'77 Starting Problems
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 169
Likes: 0
From: Tullahoma Tennessee
'77 Starting Problems
O.K. so I turn the key and nothing happens. No click, no grinding sound, the lights dim and the heater fan goes out but from the starter I get nothing.
So far I've cleaned the contact from the battery to frame and from the starter to ground. The battery's good, 3 month old Duralast Gold. Hooked up a charger to it and gave it 100 amps and still got nothing. I've checked and the engine ground is good. I also gave the small terminal on the starter 12V from the battery and I get a high rpm "whirring" sound and nothing else. I've checked voltage at the positive link at the starter and I have 12V there too.
First had this problem about 2 weeks ago and tracked it down to the neutral safety switch, which I fixed with some WD40 and a wire brush. Right now I've got the safety switch bypassed and it's out again.
I think there should be a wire somewhere that only gets voltage when you turn the key. If anyone can tell me where that wire is, I suspect I can track it down and find my problem. I'd appreciate any advice, thanks.
So far I've cleaned the contact from the battery to frame and from the starter to ground. The battery's good, 3 month old Duralast Gold. Hooked up a charger to it and gave it 100 amps and still got nothing. I've checked and the engine ground is good. I also gave the small terminal on the starter 12V from the battery and I get a high rpm "whirring" sound and nothing else. I've checked voltage at the positive link at the starter and I have 12V there too.
First had this problem about 2 weeks ago and tracked it down to the neutral safety switch, which I fixed with some WD40 and a wire brush. Right now I've got the safety switch bypassed and it's out again.
I think there should be a wire somewhere that only gets voltage when you turn the key. If anyone can tell me where that wire is, I suspect I can track it down and find my problem. I'd appreciate any advice, thanks.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,874
Likes: 263
From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
ok so continue to clean the battery posts and also the connections on the starter and let us know what is happening......... measuring 12 volts doesn't mean anything there could still be lots of internal resistance.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 240
Likes: 58
From: Jacksonville, Florida
I had the same problem last week. Double check your Neutral safety switch again. Is it a 4 Speed? If so, try pushing the clutch in and out a few times while turning the key. If that doesn't work, take the battery back and have it load tested. Even though it's new, it still may have a bad cell, or contaminated acid. I put mine on a 36 hour charge 12V @ 4 amps. That worked for a few days, but the battery had to be replaced anyway. Good Luck
