My truck is Pissing me off

[cochran63]

I put my new engine in the truck and when i went to start it for the first time it turned over like it is suposed to, but when i went to try to start it the second time all it would do is click. I checked the battery and it was fully charged. I checked all connections and Still No Go. I finally put another starter on it and still nothing. Any suggestions?

[canadianchevy72]

Stupid but Ive done it before got the positive and negative backwards?

[sparky69]

Even though a battery showing that its fully charge could still be dead.
I had one go bad just an hour after it was fine starting my engine. It was similar to your symptons.
Try and use an extra battery from another vehicle to be sure.

[walker]

Could still bw a bad battery, or internally corroded cable.

[Longhorn Man]

Try jumping it.
How did you test it?

[cochran63]

I put a battery tester on it and it showed it to be good. I went to get some new cables this morning but the local parts store was closed. The starter is kicking in, but it doesnt seem to have the power to even attempt to turn the engine over. I checked the motor and it wasn't locked up. Thanks guys for the quick replies.

[dinnut]

i agree with everyone else. try a different battery. thats what happens in my grandpas old cadillac when there isnt enough juice for it to turn over that big block cadillac. just clicks. had it happen in my truck before too.

[cochran63]

Well i have tried 2 different batteries, the one out of my 3/4 ton and the one out of my dad's boat and it still does teh same thing. Just jacking around I unhooked the negative cable and it would still do the exact same thing which makes me think that it isnt getting enough ground...

[cdowns]

try checking your purple wires on the neutral safety switch

[Bowtie67]

You check all your ground straps, engine properly ground to frame?? Making up ground wires to frame isn't that great, use good ground straps, Also try turning motor over by hand to make sure it not locked or the starter is locked into flywheel..

[dinnut]

is your nss messed up? is the transmission in park/neutral? did you convert to hei or is it still points? put an amp gauge on the starter so when u try to start it see how much voltage it is getting.

[68 Stepside]

I had a problem with my 68 when I first put in the 406 that was very similar. Sometimes it would start, other times it'd click. Try grounding a head to the frame with a battery cable, and see what happens. That's all I had to do, and it's been fine since.

[68C15]

you say removing neg cable acts the same?
attach the neg. cable direct to the front of engine next to balancer. clean paint off first. then run ground wire/strao from valve cover to firewall. should solve the problem.
one last thought, is there paint on engine where starter mounts? starter grounds through the case & bolts.

[Longhorn Man]

Neutral safety switch will do nothing and is working correctly, if the starter attempts to do anything (click) then it is OK.

[cochran63]

Well guys i appreciate all the help. I found that the problem was caused by my own stupidity. I coundn't find anything wrong with the wiring so i decided to drop the oil pan. I had dropped a bold down the distributor hole and it was binding the motor up. Luckily it didnt do any damage. Thanks again for all the help.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Ouch that could have been a hard lesson learned if the bolt had gotten loose... Glad you found the problem with no major damage..

[cochran63]

Yeah, I was really lucky. I have no idea how i even knocked it down there. Like my grandfather says " The Lord takes care of carpenters and imbeciles."