dclark6623

I am restoring a 1978 with a L82. The Engine wiring harness was bad. I replaced the engine wiring harness and the engine/starter solenoid wiring harness. I also purchased a new battery. The starter just clicks, however if I jump terminals on the starter the car cranks. Also if I run a 12 v remote starter switch from the battery to the purple wire terminal on the solenoid the car cranks. The purple wire has voltage when trying to crank the car. I had the starter tested and it's fine. What am I missing?

MelWff

the purple wire has 12+ volts when you are trying to crank the engine and it is connected to the "S" terminal?

my 76 ray

Can you hook a test light to the purple wire and see if it's bright when you turn the key to start? You may just have a poor connection somewhere.

dclark6623

Test light is bright. I have 12 volts at the purple wire. I am now wondering if the starter is bad even though it tested good. When they tested it it's not under load so maybe its bad. If I jump the terminals on the solenoid the car will crank but the starter drags really bad.

C3Hawk

Maybe post a pic of how you're testing the purple? Check all the grounds?

dclark6623

I used a 12v lighted circuit tester on the purple wire first. I had my wife turn the key and the tester lights up. I can post a picture this evening. I also used a fluke meter. I removed the ground from the battery to the chassis and cleaned it and chassis good. I also cleaned the connection point for the black wire in the solenoid harness. The engine and solenoid harness are new. Is there another ground that I should check?

C3Hawk

There are some ground cables to check, including those at the starter terminal, starter to engine, battery to frame. My memory is a bit fuzzy so if somebody doesn't chime in I'll check my Assembly Manual when I can get to it.

There was a thread a while back that had some good descriptions, I'll see if I can find it. The fact that your starter "drags" suggests to me (if battery and starter good) it'd be a good idea to rule out any grounding issues as a potential problem.

dclark6623

Well after all the fussing, cussing and temper tantrums - It was the starter. I bought a new starter today, installed it and the car is cranking with no problems. I had the starter tested yesterday and they said it was good, but I guess under a load it wasn't. Thanks for all the replies.

C3Hawk

Glad it worked out!

Good call working on the wiring. My car ran when I got it, but the engine wiring looked so brittle and nasty I also paid the money for a new harness!