Hello everyone! This is my first post here so thank you in advance for any and all assistance and I am looking to becoming a supporting member of this forum.

I am in the process of reviving a 1982 Stingray Corvette (CE) that was given to me by a family member. This is not my first car project by any means but it is my first Corvette, and Chevrolet for that matter. It has been parked for awhile and I have finally got to the point where I am trying to get it to fire up.

So, the battery in the car is pretty old and barely holds a charge so I have it jumped over to my other car parked right next to it (with a similar battery size, a little bit smaller though). I get clicking but no start. I can hear it try to turn the engine over but it just clicks and clicks. My first thought is that there isn't enough juice to accomplishing turning the engine over. So, I switched over to my engine start/battery charger and hooked it to the 82's battery. It still only clicked. After a few more tries, the clicking stopped and now I turn the key and there's nothing. I crawled under the passenger side engine compartment to inspect the starter and see what type of voltage I read. By the way, I have since bought the car it's own, brand new battery.

Upon immediate inspection I find a couple of loose plugs/wires. One is a two wire (Black and Blue, maybe 14 gauge plug) and the other is a single wire (Black, I think, that looks as if it has a screw receptor on it).

Pictures of these plugs have been attached to this post. I have no idea what these could be so any input is greatly appreciated.

On the starter solenoid I can see the larger terminal with the large batt + and the two red wires connected to it. On the engine side of the solenoid I see a smaller single wire terminal which looks to be tannish in color (could be purple?). There is also another terminal opposite of this terminal (outboard side) that has nothing connected to it. Does this connect to anything?

I have attached a photo of my starter solenoid connection interface. Please forgive the blurriness... I was having a hard time taking the photo on the ground.

I measure continuity of the larger terminal to batt + but no voltage across upon turning the key. So, what are the other two terminals and what type of readings should i get?

This is my main concern. If I knew how many terminals I should be utilizing and what types of voltages I should be reading at them then I could be better off for diagnosing. Also, knowing what those two "mystery" plugs are would be a must also!

I apologize for the length of my first post but again I appreciate any and all input.

P.S. I have also noticed that the interior lights stay on at all times when the battery is connected....I'm guessing this is a short somewhere... any common areas to look?

Again, Thank you and I look forward to all of your replies.

 

Please don't jump start an 82. It almost certainly WILL fry your computer. They seem to be far more sensitive to this than a modern car. Try your hot new battery alone as an old battery with shorted cells can sometimes be impossible to jump start. If a hot battery wont crank it at all, I would remove starter to be checked at the parts store.

 

The purple wire is the Start signal from the switch. The 2 red 14's are the fuse links that feed all the cars electrical stuff.
The blue and black wires on the plug may belong on a Switch on the side of the motor that runs the Aux fan for the radiator
Last pic I dunno.
Things to check: Both ends of the battery ground cable, the enging main ground under the passenger side motor mount. The Click indicated not enough current to the starter, usually caused by a high resistance somewhere, bad ground, bad battery cable etc..

 

Did you pull the plugs and see if engine will turn over?

 

Thank you for the quick replies! You think that running current through the wires after it has sat for so long could have caused it to stop clicking? I'm afraid that I might have burnt a wire or something by electrifying it after so long.

Ok, so it sounds like the purple wire is the one I should focus on if I want to make sure I have proper current to the solenoid for it to operate. So there should be 12V along the purple wire when I turn the key, yeah? Also, is there a main ignition fuse somewhere? On the fuse block I don't see a fuse for ignition. There is a port labeled "Ign" but it has a single red wire plugged into it. I would like to check and see if somewhere I popped a main fuse....any suggestions?

Also, that third terminal on the solenoid remains unused?

 

petes74ttop, the plugs are not new but any means from appearances sake, they look good. The motor rotates (crankshaft) easily by hand and all of the fluids are in proper order...

 

Yes, about the purple wire.

Yes, the "R" terminal is not used.

No main fuse, fusible links.
Schematic:
http://www.vetteprojects.com/bmv/mis...tte%201982.pdf

 

Good, that's important.

 

Okay, so if I don't have 12V to the purple wire is there a fuse in line with it? I figure that would be the first place...secondly is there an ignition/starter relay? Any easy way to check the ignition switch? Please inform me if I have these prioritized incorrectly. Thank you.

 

You will get 12 volts to the starter end of the purple wire only with the key in "START".
Do this test before you get into that circuit.
Here's a basic circuit.

No "R" wire on your year so ignore that.

 

There is a neutral safety switch between the ignition switch and the solenoid. On an automatic it is at the shifter under the console. For a standard it is located by the clutch pedal. Put your meter on the purple/white wire and turn the key to start. If you have 12 v there then the ignition switch is good. There is no fuse or relay that I know of.

You can check the neutral safety switch for continuity by removing the purple and purple/white wires and attaching your meter to the terminals. You should have continuity with the clutch depressed or the automatic shifter in Park or Neutral.

Your original post said that the interior lights won't go off. If the headlight switch is rotated all the way to the left the interior lights will stay on. Other possibilities are a bad delay timer or a short to ground somewhere in the wiring of the door switches.

 

[QUOTE=Igidy;1584066445]Thank you for the quick replies! You think that running current through the wires after it has sat for so long could have caused it to stop clicking? I'm afraid that I might have burnt a wire or something by electrifying it after so long.

QUOTE]

No, I think that you have an old *** corroded connection along the high current path somewhere. Thats the large cables associated with the battery and starter. Make yourself a 12v test light with a brake light bulb or the like. Ground one wire and use the other to test your way through the system. The light should come on full bright at the big red cable on the starter at all times. It should come on full bright on the purple wire when you hit the key.

 

you say its been setting a while .... how long .... if more then 8 or so months, you may be wise to drain the gas and put fresh in.
Secondly, you should probably check out all the wiring and fuses ... I'm sure you saw the one in the battery compartment .... also all the vacuum lines to make certain everything is hooked up .... (that single wire in the last pix I believe is your knock sensor, if I remember right)
on the passenger side coming up the firewall there is a harness (coming from the starter) that has a habit of going bad (generally due to a short along the system) ... once you're satisfied all is in order ... check all your grounds .... especially the battery ground .... can get corroded due to its location.
if you're still have issues starting, as recommended above, have the starter checked ...
If you need an electrical diagram, PM me with your email addy, i'll shoot it over to you ...
get us updates .... as we're happy to help if we can ....

 

PM sent

it has been sitting for awhile. At least 5 years! Which is why that since I've been given the opportunity, I find it necessary to resurrect it! The vehicle was stored in a garage the whole time it sat. Luckily the car was prepared to sit for awhile so, proper precautions were taken. I have drained the gas and replaced it. I have gone over all of the engine compartment and all of the vac lines look like they are in good shape and that everything is connected as it should be. I haven't noticed much electrical corrosion at all. All of the grounds seem to be in order....although coated in their fair share of dust... I definitely have to scrape the surface to detect conductivity.

The thing that puzzles me is that I could hear the starter clicking then it stopped. I will measure the purple wire and see what voltage, if any, i get. It seems that if I heard clicking then I had voltage there. If now I don't have voltage there then something must have blown. I have already gone through the fuses on the fuse block and the one in the battery compartment. None of them were bad. I have replaced the ones that looked quite aged. I will take a reading at the purple wire tomorrow and see if I have voltage. If I do, I'll pull the starter... if I don't... errrrrr.... ignition switch? Ignition relay? starter relay? yeh????

 

Don't panic yet!
At least clean the ground cable on the frame under the seat.

Do the test and post back.
You can work your way back into the neutral safety switch and ignition only if need be.

Before you take the starter off test it. Jumper from the BIG battery connection to the purple wire terminal and see if the starter works.

 

Are you 100% certain that your side post battery terminals are making good contact? I've struggled in the past with these when they connect enough for lights to work but as soon as you turn the key, its all over. Just trying to eliminate the simple stuff first.

 

Could it mean anything that the interior lights are always on? Maybe a bad door lock or locking wire defect flipping the theft deterrent system? I will check voltage to the solenoid and jump it and report back. As stated earlier, continuity is there between that terminal and the batt (+) so... jumping it should prove some results!

 

Arkyvette, I guess I'm only going off of the lights being on that I am making a good connection with the battery. Any rec's on checking the connection? I will remark that when I hook up my engine starter/battery charger up the lights definitely increase in brightness threefold....but... that may be needless to say....

 

The interior lights always being on could be the delay timer. It's located behind the glove box. Willcox has the replacement part, or you could bypass it by jumping the two white wires. The third picture you posted is the connector for the knock sensor.

 

Engine starter/chargers still only put 12 to 14 volts to your battery. Its the amps that they are giving you that's causing the lights to go up. You have a new hot battery correct? If you can easily rotate the battery wires by hand than you don't have a good connection there. Its very easy to strip out the battery or the bolt. They sell replacement bolts at the parts store that go deeper into your battery if this is the case. Follow the negative wire down under the car to where its grounded and clean that connection really good as suggested above. If you have keys to the door, try unlocking both doors to disarm disarm the alarm.