Another Start Issue - Starter clicks but wont start

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dcdman67

dcdman67

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Hi everyone. This forum has been extremely helpful for a newbie. I have been working on my wife's 1970 Dart and have been banging my head on a wall now for a few weekends.

I have replaced the ignition switch with a standard US-88 that I bought from Summit racing. The switch comes with an extra black wire that I am not sure what to do with. This wire is hanging while the rest of the original wires are back in the connector (Yellow, Blue, Brown, Red, Black, Orange, Red, Red). When I go to start the car, the starter engages with a click but that is all it does.

I have checked the neutral safety switch with an Ohm meter (I am a newb when it comes to wiring) and it is below 10 in park and greater than 10 in gear. Since that checked out (based on a post on a valiant forum) I wanted to make sure the starter was good. I used a screwdriver to jump the starter relay and it did the same thing.

The only thing that seems to be not working is the instrument cluster lights. The headlights taillights, brake lights, windshield wipers, & dome light all work. The voltage meter on the instrument cluster does drop when I put it to crank.

I have even gone so far as to add a ground to the back of the cluster with no luck.

Can someone, anyone help? I have the manuals & wiring diagrams but am stuck as I am unfamiliar with techniques in troubleshooting.

Thanks in advance!
Troubled Mopar Newb
 
Thanks discharger. I will run some tests on the starter this evening. Could a relay also be causing this problem? What about a bad connection in the bulkhead?
 
Weak battery connections ( those cheap add on terminal ends ) can do the same. Enough current to click a relay but not enough to start.
To bench test a starter doesn't always prove good or bad. Best example I can offer was nephews Ford Explorer. He took this starter to town 3 times, 2 different part stores. They hit it w/12 volts it runs. Finally he calls me. I go over there, pull the starter, and use jumper cables to hit it form his battery. Starter runs.... like a fan motor. I explained to him that this starter should start with so much torque that it dang near rolls itself over. Back to the part store for a reman'd starter. End of story.
And that extra wire from the aftermarket switch... What you should have done was cut out the orange wire to shift indicator from the cars harness connector, put male and female spade terminals on those to make that connection outside the OEM connectors. The extra black wire would stay right where it was and just dead end isolated right there. The other wires were in the right places.
If that black wire is now out of a connector dangling free, tape it up good and zip tie it out of harms way.
 
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Clicking is due to a low battery or bad connection...

Check all connections and clean them with a wire brush and then put them back together - including at the battery... Make sure battery is fully charged...
 
I have tried jumping the solenoid on the fender with the same result - one click and done.

It shouldn't be the battery as I have replaced that and it has a full charge. I replaced the batt ground cable as it was broken. The positive cable had a ton of corrosion on it that I cleaned with a wire brush. Seems to be OK, but I may try and clean it a bit better.

My guess is that it is a bad connection. Before I replaced the ignition switch, the car had a problem where I would have to wiggle the wires to get it to start. I am assuming it is still the same issue. Seems to be somewhere in the area of the headlight switch, ignition connector (that had previously shorted and burned the molex connector), or the fuse box. I did go over the connectors with a wire brush, but did not remove them or bench test to make sure they were working well. Is there a way I can bench test the dash harness to make sure I got everything going or is it best to test in the car?

Thanks!
 
All the ignition switch and interior wiring does is send 12 volts on the yellow wire to the start relay. If in park or neutral, The relay clicks closed. Starter runs on totally separate much larger wires under the hood.
I'm still thinking battery cables, or their post terminals, the wire connections at the starter, or starter itself.
You could just hold the key in start position, holds the relay closed. Battery cables will heat up or starter will heat up or both. The fault should show itself eventually.
 
You guys rock. Turns out it was a corroded positive wire. I am killing myself as I have spent hours looking through the harness and making sure all the connections were good. At least I learned a lot in the process!
 
Let me guess, cast lead bolt on battery cable terminals. Buy a set of good battery cables, from a junk yard even. Most everything today has metal hose clamp like post terminals. I don't know why they don't corrode like the lead does. I don't know how or why those red and green felt "battery saver" washers prevent corrosion either. I just know they do.
 
For others, easier and more definitive to test the starter on the engine, cranking the load it sees. Black multimeter lead on case, red lead on big stud. If you measure <8 V while trying to crank, don't blame the starter. Look for the voltage drop. Most common is corrosion at the battery terminals, and why everyone sells battery brushes and anti-corrosion spray.
 
dcdman67 said:
You guys rock. Turns out it was a corroded positive wire.
Click to expand...

On the battery? I use a little dab of grease and cover the terminal before putting the cable on>tighten>add some more grease to lightly cover the top of post and the cable clamp.
 
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