dangerous and will be a permanent fix anything will help me please i havent had a starter work right or got to leave my battery alone since i got this car and its got on my last nerve after tonite sorry for the story but i figured the more details the better

 

Please make your post a bit more reader friendly. It's all bunched together, so I only read one part of it lol.

The starter needs a fairly thick gauge wire that goes to the negative battery wire/terminal. And a ground wire.

 

short version lol i went thru 3 starters sice i got my car none had shims i bought another one put a shim on and it worked perfect i drove for about 10 15 mins and then let it sit for a few hours went out to start it and it just grinded would it be because my voltage was too lov itwas less than 8 when i cranked it

 

...Welcome to the Monte Carlo Family....WoW, long read 4-Sure...It's difficult to help with just reading about your problem on a modified Monte, but I hope that when/if one of our expert tech's reads your thread that they will be able to help, or make suggestions to correct your present problem...
Please check back often on your thread to see what member's post...Check the below links to see if they will help in any way..
Good Luck 4-Sure & we hope that you find the prob....
Please read the below: (There will be a test later : ) LOL

Do it yourself autotmotive repair how to diagnose a starter or ...

In order to properly diagnose and electrical problem is to make sure that ... the initial tests it indicates a defect in the starter or an engine problem. ...
www.essortment.com › Do It Yourself - Cached - Similar
►
Troubleshooting a No-Start Problem - Why Won't My Car Start - What ...

If you don't have a dead battery, it might be the starter, or your wiring ... it can affect any electrical component, especially the ones exposed to the ... If your starter spins freely when you turn the key, the problem lies elsewhere. ...
autorepair.about.com/od/troubleshooting/a/ts_no-start.htm - Cached - Similar

Electric Start Malfunction

Other problems and malfunctions of electric starting systems are discussed in association with gasoline engines at the end of this chapter. ...
www.tpub.com/content/engine/14076/css/14076_79.htm - Cached - Similar

Automotive Electrical, Charging & Starting System Problem ...

Automotive electrical, starting & charging system diagnosis & repair help, replace alternator, starter & battery, find electrical faults.
www.aa1car.com/electrical.htm - Cached

 

If your voltage is less then 8 volts then that is too low. How's your battery or alternator?

 

battery is 4 days old new off the shelf alternator is charging but none of the wires are right so im surfing in wires right now with a multimeter lol

 

Wall of text crits for 300 damage. Nitehawkcjb has been incapacitated!:p

 

the alternator may be charging but not enough, if it's too weak it could not be giving the battery the right amount of power needed to keep a charge.

 

ahah sounds like ms Daisy. well from my expirience with her, here are a few pointers
1. cranking a car with less than 12v is bad for starter, battery and alternator. it just is.
2. your wiring sounds right.one big red, 2 small red and a purple (ignition i think)
3. a good idea would be to get your alternator and starter tested then get a full battery charge. your alternator could be producing charge but not strong enough to juice the battery.
4. shortage or grounding problem. make sure you dont have any unnecessary wires with power laying around (wire tester handy)
5. wires, if possible replace your wires, make sure you have no burnt or mangled wired because these could cause problems. and make sure the wires are the right size and not too small
thats all i can think off. now i finally got rid of my wiring shortage problem and she cranks up real nice every time, but yesterday after turning off my car i leaned in and heard a very low but steady whine coming from the alternator. it stopped after i pulled the batt/alternator wire. im guessing this might be a cause of battery drain or possibly killing my alternator but ill figure out what that noise is when it gets warmer or when i get a garage. worry about the gauges later, they arent top priority
hope this helps you out bro. also if im wrong about anything i pointed out, feel free to correct me :-)

 

Good advice. The original post is honestly kinda hard to read, so I wasn't sure if you mentioned in there, but have you checked your ground wires? It's pretty common for some corrosion to work its way under the chassis ground on older cars, and could be a really simple fix if you haven't checked it already.