71cutlass442

OK I need some serious help before I set this car on fire and claim the insurance. first things first... my starter isn't starting and I cant figure out why. I replaced the starter yesterday and hooked up the 3 wires and now the car wont start. it wont turn over and it doesn't make a sound.... Why not?? I have a MSD ignition in it and I swear this has something to do with it. HELP!!!!!! 350 Motor

Professur

To start with the obvious .. are you sure the new starter works? Take it back out and try jumper cables to the battery directly. We've all have defective new parts before. Are the same time ... are you sure the old one was defective?

71cutlass442

ummm check the starter??? after installing the damn thing I took it back out and I hooked it up to a set of jumper cables and it jumped but it didn't run... what do I mean?? I hooked the red cable up to the s side of the starter and I placed the neg. side onto the post on the starter housing and it jumped but didn't continue to spin!!...... just a jump. thank for the reply so fast bro

oldcutlass

This is a diagram of your basic gm starter setup. If your wiring is like this at the starter it will start.

Since you have an HEI you may not need the wire from the starter to the coil, however you will need a switched 12v source for the Batt+ terminal on the HEI cap.

jag1886

If you just hooked the cables up the starter it shouldn't have done anything until you jumped from the main cable lead to the solenoid post with a screw driver.
Sounds like you just have a bad starter or you have the wires on the small terminals backwards.

oldcutlass

If he went with the + jumper cable to the S terminal and somehow picked up a ground through the battery terminal it will engage the starter solenoid but it will not turn.

71cutlass442

So is the starter bad?

oldcutlass

Hook your red battery cable to the big post on top of the solenoid marked battery, then hook your black to the starter body somewhere, and then take a screw driver or a wire and short between the red wire and the S terminal.

71cutlass442

I did that and it spun for a sec.

71cutlass442

oh.... my coil is connected to my ignition box 6AL

oldcutlass

Your coil has nothing to do with the starter cranking. Does the starter kick out and turn when you hooked it up like above?

71cutlass442

yes... I ran to the parts store and swapped out that one.... hooked this new one up and no kick... yellow wire on "S" and the "brown?/purple?" wire hooked up to the r..... nothing... wth?? what am I missing?

MDchanic

You're missing the fact that the Yellow wire goes to R ("Resistor") and the Purple wire goes to S ("Start").

Do you have a wiring diagram? Pencil and paper? Camera?
I agree - based on this, you should burn the car.

- Eric

71cutlass442

hey eric youre right.... the wires are hooked up correct and ... nothing is happening.. don't know how I typed it backwards but I tried the wires in both positions before I asked for help

oldcutlass

Do you have 12v to the purple wire ("S" terminal) when you turn the key to start? And you have the large red wire to the big terminal on solenoid and there is 12v there all the time. Is your shifter in Park or Neutral?

Octania

How do you know the starter ground circuit is good?
Can you ck the voltage on the starter case [round steel part] with respect to battery (-) terminal, while the starting circuit is energized?

Read this saga of starter behavior:

Its on the Hurst and I know this will sound bad but what grounding strap? I havent had one on either of my cars and they run fine.
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Many cars do fine w/o one, agreed. If you ck the assembly manual and PN manual they should tell if your car is supposed to have one. I see a '69 H/O starter f/s here that does not even have the hole to secure such a strap to though.

I thought they get there ground from the mounting bolts.
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I used to think that too, before that one day. Normally, I am sure that's true. Electricity takes not just any but ALL PATHS that it can. Then comes that one day when no paths are left. Such was my fate.

Selling a car- 76 LeMans with an Olds 350 I put in it after the P350 died. wanted it to be in good shape, so I peeked in the starter, replaced brushes, mitaswell clean and PAINT the case, right. Reassemble, bench tests ok.

Put in car. Strap is a huge PITA, leave that off. No Workee. WTH?

Remove, bench test, works fine

Put in car, NW. Grrrrr....

Remove starter again, BENCH TESTS FINE.... ground cable clamped on the oh I forget, solenoid bracket? End cap bearing nipple?

Put her back in the car
NO WORKEE.
#$%^@%^@%@^@@^^@$%&@^

Have the wife turn the key while I tap the starter with a Ford Tool.
SPARKS between freshly PAINTED case and nose piece. Bad ground connection.
Installed the strap, fixed it forever.

Installing the strap was a PITA
R&R'g the starter several times, a piece of cakewalk.

But, we digress.

OP, find out if you are losing the circuit on the way INTO the starter or on the way OUT OF it. And verify the battery is strong. New is NOT necessarily good. BTDT.

71cutlass442

ok after all that hard work.... all I needed was a new starter.i was sold 2 bad ones from 2 stores and this third one went on without a hitch. thanks to everyone that lent a word

oldcutlass

Wow, 2 bad starters from 2 different stores, that's a bitch. Glad you worked through it.

71cutlass442

Yea just my luck! Glad I'm up and rolling again.