Bad Solenoid???????

[scrub]

Swapped out the motor in my 76. Went to start it but nothing when u turn the key. Engine will crank and run if u jumper the solenoid and still shut off when u turn the key off. Had no problems prior to the enging swap and the solenoid is newer. Any suggestions besides a bad solenoid? Stuck waiting for parts till monday anyways. Thx

 

[Bronc76]

scrub- even though it is a newer solenoid, i still would put a newer one and see what happens, are the battery terminals tight? how old is starter?

 

[scrub]

The starter is new and all connections are tight. Everything works fine when you jumper wire the solenoid posts. It just won't go by turning the key.

 

[Bronc76]

ignition switch faulty?

 

[Bully Bob]

With the key in the "RUN" position.,

Try hooking up your voltmeter to "+" on coil.

(Sounds like you do have voltage there.)

Turn key to "START" & watch the meter...., if the voltage goes away., the prob. is likely in the key-switch or the connections to it.

 

[S_bolt19]

Relay/solenoid, they are the same thing, but on EBs they are called solenoids.

Are your battery cables good? I had a bad ground cable once and it acted the same way. Got new cables & the problem was solved.

 

[scrub]

Changed out the solenoid and still no better. Don't get it. When I pulled the bronco into the garage for the engine swap everything worked fine. The only thing that is different is the negative cable as I used the one from the newer engine. I'll try swapping back to the old one and see if that works. Another thing I noticed is that when u turn the key to crank the engine the stereo lights go out. What does that mean? Grounding out from the ignition switch? Could a wire from the ignition to the solenoid have got broken during the swap? Which wire on the solenoid is the lead from the ignition? There are 3 wires from the pass side harness going to the solenoid. One to the + post and the other 2 to the top posts.

 

[BLADE262US]

You should have all small wires that were on the big lug on one side of the relay along with the main power feed from the battery the only thing on the other big lug should be the big wire that goes to the starter motor . There will be the one small wire should be red with a white stripe that connects to the small lug on the solenoid/relay . This one must have 12 volts on it when the key is in the crank position if it does then your set there and the other thing you must look at is the ground for the relay . Most of the starter relays ground through the mounting tab that holds it to the firewall make sure you have a good connection there and there are a few wierd ones that actually have a second small post that was the ground for the coil in the relay look to see if yours is like that . Some had an S by that terminal and that post has 12 volts on it while cranking so do not ground it . More than likely you have a bad ground for the relay . If you put the relay mount against your battery negative and lets say hook up a jumper cable to the positive side and touch it to the small terminal on the solenoid it will click or pull in if you know that you have 12 volts at the small wire and you dont get the click then its a bad ground clean the firewall mounting place and try again . /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[scrub]

Changed out the ground cable and no different. Swapped out the guts of the ignition switch and no different. Have 12volts at the + post of the relay with the positive cable as well as a yellow wire from the harness. There are two small posts on top. The first one has a red/white wire and has no volts. The second post has a brown wire, no volts with key off but 6.6 volts with the key in run position, not cranking. No volts to starter post @ relay at all. Checked the grounding of the relay also and no different. :angry: Also noticed that it makes a clicking noise when u turn the key to run position, not cranking.

 

[BLADE262US]

Can you take a pic of your setup there and post it . That solenoid should not pull in when you turn the key to the run position and the wire should have been red with a white stripe for the cranking voltage to the solenoid . Some of the solenoids with 2 post like I stated earlier would have 12 volts on it when the relay pulled in but that should go nowhere when not pulled in definately a wierd situation . Need pics to see exactly what you have . /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[scrub]

Here's some pics. Don't laugh, I know it's a mess.

 

[BLADE262US]

OK try this unhook both those small wires from the solenoid . Take a piece of wire and hook it to the positive battery terminal . Now touch it to one of the small post one it will pull in and the other will do nothing I think whats happening is that brown wire runs to the positive side of the coil and your getting some backfeeding ( possibly ) so whatever small post makes the relay pull in that is the one that you want the red with the blue stripe to go on . I thought sure it was red with a white but this one is definately red with a blue . Let us know /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[scrub]

Unhooked both wires form top posts. Using jumper wire from +post, left side post cranks engine over ( the one that the red/blue wire was hooked to), right side post nothing happens. Does this mean it's an ignition problem? Obviously not getting the 12V to the relay from key.

 

[BLADE262US]

Yes that means you are not getting 12 volts from the key but remember that 12 volts goes from the key switch to the neutral safety switch to the solenoid so need to trace it out and see where it stops . /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[scrub]

It's never had the neutral safety switch hooked up since I got it, but maybe something got knocked around when changing the motor. I'll check it out. Where is it supposed to hook up to the tranny? Or is it hooked to the linkage? The previous owner installed a hurst floor shifter and I assume that's why the neutral safety wire was never hooked up. Maybe a loose wire danglin around somewhere?

 

[BLADE262US]

There should have been a switch on the linkage side of the tranny probably round and had 4 wires in it 2 for the ignition in your case red with a blue stripe and 2 for the backup lights that should have been black with a purple . The red with a blue must be connected together for it to complete the circuit so your looking for a red with blue wire laying somewhere . My B+M megashifters have a switch in them to hook up the neutral safety so someone may have hooked it up right . Id check there as well . Ill be off for awhile now /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[scrub]

Never found the source of the problem but it's fixed now. Located the hot wire while cranking on the back of the ignition and ran a new wire out to the relay top post. Works like a charm now. Thanks to everyone for their posts. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />