Starter wiring problem

[davethepackerfan]

Been a while since i have been here, happy holidays My 81 wouldn't start after sitting for a couple weeks. I charged the battery and still no luck. I took the starter out and took it to an auto parts store, it cranked fine. I put it back in, no luck. I hooked my battery charger to the battery and cranked with the an additional 45 amps and got it to turn over, but not start. I then disconnected the charger and the battery. When I attempted to reconnect the battery, somehow now the starter cranks without the ignition! I must have bypassed it somehow. Any wiring suggestions? Thanks

 

[TimAT]

The starter cranks without the ignition? Is that like it cranks when you turn the key but won't start? Or it cranks when you hook up the battery?

If it's cranking when you hook up the battery, there is a wire from the hot post on the battery touching the inside "start" terminal on the solenoid.

If it cranks with the key, but won't start, use a 12v testlight. Connect the clip on a good ground, and probe the TACH terminal on the distributor cap (TACH wire disconnected) and have someone turn the key and crank the engine. If the testlight flashes, the module and pickup coil in the distributor are fine. Check the rotor, cap, and coil.

 

[SVO]

After you sort out your starter problem, you may want to look at the battery cables. You would want to make sure one of the cables doesn't have internal corrorsion under the battery cable insulation causing a voltage drop between the starter and the battery. The original cables are copper clad aluminum and time does take a toll on them. Same thing for the grounding strap cable between the engine and the frame.