This is a case of multi-part mayhem.

The car has been running fine, but to address an intermittent cut-out at high RPM, I decided to replace my alternator (old style) with a reman unit. The car was still on the lift but wheels touching the ground. I went to start the car and realized I left it in gear. Starter obviously was pushing hard, moving the wheels which were lightly on the ground. I put it in neutral and it then started up, but ran like crap for about a minute. I tried to rev it from the throttle cam and it died. After that, it would not crank at all. I made sure I had a full 12V at the battery, and when I hit the starter, all I get is a hard click at the starter. No crank, no fire.

I would suspect the starter because I abused it trying to start it in gear. But that doesn't explain why it ran like carp and then stalled out. Could be two things going on. And could it be related to the alternator?!?

Greg,

If the starter teeth stayed engaged on the flywheel during the run the high RPM induced to the starters bendix drive could have killed the bearings.

I would lend you my spare to try but it's at Dog Gone Racing for the winter.

First I’d try jump starting the car. Having 12V at the battery does not mean there will be enough power in the battery to start the car. The clicking is noise you describe is frequently heard when trying to start a car with a dead battery. I’ve wasted a lot of time after making the same voltage measurement and convincing myself that the battery was OK only to have the car start right up with a jump (after chasing my tail replacing starters, relays, solenoids, etc).
So I'd start there to eliminate one thing (the battery) and possibly confirming the starter’s functionality at the same time. And it is super easy. If you get it to start off a jump then next test to see if the alternator is charging. Test with a volt meter. Look for a reading of 14+ volts at the battery with the car running.
Looking at the starter I’d consider taking the car out of gear then rotating the engine manually using the crank damper bolt (w/o plugs?) to see how it felt. Then pull the starter and see if the engine turns more freely.

I'll try jumper cables. Someone else suggested a bad ground. Also a good thought.

Glad to help.

Good call on the grounding suggeration. I've seen a few miss issues resolved by adding a second or third ground wire.

From the warnings in the Gen3 manual, Greg, it looks like we will all need to keep jumper cables handy if we forget to shut off the kill switch after each run. I'm guilty of leaving mine on all day in the Gen2 with no issues. Habits will be hard to break until a few dead batteries wake me up. Let us know how your issue resolved.

thequick wrote:Glad to help.

Good call on the grounding suggeration. I've seen a few miss issues resolved by adding a second or third ground wire.

If I wanted to run a good second/third ground, where would be the place to do it?

My bet is battery. The starter will move the car, turning the wheels shouldn't be a problem. But it will kill the battery quick (but not TheQuick ).
Before adding a new ground (we see cars with all sorts of spurious grounds), make sure the ones you have (especially the big one from the batt to the engine mount) are good.
The circuit is battery, master, starter, engine is ground, so the ground to the big negative battery cable is critical.
Dave

dave wrote:... spurious grounds ...

I just got the name of my race "team" for 2015. Thanks, Dave!

I've been told to look after the fat red wire off the atermator as well...