HEI Swap Starter Problems

[thepunisher]

I did an HEI swap on my truck and now I can't get any activity from the starter. I replaced the HEI with a known good working unit and ran new 10 gauge wire from an unfused position in the fuse block. I also ran a new wire from the starter to the HEI. This gives me 12 volts when the motor is cranking and 12 volts when the ignition is in the run position (verified both with a multimeter). When we did the swap we thought we killed the starter, since I seem to have more money then sense I bought a new rebuilt stater. I installed it last night, double checked my wiring and tried to start the truck. All I got was a click then nothing. Double checked everything again and nothing. The two original wires that ran to the solenoid are still in place. There are no blown fuses that I can see. What am I missing?

[rwolf9653]

Have you checked your battery voltage? Also check your connections at the battery and starter and the grounds. It sounds like it is just something simple that is being overlooked.

[greens69]

You shouldn't need a wire from the starter to the HEI, the 12v wire to the HEI should have switched power with key on and while cranking the key, you can find this wire at the back of ignition switch.

[thepunisher]

Is that the pink wire mentioned in the FAQ? If so I will rewire this tonight, maybe that's my problem.

[Longhorn Man]

the way you have it wired shouldn't keep it from cranking over.
Did you by chance remove the battery cable fom the starter when doing the work? It sounds like that cable is loose/diconnected on the starter.

[Wrenchbender Ret]

The purple wire from the ign. switch sould be hooked to the small term. marked S. Put a screwdriver or piece of wire across this term to the big term the bat cable is hooked to. That should energize the starter. If not your bat or cables are bad. If it does then you are not getting curent from the ign switch to the selinoid. If it has a neutral or clutch safety switch that could be the problem.

[Thealien]

Originally Posted by Wrenchbender Ret

If it has a neutral or clutch safety switch that could be the problem.

I spent hours troubleshooting one day only to find I wasn't in park Doh!!

[cparman]

you do not need the wire from the starter to the HEI, as stated above. You should be able to find a key on hot 12v, that is also 12v while cranking. That is all you need. And yes the purple wire does go to the inside small terminal on the starter.

[Longhorn Man]

his purplw wire is working, as is the neutral safety switch, he is getting a click when he turns the key.

[2tons of fun]

if he gets a click then he probably hooked his coil up to a constant hot and is killing the battery.

why would you hook it up to a new port in the firewall plug? pull the old tab out and run a new peice of 12g wire and put it back together.

[Longhorn Man]

odds are though, if it was hooked to a constant hot, then he'd be asking how to shut the engine off since it would continue to run with the key in the off position.

[Bert W]

Being new, and spending a lot of time looking around here, I have not seen the FAQ page mentioned in the previous post. Could someone point a blind man in that direction?

[rwolf9653]

Originally Posted by Bert W

Being new, and spending a lot of time looking around here, I have not seen the FAQ page mentioned in the previous post. Could someone point a blind man in that direction?

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/f...splay.php?f=28

On the main page in the general truck forums.

[Bert W]

Thanks!

[jorgensensc]

My .02.
If you hook the HEI up to a constant hot, even with the engine off it will fry the module eventually. It should be hooked up to a keyed 12 volt.
With that said, it may not turn off once he gets it running.
Also, how did you hook both of the hots up to the HEI, there is only one spot for the Hot, the other is for the Tach.
Could be as stated above a bad or loose battery cable, you may have jarred something loose, or you may be grounding something. Feel the Pos. battery cable, if it is Hot you have a problem. You may have accidentally pinched a wire or hooked the starter up to the wrong and put the purple wire where the old yellow used to go. You don't really need that. you only need the pos. from the battery, the pos. going to the accessories, and the purple ignition switch that goes to the neutral safety switch and then to the ignition. Could be that you have killed your battery by grounding something out too. I would start by removing the hot from the starter to the HEI, then verify you have power from the fuse box to the HEI in SWITCHED on, crank, and run. Sometimes in Crank it wont send power if your not hooked to the right spot, then it will just crank and crank with no spark.

Also get ready to be 180 degrees out. If you crank and you know you have good power to the HEI but it wont start up, and you try and adjust the timing, but get backfire THROUGH THE CARB, then you are probably 180 degrees out. Pull the Hei and Spin it 180 deg. then reinstall. If you dont have enough adjustment on your timing after cranking, move your spark plug wires over 1 spot (1 at a time) in the direction you need to get more movement.
Just some ideas. Good Luck
Shawn