No crank!

[Jrgunn5150]

Hey, so I got the truck sorted out, hopped in it, turned the key, and....Nothing. I get dash lights, buzzer, everything else, just no crank. It fired up fine last night, all I did today was finish filling the tranny, hook up linkages, etc. I also hooked my choke to a block on the firewall, which turned out to be 12v hot, where do you guys hook yours? I'm heading back out there to pull the starter now, if anybody can tell me why this happened, I'd appreaciate it. It's an 87 Silverado, with a carbed 350, 700r4.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Are your battery terminals corroded?

 

[RaisedK5]

Is that block the two post block thats hot all the time?? if so then you may have fried a wire or fusable link or just drained the battery down to far to start the truck. the choke should be hooked up to a ign hot. a lot of the stock systems had them hooked up through the oil light so the choke woudl only operate if the engine was runnning. Any how, let us know where exactly thats hooked up and we shoudl be able to diagnose it further.

 

[ColAdo82K5]

One idea....put the truck in neutral first...I had a situation once where the switch was iffy and I had to jiggle the column shifter to start it.
Blake

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Yeah, that was where I had it hooked, now I'm gonna have to drag it out with the Jeep and jump it. My choke hot wire is only long enough to reach in the engine compartment, I was hoping there was a place to hook it up there.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Well its hooked to the Jeep now, funny thing is, last night it fired right up. I mean i felt like I was on one of those tv shows, i wasnt even in the truck, just reached in, turned the key, and vrooom. Today, nothing. The starter tested good BTW, so I'll see if the jump works. Hopefully before my (married) girlfriend gets home with her husband!

 

[Jrgunn5150]

So the battery and starter tested good, it must have been that wire from the block I hooked the choke into. So what does that wire do? When I was putting the starter back on I got some sparks from the wires, so I know that is getting juice. When I turn the key forward, the lights dim and the buzzer stops, but it doesn't crank at all. I'm confounded, and I have to drive this thing to work soon too. It does it with the shifter in all positions also.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Anybody at all? Where does the little wire off the starter go to? I really need to get this going by thursday.

 

[gmcjimmy90]

check your fuses when you grounded out the hot you probally blew a fuse or a fusable link.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

I just went out there and cut through the only fusible link hooked to the block I hooked the choke to, and that killed power to the entire truck. I tried to trace the solenoid wire, but it disappears into a loom, and I can seem to find the other end. However it is dark, and raining. Does that little solenoid wire go to a block? or does it go all the way to the switch? Autozone tested the started, and it ran good for them, when i tried to jump it on the truck though, I just got sparks, probably because I was hitting the nose of the starter. I'm gonna have to try some more tomarrow in the light, but any suggestions or direction would be great. I just dont understand, it was fine till I hooked the choke up to that block!

 

[RaisedK5]

The junction block on the firewall is where the ALt, a/c fan, and + lead to the starter and the main + into the cab (I think) go. The battery is hooked to the starter, the alt to the junctionblock, the junction block to the starter. So by hooking up the junction block to the choke, you basically completed the path from + to - and either killed the battery ( which you said was good) fried a fusible link, or blew a fuse. So check out all the wires. And as someone said earlier, check your battery cables too. I had a crank, no crank problem once and it was a loose ground cable to the battery.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

It was the hot side of the choke I hooked to it, it was open when I came back out, so I unhooked that. Now the solenoid wire goes there to that same block huh? Interesting, its gotta be one of them then, is there a fussible link on the starter wire somewhere? I cant see one, but I'm guessing there must be somewhere, I'll track it down tomarrow I guess, thanks alot. I did check the fuses, they are good, the constant draw for over an hour must have fried a link, we'll see.