Engine back in, starter just clicks, help please

[vulcan300]

I've put the engine back into an 81 SC and when I turn the key the Starter clicks but doesn't crank. I think I am missing one wire but I'm no sure where it enters the engine compartment.

Right now there are three wires connected to the starter;

- A solid yellow wire connected to the top spade connection
- A yellow wire with a green stripe connected to the bottom spade connector
- A red wire connected to the positive terminal of the solenoid

I believe there should be a large/thick black wire from the battery (Is this the power lead from the battery?) but it isn't anywhere near the starter. It may have gotten hung up come where when the engine was put back in.

Please let me know where to look for this wire.

Thanks in advance for your help!

J

[gduke2010]

I can't remember how the wiring is routed. I changed the ground strap and cleaned the connections a couple years ago and that helped but, the real problem was my Odesyy(sp) battery that my clock had drained while sitting for a period of time. The battery wouldn't hold a charge. I'd put it on a trickle charger and drive a couple times, and it would start no problem and the voltage would be 12 plus volts. I'd park it at a restaurant while on a long drive and no start. The problem seemed to be intermittent. I had no meter to check the voltage while on the road. I'd push start the car and drive it home. So, it seemed to be a bad connection until I replaced the battery.

[efhughes3]

I'd check grounds, battety connection and battery condition.

[Joe Bob]

Whack the solenoid.....

[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by targamaniac

I've put the engine back into an 81 SC and when I turn the key the Starter clicks but doesn't crank. I think I am missing one wire but I'm no sure where it enters the engine compartment.

Right now there are three wires connected to the starter;

- A solid yellow wire connected to the top spade connection
- A yellow wire with a green stripe connected to the bottom spade connector
- A red wire connected to the positive terminal of the solenoid

I believe there should be a large/thick black wire from the battery (Is this the power lead from the battery?) but it isn't anywhere near the starter. It may have gotten hung up come where when the engine was put back in.

Please let me know where to look for this wire.

Thanks in advance for your help!

J

Targamaniac,

There should be a 4th cable (black) from the battery. You probably missed it when you put then engine back in the car. Look for it ASAP. The end of the battery cable is probably not insulated and could cause sparks when it comes in contact with the engine/car. It should be sitting just above the transmission mount passenger side. Use a flashlight to locate it and hurry!!!


The red cable shown in the picture is the battery cable. And yours should be BLACK.

Tony

[James Brown]

Big black double ott (00) gauge wire, can't miss it!
MAIN POWER WIRE

[Laneco]

May I suggest this?

DISCONNECT the battery FIRST, then look for the big wire. Wherever it is, right now it appears to be doing no harm. Get fishing around with the battery connected and you could change that very abruptly.

angela

[ischmitz]

Could be that you didn't connect or tightened the braided ground strap from the body to the transmission. Comon oversight.

There is no ground wire to the starter. The starter is grounded by being mounted to the transmission. But others are correct. There is a main lead from the battery to the soleniod. It's a 10mm stranded wire with a big eye on it. And it is hot once you connect the battery. It will set the car and main harness on fire if it shorts to the chasis. Been there done that. CAREFUL

There is a ground lead at the battery to the body. If that was off nothing would work. Not even a click. Make sure both cables at battery posts are tightly connected. And of course make sure the battery is charged. Depending on how long it was sitting it could have gone flat.

Ingo

[vulcan300]

Thanks for the feedback folks.

Nothing shorted, sparked or caught on fire when the battery was connected so no harm done. The negative lead is disconnected from the battery now and I'll be back at it in the morning.

Does the battery power lead come through the firewall on the passenger side? That may help me to track it down.

Thanks, J

[ischmitz]

Yes, it comes out somewhere in the back firewall on the passenger side. Feel around and wear glasses since dust will rain into your eyes

[mycastle]

Here is a shot of mine when I had the engine out.

On the passenger side you will see several black cables. One has a white band and a lug on it - that is the power line from the battery. it looks like it came out of the firewall and is routed alongside the wire bundle heading up to the right side, and then hangs out for connenction to the starter.

[s5uewf]

It is thick and looks just like the parking brake cables and heater box cables all hanging around in there. I think it is on the driver's side of the tunnel but not sure. You should find it easily once you get under there with a light. Make sure you keep the battery disconnected until you get it bolted to the starter.

[vulcan300]

@mycastle That pic was perfect. I actually ended up finding it on my own today thanks to everyone's advice. The cable was hiding in plain sight. I had put it on top of the trailing arm to keep it out of the way when putting the engine back in so it looked like a line going to the brakes.

I got that on the starter and it fired right up! I'll post pics tomorrow to help the next person that wants to know how to wire their starter.

[James Brown]

Sweet!

[vulcan300]

As promised, here are the pictures. The red arrows point to the power cable and the blue arrow points to the engine harness connections (including red alternator wire).

This image shows the positive lead from the battery coming out of the firewall next to the transmission;



This image shows the lead routed up to the starter;



This image shows all connections made to the starter;



And finally a closeup of the connections to the starter;



Hopefully this thread helps some people out in the future.

J