wiring issue????help

[mrenj23]

I turn the key and nothing, no click, nothing. CD player turns on, battery has plenty of power. Has done this a couple of times now and the first time I changed the starter. Worked a couple times then quit. It will works erratically but very inconsistent. I hooked the purple wire to a 12v source and the starter bumped over. I tried cranking it with my head lights on now they don't work either. I'm so frustrated please help. Is it a ground issue or what???

[silverado_hotrod]

sounds like a bad batt cable or connection . if u turn lights on and try to crank it over and lights go out or dim thats a sign of bad connection . try looking at the ground connection at block and ur ground straps also make sure positive cable isnt close to headers or exhaust had my 86 with a 305 with headers do that when it was hot and i found out positive cable was bad cause of the heat close to headers .

[flamingbig10]

it might be the safety neutral switch

[GMC Guy]

the same thing happened to me, check the safety neutral switch mounted on the steering column close to the fire wall. mine was loose, so i pulled it out and cleaned it, put it back in and made sure it was good and tight. works great now

[mrenj23]

well it use to have a manual in it now a 700r4. Description of where/what to look for.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by mrenj23

I hooked the purple wire to a 12v source and the starter bumped over. I tried cranking it with my head lights on now they don't work either. I'm so frustrated please help. Is it a ground issue or what???

When you bypassed the ignition switch at the starter did the starter crank at full speed or was it sluggish?

The lights going out and staying out points to a bad battery cable or connection.

I'd start with the main battery cables. Check cables and connections from the battery to the starter (+) and alternator bracket (-). They should be very stiff all the way to the connectors with no cracks etc in the insulation. Compare it to new cables. Stranded 4 or 6ga battery cable is several roughly 18ga solid copper wires wound into a rope and covered in PVC.

Make sure your engine, body, and frame ground straps are secure and making good contact.

If you still have the stock ground location sure the alternator bracket is securely attached to the head and water neck and the bolts are in one piece. Make sure the starter is firmly bolted to the block.

Just because the PVC insulation looks good doesn't mean the wire is good. In the late '80s I replaced both battery cables on my then girlfriends' 72 Monte Carlo. The copper inside the positive cable had turned to mostly green powder down into the cables at both ends. Corrosion made a 6ga stranded wire into light fluorescent green powder and one 18 or 20ga solid wire with pits and stress breaks. All the accessories usually worked but the starter usually just bumped the engine and then clicked. Sometimes random accessories (lights, wipers, radio, ...) would stop working and come back on after 10-15 minutes with the ignition off.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by mrenj23

well it use to have a manual in it now a 700r4. Description of where/what to look for.

On the off chance it is the neutral safety switch circuit... Lights out points elsewhere.

The neutral safety switch if you have one is a white collar around the steering column with 2 wires. One short wire from the ignition switch start position and a Purple wire into the harness back to the firewall plug. If your truck cranked over at full speed when you bypassed the ignition switch this may be where you'll find the problem.

These questions may jog your memory or your mechanics'...

When you swapped in the 700R4 did you change the steering column or did you use a floor shifter?

Is the clutch/starter-interlock-switch stuffed up behind the dash or under the carpet and still plugged in? Find it. It may be dead.

Did you cut the clutch/starter-interlock-switch plug off and splice the wires together? Check your splice.

When you removed the clutch/starter-interlock-switch did you transfer the wires to the column? The proper hookup point would be on the neutral safety switch... The wires spliced to the neutral-switch pigtail may have loose crimps or bad solder joints.

[mrenj23]

I checked for the neutral switch and the white collar has a plug with two wires that are cut and not attached to anything. We put the shifter on the floor not the column so I don't know. The power wire is all new because we moved the battery to the rear of the bed (which is a brand new kinetic). I'm going to change the terminal connectors because they are old and crappy.