Solenoid issue?

Mystang66 · May 28, 2020

1977 w/302 and C4. Just putting this car back together after a complete mechanical tear down and restoration. I’m having problems getting the car to turn over. At first it wouldn’t do anything. I traced it back to the neutral safety switch being out of adjustment. Then, the sokk Olo enough would click rapidly, but not engage the starter. Again, some multimeter work led me to reduced voltage on the starter side of the solenoid when I turned the key to start...bad battery. Installed new battery, now, voltage is good, no drop when starting, but the solenoid still just clicks rapidly but won’t engage the starter. Both the starter and solenoid are new. Bad solenoid maybe? My good multimeter that allows me to check continuity is on the fritz, so I haven’t been able to check the continuity.

Thoughts?

LILCBRA · May 28, 2020

Have you tried jumping the solenoid circuit with a pair of screwdrivers to confirm the starter will crank? I doubt that's the problem, but it's possible that the starter is no good. How are the cables themselves?

Mystang66 · May 28, 2020

Yes, starter cranks. All of the cables are new.

LILCBRA · May 28, 2020

I don't remember if this would actually cause the problem you're having, but the solenoid grounds to the body through it's mount. Is it making a clean connection somehow through the mount - whether the screws holding it in are clean or it's somehow making a metal on metal connection with no paint or any other sort of insulator impeding current flow? I remember having a problem with that a long time ago but don't recall if it would click or it just didn't do anything. It seems like it acted like it was completely dead. Otherwise it just sounds like a bad connection somewhere.

LILCBRA · May 28, 2020

Oh, and how is everything grounded? Is the block grounded to body and both to battery?

Mystang66 · May 28, 2020

To be honest. My grounds are questionable because I painted the engine bay and block. I placed a ground cable on one of the bolts that connect the transmission bellhousing to the engine and then to the firewall (I sanded a spot bare on the firewall to connect it). I connected the battery ground to a bolt on the back of the engine block. While doing all of the tests I documented above, I added an extra ground cable from the ground battery terminal the door frame (unpainted).

LILCBRA · May 28, 2020

I think that might be the best place to start.
If it's not any of your ground connections and everything is good and tight I'd be at a loss except for everything I could come up with here off the top of my head. But if you think the grounds might be questionable it sounds like that could very well be the culprit. Maybe someone else can come up with something I'm not thinking of...?

Enzio · May 29, 2020

The ground connection to the block is probably the problem.
So clean the eye connector on the cable and then a small area around the bolt hole on the back of the block. Clean the paint off. Then bolt it up.

Solenoid issue?

Mystang66

Member

LILCBRA

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

Mystang66

Member

LILCBRA

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

LILCBRA

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

Mystang66

Member

LILCBRA

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

Enzio

Dang it. I was hoping mine would get 3 more inches

Similar threads

Solenoid issue?

Member

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

Member

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

Member

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

Dang it. I was hoping mine would get 3 more inches

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency