Okay, I turn the key and it turns over and then hear a bang. Turn the key back and try again and get a loud click. Then everything is dead. I pull the positive off of the battery and put it back on and I have power again. Turn the switch to start again, someimes it will try and turn over and then quit and sometimes it will just click and go dead again. The I can repeat the process again starting with the removing the battery cable..... Not sure what to do next. Any ideas?

 

Your car most likely has the OEM aluminum engine-to-frame ground cable and it must be replaced with a 4 gauge COPPER cable with COPPER eyes. The OEM aluminum ground cables will get corrosion built up inside the eyes then it fails to provide an adequate ground. Replace that cable then go from there...................

 

The block to frame cable is more than likely a copper one..because the copper coated aluminum wire came into use later than 69...from all the Corvettes I have worked on.

Check under your car...under the battery box and you will see the NEGATIVE cable where it is bolted to the frame..MAKE SURE it is TIGHT and this connection is CLEAN.

ALSO..hopefully your battery cable ends are still FACTORY and have NOT been cut off and some crappy battery cable ends being used. THIS can be a BIG PROBLEM> IF your cables are still factory molded ends...just make sure that the terminal that touches your battery is CLEAN..and I mean CLEAN and the cable bolts are TIGHT.

NEXT...disconnect your NEGATIVE cable....PROPERLY RAISE and SUPPORT your car suing APPROVED SAFETY STANDS. I have seen the connections on the start solenoid...even though they are tight...when the nuts are loosened..the actual threaded studs are loose....this requiring the jamb nuts to be tightened...and the wires re-attached and tightened.

ALSO...on your starter armature housing ( the big round section). At the end of it...there should be a bracket that attaches to it and goes to the engine block to make sure the starter is secured CORRECTLY. This bracket is required. And when you are down there...you will see the cable from the frame to the engine block and you can inspect it also.

Check to make sure your cold cranking amps of the battery is good.

DUB

 

The load bang during cranking sounds like an improperly timed engine or a miss wired spark plug wire. You seem to get past it so it doesn't seem like a flywheel tooth issue. What happens if you pull the coil wire from the ignition and crank it... does it turn over fine of does it still bang?

What i dont understand is your need to disconnect the battery to get your power back??... I mean... do the lights in the car go dead , fuse panel dead or is it just that the starter wont crank again until you pull the battery cable? Even that makes no sense unless your tripping a circuit breaker type fuse that is resetting.

Friend of mine had a 68 with TI ignition and that thing did some weird stuff ... you could turn the key just to on and the engine would jump some times like a plug fired and kicked the crank over... he broke 2 starters in that car before he dumped the TI.

 

You have to actually do these tests to find the problem!
mysixty nine suggested that you make sure that the wire with the fusible link and all the other wires on the solenoid are good.
While your down there do as DUB suggested and make sure the studs coming out of the solenoid are good.
After that go to the horn relay and check that connection.
Post the results and we can go from there.

 

Okay, grounds checked. Figured out that every wire to the starter has been spliced and there are no visible links to the starter.

Engine on occasion will bump slightly. I push the horn and can only hear the relay faintly click and no sound.

I have ordered a new engine harness. I fear that that will only lead to a new dash harness and so on.

DUB if I get this thing running, it will be parked outside of your shop....

Any other suggestions???

 

Also, replaced the starter. Broke one of the studs in the solenoid. The new starter is in. Same result. Hooked a jumper box and still like it isn't getting power....
When I turn the key I get a loud "click"then dead....

 

It can be that the bendix of the starter is engaging and sticking because the starter may need to be shimmed to work. I bet if you disconnect your negative battery cable and slide under your car with CORRECT SAFETY STANDS...you might see the bendix is stuck...and if you loosen the starter it will pull back due to getting out of the bind. This is NOT uncommon.

ALSO....the starter HAS TO HAVE the bracket that attaches to the end of the housing to give ti support.

And even though I am more than glad to help you.....do not just drop it off....need to get you on the list.

DUB

 

Okay, found it! It was the positive battery cable. Original cable but bad connection at the battery clamp! Thanks for all of the help. She starts like a dream! Still waiting on my new cable tho!

 

So post #3...third paragraph covered it.

DUB

 

Yes it did! The cable was separating from the factory clamp on the inside! Thanks again!