70 LS5 4spd. Complete frame off restoration. Engine broke in on Dyno and everything back together except interior including dash. Wanted to make sure everything was working correctly before I installed the dash and the rest of the interior. Installed battery, tranny In reverse with clutch in, placed trans in neutral and engine turned over just like it should. Little gas in carb and fired for a second. After that nothing when key turned. Checked starter (check to see is it was stuck), all looks good and power to starter. Still nothing when the key is turned to start. Any suggestions what to check and what might have happened? Thanks for any help😁

 

I would use a remote starter switch on the starter to crank it over to be sure it's not the solenoid. Then check the fusible links for continuity from the solenoid to the key.

Check the plug connection under the steering wheel and make sure it's plugged in. Make sure the ignition switch rod is in the actual electrical ignition switch on the bottom of the column, not the key part. Turning the key the rod should move and the sliding part in the switch should cycle

 

Do you have lights and horn and other electric components?

 

I would start with is the Battery clean, fully charged and tighten .Then as said check all those odd wires hooked up just enough to test before final assembly

 

Ditto on the battery, especially if it’s a side post. Similar experience more than once when running around after a (battery disconnected) repair.

 

Brand new battery, already jumped starter and it’s good, no lights because nothing is hooked up yet, switch rod working and plugged in. Did not check for continuity in fusable links but will today. 🤷‍♂️

 

Check the voltage at your ignition coil (with key turned ON) to be sure it can start. Then check the Ballast Resistor (IF you have one) to be sure that it has not gone south giving the ignition too little voltage to run. Ballast resistors fail fairly easily over time. The Ballast resistor is supposed to reduce the 12 volts to a more manageable level for the ignition coil. When a ballast resistor fails it can let the engine start and run for a short period before overheating and reducing the voltage even more which can stall the engine. The T.I. ignition system used in the C3's are nice because they don't use a ballast resistor and the coils can handle the full 12 volt power.

Did you charge the brand new battery Up before using it? Charging any new to you battery is always a good idea. Batteries can sit for months on the shelf waiting to be sold and are frequently not charged during that period. This is likely not the cause but I wanted to share it with you. When buying a battery look for the freshest one by checking the manufacturing labels, they frequently have a build date on them.

On my 1968 C3 the power goes to the Horn relay from Fusible link. Fusible Links actually wear as they get older. If one is bad then you need to solder a new on and seal it up with heat shrink. I would suggest that you check the battery voltage at the battery and the test it up front like on the starter and be sure that the voltage is the same as the battery voltage was. I also check it on the engine at times using the alternator output (12V) and the engine block (Gnd) to ensure that the engine is grounded well.

I hope that it is something simple that is holding the car back! You would think a fully restored Corvette might want to get back on the roads again! Good Luck and let us know what caused your issue after you solve it!

 

Does your's have a neutral safety switch?

 

Went through everything last night and fusible links, clutch safety switch, battery and starter all checked out. Didn’t test coil but will do that today. Seems like the power to the starter is week just because the test light was dimer that other parts of the car. Wiring harness in the engine compartment is brand new. My coil and distributor is electronic Flame Thrower. I’ll go through that again🤷‍♂️. Thanks for the info…

 

That sounds like weak power at the starter and it might indicate a bad ground or dirty power connections. I would go to the ignition coil and start there going in reverse to isolate the problem. There is a tool I use any time I suspect an electrical issue and it makes life SO much better with a Power Probe. I actually have 2 of them. With a Power probe you can apply either battery power or ground to any connection you are suspicious of. I use it to power the power windows and I can isolate any problem very quickly by simply testing the motor first and going from there. It is a huge time saver when working on electrical systems.

I would look very carefully or remove them and inspect the wires going to the starter. You need Full Battery Power at the starter solenoid post. Are the connections spotless? Can you test the resistance of the starter positive cable to be sure it has not gone bad. So you see any corrosion on the wiring? I would remove them and clean the connections to be absolutely sure. You might want to keep the charger on the battery until you get it running as it will give you a fully charged battery to draw from. Once it starts remove the charger so your alternator doesn't hurt the battery charger.

(Believe it or not the wire that fed my electric fuel pump had a small hole in the wire from a rock or something and the wire corroded inside the jacket. Where the corrosion was there was a slightly swollen section of wire and the wire would increase the resistance as the fuel pump was running until the pump shut off from low voltage.) Wires can go bad if the jacket is damaged and moisture gets in.)

What kind of distributor are you using? I assume it was working before, correct? Have you up-sized the alternator by any chance? If you have an electric choke is it working? With a battery fully charged does the starter still have Full Battery voltage at the solenoid? Have you checked to be sure that your ignition key is working properly? I have seen them have bad connections and they never energize the solenoid on the starter. Your ignition switch is harder to get access to so you might unplug the harness from below and test the various functions. My 1968 C3 has the ignition on the right dashboard and it is fairly easy to get to from behind the dash. Who installed the front wiring harness on the C3? Are there any leftover wires?

My brother had a Triumph Spitfire and he had to rebuild the engine. After having the block rebuilt he put the engine back and the car and it would not start but would crank forever. We had spark, fuel, compression and the engine should have started. I hired a buddy who is a mechanic and he and I spent a whole day trying different tricks and no go. On the bottom of the box was a little piece of wire in a loop with a connector on it. I found that it plugged into a connector near the distributor and right after I installed it the engine started and ran. English electrical systems are weird but this one was new to me. The engine ran perfectly after the connector was plugged in.

Check the battery ground cable and especially where it attaches to the frame. This wire is responsible for many problems, mine looked fine but we replaced it anyway. Have you used an Die-Electric grease on any of the connections? Check the wire and connections with a multi meter to be sure that connection is 100% even if you need to remove it and clean the connections. I try to keep my battery ground connection covered in battery grease to keep corrosion at bay.

 

Bad Ground?

 

I thought ground also but not 🤷‍♂️

 

Thanks for the information. I’m going through it again today and will keep you posted 👍

 

Figured it out. Absolutely a bad ground. Everything checked out other than that. Put fuel in the tank and after a couple of priming turns it fired right up! Thanks again

 

Glad you got it.