starter/electrical headache..

[supersize75k5]

So I have this 78 corvette project I am knee deep on,


main problem is starting,

I have power to the starter from the battery, but none coming from the purple wire that is suppose to jump the solenoid and battery when you turn the key. The purple wire has no power at any time.


the other, maybe unrelated problem, is that the starter will not even bump when I use a screw driver to bump it..nothing..nada


bad solenoid?



this car is a wiring nightmare and is being a challenge, a lot of wires that go no where and have no where to plug in. The purple wire should be the ign wire, maybe bad ign switch? I assume to test this I need to pull the column apart or? This car is really...really cramped to work in to

another question, are there differences between the vortec engine starter and the starters for the earlier 350 motors?

 

[Blue85]

Did you check the grounds to the body? Sorry, just a little Corvette humor. There must be a connector that allowed the column to be assembled into the car. You should be able to find the purple wire there and trace the problem down. It cold be that power doesn't even make it to the ignition switch. Many of the columns have a rod that pulls the switch and it is actually located low down on the column. I don't know anything specific about that car. Just remember to divide and conquer the problem.

 

[lectric80]

The ignition switch should be mounted down low on the column, and should not require much disassembly to get to it and check it out. Most likely, if you aren't getting power there, it is a fuse or possibly a bad switch. First test to find incoming power, if there isn't any, then the problem is outside of the switch. If the power comes in but never leaves, it is the switch.

If you can't jump the solenoid to engage the starter, does the gear sound like it is engaging? The solenoid pulls the starter bendix into the flywheel and engages the motor, so if the solenoid is bad, you will get no noise. If it is good, you should hear the gear click out to the flywheel. If the solenoid is good, it is probably a bad spot on the armature or the brushes are worn out or have broken from the case. I have seen all of these happen at different times.

 

[supersize75k5]

I am getting nada noting zilch from the solenoid, that's what led me to the assumption, the starter he had replaced not to long before the motor blew up. I wonder if he tried cranking the starter after the motor had blown up and seized...hmm


Is familiar with the columns on the trucks, imagin they are similar. This car is simply a royal pain to crawl around in, the fuse panel is amazingly hard to access.

 

[lectric80]

I have dealt with them on Vette's before, and yes they are a total pain.

He may have rotated the solenoid as well, and caused a short. I would assume that it is bad since you aren't getting anything from it, so it will need replaced.

The ignition switch setup is basically the same as the truck setup, GM was pretty identical on most everything.

 

[dyeager535]

Any chance this vette has some sort of factory anti-theft in it? Not real familiar with 'vettes, but I know they had security as an option for a LONG time, and GM seemed to like to mess with the starter solenoid for security purposes.

 

[Ryan B.]

no click at the solenoid even with a screwdriver, usually means bad solenoid.

no power on the start wire?
check for a park/neutral safety switch.
if its an auto maybe theres a micro switch mounted on the linkage...
or maybe the clutch pedal has to be pushed in on a manual.?

switch it to the 'start' position while you use a test light at the s terminal on the starter, and start working your way back, tracing the purple wire, back to the neutral saftey switch, back to the ignition switch, back to the fuse that feeds the ignition switch.
somewhere you will find power coming in but no power going out..

 

[pauly383]

another question, are there differences between the vortec engine starter and the starters for the earlier 350 motors?

Maybe car body specific if its a different size starter ( don't remember if 'Vettes were smaller starters ) , but block itself should accept a regular starter for the number of teeth the flexplate has .

Case in point , both the Vortec Suburban I own , and the TBI rig truck I own both take the same one piece main flexplate , and both take my two piece main starter from the 83's 305 .