[canguro]

For the past year, I've been trying to diagnose an intermittent starting problem with my '67 Duetto, and tried various remedies (including those mentioned on this Board), with no success.

Here are the symptoms: Car always starts up right out of the garage, where it is hooked-up during the week to a trickle charger. I take it out for an hour run each weekend, usually without lights, fans, or any accessories. Upon parking the car, she sometimes refuses to restart. This seemed to happen more frequently after running the lights during my drive, but it also happens without my using the lights, fans or any other power-draining item.

When I turn the key, I can hear the fuel pump functioning, but the starter won't turn, and there's no clicking sound. Yesterday, I attempted to jump start using a fully-charged portable jump starter (250 amps cold crank/500 amps max), which I had just acquired because of this recurring problem. Still no go. I then jump started off of another running vehicle, and the starter operated without hesitation. I didn't have a multimeter handy to measure the battery charge level, so I don't know for sure if the car battery was flat.

During the past six months, I've replaced the battery, replaced the starter solenoid, and had the starter motor rebuilt. My mechanic had checked the generator only last month, and found it producing a sufficient charge.

I'm leaning towards swapping in an alternator, but even if the generator was the culprit, I'm puzzled that the battery should lose so much charge from an hour-long drive, especially when neither the lights nor fan (no radio) are being used. I also don't understand why the portable jump starter with at least 250 amps wouldn't turn over the starter.

Is this a fault with the infamous generator not providing enough juice to recharge the battery, or something else, such as a faulty ignition switch? Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Iori