Hello! I have a 1976 Corvette and the old starter went out. I took out the starter and put in a new one. I had all the cables exactly where they were on my old starter, but this is a little $30 Value craft starter from Autozone. I know.. I know. I'm just trying to get the car running, not show quality or performance. Anyway- when I hook the batter back on and switch the ignition to On, the buzzer sounds and voltmeter reads 12 volts. When I try to engage the starter, the buzzer fades and the voltmeter slowly moves down to 0. What's the deal? Where exactly does the negative cable go? I included a photo of my old starter, which is laid out just like the new one to show where all 3 positive cables went on my old starter. I also noted where I've TRIED to put the ground with the same effect. Thanks in advance! Battery really nearly 12 volts on multimeter. Starter does not engage at all.

 

Minor problem, you are hooked up wrong.

 

If you had a coil and points ignition, instead of an HEI, then you would wire like this.

 

Thank you! I have three positive cables. One smaller one, one large one, and then the fusible link. Which is the ignition? Sorry! I'm not a pro at electrics. Thanks!

 

You do not have a wire going to the coil so ignore that wire.
The purple goes to the small terminal closest to the block.
The others connect to the big top terminal.


https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...2E5ZTkxMTc1NmY

 

Thanks! The wire I THOUGHT was negative was simply the ignition wire. I trickle charged the battery and it started like a charm. You guys are the best!

 

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by went out? They are pretty tough and they don't usually die completely, but they might need some work.

If it was clicking but not starting, often the contacts on the solenoid have worn away or have become burnt from arcing and they don't make contact. If you click the key several times, you hear the solenoid engaging, but it doesn't crank, frequently that is the problem.

Other problems are the brushes wear down with time. It isn't often the solenoid or starter actually burns out.



These are the contacts to clean. Notice the burnt area in the circle. Often both copper contact bolts will burn. You can clean them with a file and if they are really badly eroded, you can turn the bolts 180 degrees and use the good side for another many years.



When the solenoid is off, smear a thin coating of grease in so the Bendix plunger is free. It should be anyway, as their is typically a lot of clearance. Also, just a dab around the contact plunger you see in the center. Check it after putting the contacts back in that you can push that small plunger inside the solenoid and it springs back out so that you know the spring is in place. Otherwise, if you hit the starter switch, the solenoid will push the contact plate in and it won't return, keeping the starter energized.




On yours, you mentioned the negative cabe to the front support bracket bolt. There should be a support bracket and the chassis ground cable should bolt between the bolt head and the bracket which is against the block. It helps if you clean those surfaces to shiny metal for a good electrical contact.

Notice the purple wire goes to the inside small bolt. This is the wire to your ignition switch.

The outside wire is there only on engines with a points type ignition to supply 12 volts to the coil during starting. I think it is red, but it is sheathed and I couldn't see it that well.

Mine has both the battery cable and a hot wire to the car on the top post. I'm not sure about the '76 if it has one or not.

The copper extension should be cleaned on the ends to ensure good contact between the solenoid supply post and the starter input tab. These are only on the heavy duty starters, in case you have a short regular starter.



You should have a shield around the starter solenoid like this. Granted this is a 427, but there should still be a shield on the 350. Notice the bracket on the front goes to the block and the heavy black cable that goes from the frame to this bolt provides the ground for starting. It is nasty trying to get in to disconnect wires, so be sure you have wire connections tight when it is all going back in before the shield is in place, as you won't like loosening it all back up to tighten the top battery cable post because you left it loose, or repositioning the smaller wires as they didn't quite fit back in.

 

That is really a wealth of great information.

Actually, it has physical damage. One of the bolt holes were broken. When I tried starting the engine, it would crank back and forth. I would see the fan go one way then another. The gear on the starter was in bad shape. It seemed to have a lot of oil leaking in to it too. I always had trouble starting it, but when I replaced it with a new chapie... it started better than I've ever seen it.

 

Did you hang on to the original starter or turn it in as a core? Not a bad idea to hang onto it and have it rebuilt...use it or the AZ as a backup.