72 Duster keeps cranking, starter gone bad?

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Dusty17

Dusty17

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Hey guys, happy new year to all of you. After much shoveling i managed to clear my driveway enough to pull out the duster yesterday. It gave me a little attitude starting but i thought nothing of it because it was very cold out and had been sitting for a few days. I left it in the driveway to warm up and when i came back I heard a very muffled sound of the engine trying to crank. I immediately took out the key and the engine stopped but the engine continued cranking dry. i pulled the distributor cable, saw a bit of smoke licking off the passenger valve cover (unsure of the source, my first guess was starter) and eventually pulled the negative battery terminal to get it to stop. Haven't touched it since, any ideas?? Thanks in advance, and have a happy new year.
-Joe
 
WHAT is the year/ model of the car?

DOES it have an automatic or stick, and if it has a stick, do you have a clutch safety switch?

1---Remove the starter solenoid wire from the "square" terminal on the start relay, touch the battery cable and see if it cranks. If so, check for the solenoid wire shorted to the main cable anywhere along the length down to the starter, and at the starter itself

2--If disconnecting the sol. wire did NOT cause a crank condition above, hook the battery cable to the post, and then touch the solenoid wire back to it's terminal on the start relay. If it cranks you either have a stuck starter relay or a wiring problem feeding the coil.

3-- If the starter did crank, above, disconnect first one, then the other "push on" connectors of the relay, and be carefull not to "wrench" and bump the relay. As you unhook each "push on" terminal, again touch the solenoid wire and see if it cranks or not.

If disconnecting both "push on" connectors still allows the starter to crank, then the relay is stuck. Replace the relay

If disconnecting the "start" wire stops the cranking, you have a wiring fault coming from the ignition switch, or a bad ignition switch.

This is a simple circuit. This is troubleshooting 101
 
Sounds like a wire grounding out. I'd start looking around the exhaust
 
Thank you guys for taking the time to answer, this is exactly what i need. When the holidays pass and i have time i will do these checks for sure and i'll try to get back to you as soon as its fixed. Have a happy new year!
-Joe
 
OK, does it have the clutch pedal safety switch? IF so, this almost certainly eliminates ignition switch/ and it's wiring, because the clutch switch would disconnect, even if the ignition switch was bad.

So IF you have a clutch safety switch, you are probably looking at either a short in the solenoid to starter wire, or right at the starter terminals, or a stuck starter relay
 
67Dart273 said:
OK, does it have the clutch pedal safety switch? IF so, this almost certainly eliminates ignition switch/ and it's wiring, because the clutch switch would disconnect, even if the ignition switch was bad.

So IF you have a clutch safety switch, you are probably looking at either a short in the solenoid to starter wire, or right at the starter terminals, or a stuck starter relay
Click to expand...
Im not quite sure about that clutch safety switch. Where might i find it if i had it?
 
The starter did that in my 69 Dart 225 ~1980 after I took it apart for a hill-billy rebuild. I recall fooling with the solenoid wiring and contacts. The starter then worked, but wouldn't release with the key. I had to quickly pull the battery cable. I must have gotten the solenoid wiring wrong so it self-latched. That was my dumF kid days and the car was in 1 ft of snow and 10 F, so I got another starter and no problems. Darts were still new enough that parts were expensive. Today, a new starter is cheap. I suggest getting a used mini-starter from a Magnum engine.
 
Dusty17 said:
Im not quite sure about that clutch safety switch. Where might i find it if i had it?
Click to expand...

Later cars required you to depress the clutch before the starter would crank. This is a switch, mounted up under the dash and activated by the clutch pedal. The switch is grounded, and one wire goes out through the firewall to one of the two push--on connectors on the starter relay.

Older stick cars only had three starter relay connections---

1---the push on connector coming from the ignition switch "start" signal

2--the battery stud, the largest connection

3--the solenoid connection, the "square" terminal

Automatic cars and 70/ later stick cars with a clutch switch had ONE MORE terminal, a second "push on" connector on the relay.

Automatics ground that terminal in park or neutral

On a stick car, you ground that terminal when depressing the clutch.
 
I had it happen once on me, left the drag strip in in 65 coronet.
Pulled into the local Sunoco for some refreshments.
Went to start the old dodge, and it would not release.
Pulled the batter terminal off, stuck it back on drove the car home.
Changed the starter for another one and life was good...
I wish I was 17 again.
 
Thanks everyone, i think I've located the problem. So i first found out that no, at no point was there a clutch safety switch installed in the car. I tested out the ignition by disconnecting it fro the relay and touching the ground wire back to the battery terminal. I immediately got sparks from the battery and sure enough the starter starts cranking. So I'm happy to know i don't have to rip apart my steering column because this means the ignition is fine. Should be getting new starter relay today. Hopefully that works. Wish me luck, and thanks again for the help. Have a great friday!
-Joe
 
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