66 cuda electrical

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GSXcite

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I have a 66 cuda I brought home from my fathers last year. Although it only has 26K miles, it has not been driven in about 10 years. I have rebuilt the carb, distributor, new plug wires and plugs, new hoses and fuel pump. Getting ready to pull the tank and boil it out and run new fuel lines. I stuck a new battery in it and neg battery cable. I stuck the key in the ignition, and nothing. The headlights, interior lights, horn all work, as does the brake light indicator when I turn the key on, but nothing else. Can you pro's give me a starting point to check why I have nothing at the ign. switch? Thanks for your help.
 
Since you have headlights and the brake warning lights up, that indicates the switch is getting power and SOMETHING is working.

This is troubling as I would think that if the warning light comes on, you'd have other power.

What do you have for a shop manual/ wiring diagram? The problem with the 66 Ply manual over at MyMopar is that it does not have the special wiring for the Cuda Rally dash, and possibly other changes

You can get somewhat useful diagrams over there as well

Is this a stick or automatic?

Only 26K? wow
 
I would say right off hand that your starter is dead. They can have a dead spot that causes nothing to happen when you turn the key. The solenoid is built onto the starter, and it can also be bad, causes the starter not to get power.
 
Look for a fuse or fuseable link on the firewall near the distributor. That sucker blew on mine one day and it took me about three hours to figure it out.
 
If the fuse link was bad, he would not have "what it is that he does have."
 
Since you have headlights and the brake warning lights up, that indicates the switch is getting power and SOMETHING is working.

This is troubling as I would think that if the warning light comes on, you'd have other power.

What do you have for a shop manual/ wiring diagram? The problem with the 66 Ply manual over at MyMopar is that it does not have the special wiring for the Cuda Rally dash, and possibly other changes

You can get somewhat useful diagrams over there as well

Is this a stick or automatic?

Only 26K? wow

I have no shop manual. I'll check out the manual at my mopar. It is an automatic trans and yes it has 25610 on the odometer and is in great condition and never had any paint work. The car has been in my family since the early 70s. My father turns 96 this December, and I'm trying to get the car running so I can take it down to Florida and take dad for a drive. Dad is an Army vet and was part of the D day invasion at Omaha Beach, and he would be blown away if I could take him riding in the cuda again, he LOVES that car. Thanks for your help, it means a lot to me. Hal
 
Park brake indicator on means ignition switch is working and power most likely going to everything required for run.
Knowing what trans would save me some typing but anyway...
No start can be starter.
If its automatic trans car.. Failed starter relay, or the most likely failed neutral safety switch.
Its mounted on the automatic trans with a single brown wire attached.
Rather than go under the car at this point, find that brown wire at the starter relay.
Disconnect it, put a temporary jumper wire from that relay terminal directly to ground. This would allow the starter to engage while in any gear so make sure its in neutral.
 
^^ What Red said. If you are not getting voltage out to the ignition / coil, it could be one or more corroded connections in the bulkhead connector. Turn the key to "run" and check out at the IGN terminal of the regulator and or ballast resistor to see if you have any power.

To expand on what Red said, the neutral safety switch and starter relay work together in these cars, and the starter relay then sends power to the starter solenoid.

You have a starter relay looks something like this:

index.php


The great big stud is a battery junction point and is ALSO one of the relay contacts

The second relay contact is the "square" termninal and goes to the starter solenoid

The two push on connections are the coil. One of them gets power "in start" comes from the ignition switch, through the bulkhead terminal and to one of the "push on" terminals.

The remaining terminal must be grounded through the neutral safety switch in park or neutral.

First thing to try is hold the key to start while wiggling the shifter through park and neutral.

If that does not work do as Red suggested. Identify the wire coming off one of the terminals, goes down over the transmission to the neutral switch. Ground that relay terminal, twist the key and see if it cranks.
 
Thanks for helping. I will test out the neutral safety switch and see if I have power at the other points. The starter relay is rusty and corroded and could be the problem. Should I be able to get a starter relay at a regular parts store, or will I need to find one somewhere like classic industries? Again, I appreciate your help.
 
66 shop manual fer free:

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=31

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/servicemanuals/1966_Plymouth_Service_Manual.zip

You do have to "play" with page numbers, because the scan is consecutive pages, instead of the "dash" numbers originally

Useable, sometimes not exactly complete wiring diagrams

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1966/66BarracudaB.jpg

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1966/66BarracudaA.jpg

Starter relays should be readily available. Ma started usin' em in the early 60's and up into ?? the late 80's? Only difference is older ones for stick only had three terminals, so make sure you ask for an automatic and it has 4 terminals

Only other difference, year to year and model to model is the type of mounting bracket.
 
Ok guys, I did the test on the neutral safety switch and it made no difference. I did put an ohm meter on the fuseable link and it checked out . The bulkhead connector had some corrosion, so I cleaned it the best I could. I removed the starter relay switch and went to my local auto parts store, and the counter guy said it is a special order part from AC. I asked him to check and see if any other store in the area might have it and he said no store had it, but then he cross referenced the AC part number to the private label brand the store carries and walla, he had one in stock! I installed the starter relay, and the car turned over! The car had not run for almost 8 years, and although I have rebuilt the carb and installed a new fuel pump, I have not yet pulled the gas tank to clean the bad gas that remained in the tank and lines. I had earlier put in new points, cap, rotor, plugs and spark plug wires, and I was anxious to see if the car would start, so I rigged up a small gas tank from one of my John Deere lawn tractors, and connected it to the new fuel pump. I pulled the coil wire and spun the engine over to get some lubrication going to the internal engine parts, then poured some fuel in the carb, hooked up the coil wire, crossed my fingers, and hit the starter. The engine roared to life! When I say roar, it did just that because when my cousins helped push the cuda into the trailer, it ripped the muffler off when it hung up on the ramp. The cuda engine was purring like a kitten, no smoke, no miss, running great. I checked to see if it would move, and yes, the transmission is working great, power steering perfect. I couldn't be happier, and I have you members to thank! What a great site. Thank you so much, you guys are AWESOME!
 
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