[C2] Starter issue after distributor install
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 100
Likes: 13
From: Odenton Maryland
Starter issue after distributor install
'65, blueprint engine. I had a HEI distributor on the engine that came with it from Blueprint but it didn't have a mechanical tach drive, so I changed it to an HEI with mechanical tach drive so the tach would work. Car ran and started fine right before install. After changing it, all I get from the starter is a click. I thought maybe there was an issue with the new distributor so I put the old one back in and got the same thing, just a click. The starter will push out, but not spin. Bench tested the starter and it works as it should. Could I have bumped a wire or something in the general area of the distribur that would cause a shorting problem that's keeping the starter from getting full power? What am I missing? I didn't really fiddle with anything else. Popped the spark plugs wires off, pulled the distributor out, dropped the new one in.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,362
Likes: 2,282
From: Central Maryland
Sounds as though the fault merely coincided with the distributor swap. Troubleshoot the starter system as though the coincidence was not involved. Bench testing doesn't prove how the starter motor will behave under load, and doesn't confirm the integrity of the on-car circuitry.
Confirm first that the engine isn't seized.
Measure battery voltage at rest, and when attempting to crank the engine. Then measure voltage at the battery post on the starter while attempting to crank, and at the Start terminal on the solenoid when attempting to crank. Report back the results.
Live well,
SJW
Confirm first that the engine isn't seized.
Measure battery voltage at rest, and when attempting to crank the engine. Then measure voltage at the battery post on the starter while attempting to crank, and at the Start terminal on the solenoid when attempting to crank. Report back the results.
Live well,
SJW
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 7,478
Likes: 2,647
From: Really Central IL Illinois
I would recommend first, clean the battery terminals and check the connections at the starter and block along with the checks above. Assuming you didn't use the pink wire on the R terminal back up to the coil, what did you do with it? Are you also bypassing the ballast resistor, guess it may have already been bypassed?
Triple check your wiring.
Triple check your wiring.
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A click is usually either a discharged/bad battery or a ground issue.
