Does a 68....?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 15
From: Lusby MD
Does a 68....?
...have the clutch-depress starter lockout (won't start without stepping on the clutch)?
I'm having starter circuit problems and want to work my way back into the harness. If it does have the lockout, where is the switch?
Thanks.
I'm having starter circuit problems and want to work my way back into the harness. If it does have the lockout, where is the switch?
Thanks.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,435
Likes: 0
From: largo florida
yes, it should have the switch. The switch should be right underneath the clutch. There should be 2 fat purple wires going to it. Just disconnect the 2 wires, and and get a short piece of wire, crimp spades on each end. Then use that wire to connect the 2 purple wires. The clutch depress switch should now be working.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,160
Likes: 0
From: Ajax Ontario
Mine is a very late production '68 (last week of the run) and doesn't have any neutral safety switch, thus certain was only '69 and later. Handy as I had a loose connection at the battery terminal and was getting no juice to the starter. Standing outside the car, fiddling with battery cable then when I got it tight, just had to reach in and turn the key to test. Presto!
Yes, I was very careful to check/doublecheck that car was in neutral first!
Yes, I was very careful to check/doublecheck that car was in neutral first!
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 15
From: Lusby MD
Thanks guys. That suggests to me that the yellow 20ga wire that goes to the solenoid eventually makes it back to the ignition switch.
Here's the thread of my starter woes....
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=901818
Here's the thread of my starter woes....
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=901818
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 235
Likes: 0
From: Easton PA
You may be having issues under full load of the starter...A major place I would look is the starter cable either so corroded if original or shorting out to the frame or exhaust. In the thread you referenced, someone suggested jumping the battery directly to the starter. That would rule out that cable. The click you hear is the solenoid pulling in which means you are getting power through the ignition circuit to the solenoid, but the system can not handle the full amp draw from the motor, and thus shorts out the system.
OR - you could have a short in the starter. Bench testing - ie hooking the battery directly up to it will let you know a lot more. Good luck. I recently had a bout with mine over it not wanting to start. I won, so it is possible
OR - you could have a short in the starter. Bench testing - ie hooking the battery directly up to it will let you know a lot more. Good luck. I recently had a bout with mine over it not wanting to start. I won, so it is possible
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Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 15
From: Lusby MD
Thanks 68BLUEVETTE. I appreciate the comments/advice.
I cleaned the terminals on the battery, cleaned the battery/frame ground, cleaned the main starter terminal (opposite side of the + battery cable), and cleaned the main frame/engine ground. None were very corroded to start with but I cleaned them anyway.
No change.
Like I said in my other thread, I bought another starter too. Bench checked them both with jumper cables, and both worked fine. Nither worked when installed. I have the original starter back in the car now.
Im not sure the click I'm hearing is the solenoid. Maybe. It sounds more like the power transient in the horn relay. Maybe I'm not hearing it right.
Anyway... Its nice to have so many 68 folks to help out.
I cleaned the terminals on the battery, cleaned the battery/frame ground, cleaned the main starter terminal (opposite side of the + battery cable), and cleaned the main frame/engine ground. None were very corroded to start with but I cleaned them anyway.
No change.
Like I said in my other thread, I bought another starter too. Bench checked them both with jumper cables, and both worked fine. Nither worked when installed. I have the original starter back in the car now.
Im not sure the click I'm hearing is the solenoid. Maybe. It sounds more like the power transient in the horn relay. Maybe I'm not hearing it right.
Anyway... Its nice to have so many 68 folks to help out.
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 235
Likes: 0
From: Easton PA
keep everything in place, but replace the positive cable from the battery to the starter. Its the big #2 gauge wire that runs along side the exhaust under the passanger side. You can do this without pulling the old one off. Go to home depot and get a length of wire (2 gauge) and fit it with ends, effectively bypassing the current one. That way you don;t have to go through the PITA process of removing the old one. If it starts, but agood one, and replace it. If it doesn;t start, try the horn relay.
Another place to look that I found on mine, was the diodes in my alternator were bad. My shop manual suggested that this could cause simmilar symptoms and gives a easy way to test provided you have access to a multimeter, but replacing mine didn't do squat for me.
Another place to look that I found on mine, was the diodes in my alternator were bad. My shop manual suggested that this could cause simmilar symptoms and gives a easy way to test provided you have access to a multimeter, but replacing mine didn't do squat for me.
Last edited by 68BLUEVETTE; Sep 13, 2004 at 05:56 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,131
Likes: 4
From: May help you? You can sure as hell try!
Interesting question. I can say definitively, NO. I know this from having gone through my wiring system completely not giving the absence of a neutral start switch a second thought. But then the other day, not thinking, I went to start my car without depressing the clutch thinking I had left the car in nuetral. I almost backed out of the closed garage door. Fortunately I hit the brake just a fraction of an inch from the door. Now I'm looking into the possibility of retrofitting a switch as long as it is not a big tear up to my wiring harnesses etc. I've put too much time and money in my car to damage it in a moment of stupidity.
