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Working on my 81 which has been sitting for years .. When i turn the ignition im getting a click from the compartment behind the passenger seat ... Ive already pulled the starter and verified it does work and replaced solenoid.....test using jumper cables and battery to verify motor spun up and engaged ... I assume that is a relay im hearing ? Can anyone shed some light thanks
Does still have the ecm and is plugged in .. Verified battery is fully charged via .. Battery charger
take a long piece os wire. attach it to the S terminal. run t up into the car and touch battery positive. if starter spins, it is the ignition switch circuit. if no spin it is battery terminal issue of bad ground. sometimes they will pass enough juice to run the low-powered stuff but not fire the starter. did you open the compartments and try to isolate the click? i didn't think 81 had a separate starter relay like a boat does.d.
if there is a separate solenoid-relay in the interior, the contacts are oxidized from sitting and it needs replace
Update .. I removed black and white wire from starter disconnect relay plug ( which is part of the anti theft).... I test voltage on the purple and white wires both are receiving 12 volts with ignition on ... Plug it back into relay .. Starter does click ... My question is on the starter .. U have the larger bolt that feeds it power i assume .. Then there is the starter wire .... At what point should i be receiving 12 volts at the starter ? .. Testing from the large bolt im only getting 2 to 4 volts with ignition on ..i have no one to try and start it at the moment.. Is there somewhere else between the anitheft relay and the starter i should be checking voltage ?
I'm not saying this is your issue. But this may be a future issue you may face, and also it may serve as an alternative to bypass your current situation, possibly.
Most cars use something like this to trigger starter solenoid. The battery feeds a fusebox, neutral safety, lock cylinder contacts which are thin, and this can result with significant wear in the lock cylinder contacts as well as voltage drop which may create difficulty trying to move the starter. This is a common problem for older vehicles.
This is a simple fix to bypass the lock cylinder and fuse box while still keeping the circuit in effect and utilizing any theft protection it may offer separately from the solenoid current driver. You can add a general 40amp relay as shown below which runs a short wire directly from battery to starter, using the lock cylinder ignition circuit as a trigger.
That will relieve the lock cylinder circuit from the current draw of the solenoid, which while it isn't much, is still significant and troublesome to many types of old vehicle
I'm not saying this is your issue. But this may be a future issue you may face, and also it may serve as an alternative to bypass your current situation, possibly.
Most cars use something like this to trigger starter solenoid. The battery feeds a fusebox, neutral safety, lock cylinder contacts which are thin, and this can result with significant wear in the lock cylinder contacts as well as voltage drop which may create difficulty trying to move the starter. This is a common problem for older vehicles.
This is a simple fix to bypass the lock cylinder and fuse box while still keeping the circuit in effect and utilizing any theft protection it may offer separately from the solenoid current driver. You can add a general 40amp relay as shown below which runs a short wire directly from battery to starter, using the lock cylinder ignition circuit as a trigger.
That will relieve the lock cylinder circuit from the current draw of the solenoid, which while it isn't much, is still significant and troublesome to many types of old vehicle
thx was going to trace wires and see how they were routed
Ive think ive narrowed it the battery cable .not getting 12 volts .. Going to try and bypass it .. A bit surprised giving the size of cable .. Doesnt look fun to replace .. But hopefully thats all it is ... Eager to hear it fire .. I bypassed alarm for the moment ... And starter does click just not enough voltage