Gliche in the system? er what?

[Pumkin Truck]

K, first off my truck was running when i parked it. Now she won't start. The radio works/horn so i know its not the battery, i had recently put in a new cap,plug wires, condensor, rotor, distributor,points, coil, and correctly gapped spark plugs. So she refuses to start now, why? The starter will crank but then nothing. I have came to a conclusion that the problem lies with my ignition system wires, maybe the regulator (little black box behind my radiator on the drivers side) if that is what its called. I believe that it is the origional, where do i start? All this is not good for my barely broken in carb holding gas. THanks for the help all.
pumpkin truck

[colohusker]

Are you getting spark at the plugs?

[bigvinnie]

I assume you've already checked to make sure the carb is squirting gas, so you know you're getting fuel....???

first pull a spark plug and see if you're getting a spark.... will take 2 people unless you have a remote starter switch....lay the plug against the head or other ground source and check for a spark across the electrode while someone cranks the motor... if no spark then start back tracking to the cap, coil wire, rotor, points, etc.... simple process of elimination.

Also make sure the ditributor hold down bolt is not loose.... if it is then you'll need to re-set the timing with a timing light.

[Pumkin Truck]

so you guys dont believe that it is my ignition wires, i will check for the spark tonite. if i dont get no spark, then expect this ttt. thanks.

[Pumkin Truck]

My carb is squirting gas, i do have a spark, and all of my wires are in good shape cause i ran a multimeter over them. THis leaves me to the wires inside my cab which i have not tested but i am pretty sure that it is the ignition switch itself. The motor sounds like it is locked or frozen when i turn the key. oh well theres always tommarrow.

[bigvinnie]

well, if ya got gas and spark, then (assuming you still have compression) the spark must not be getting there at the right time... hook up a timing light and check to make sure that #1 is firing when it should..... let us know what you find...

does the motor even try to cough when you crank it?

[EJ]

The starter will crank but then nothing

The motor sounds like it is locked or frozen when i turn the key

Does the motor turn over or not? Im cunfused

[colohusker]

Does it start to turn then stop? If it doesn't crank freely, might check the ground strap to the engine, along with the cable going to the starter, along with the wire going to the selenoid. Maybe hook up a set of jumper cables direct to the starter and try it. Clamp the negative to the trans case, and the positive to the cable coming from the battery.

hmmm.... might also try backing off your timing a little, I know my 440 used to act like that if I had it too far advanced.

[O'l Buck]

does the engine try to crank, but seem to fight the starter, or just turn over a little, and then not at all, even after letting it sit a couple seconds.....if it's cranking slow and fighting the starter, sounds like it's too far advanced.

If it cranked once, then won't crank at all, but the starter is trying to turn it, my guess would be a dropped valve.....but i'm a pesimist(sp?)

[OhioDan]

From what you've described, it sounds like you might have a bad starter solenoid? Just my $.02

[bouncytruck]

neutral saftey switch?

[Blue68]

You said you just changed the cap and other goodies. I have to ask, did you get the wires to the correct plugs? If not, your starter could be fighting an engine that wants to turn backwards.

If in doubt, remove the coil wire so that there will be NO spark to any plug and turn the starter, does it spin? Double check your plug routing. And don't be embarassed, well not too much anyway, if you did mix them up. It happens.

An easy way to check for a spark at a plug is the hook up your timing light to each wire and see if they are getting a charge. Tells you as much as pulling the plug with less work and less chance of damaging a boot.

And like stated by a couple of others, check your timing. Too much and you're going to try to spin the engine backwards while the starter goes the other way.

[CE20934]

One problem with using the timing light to verify you have spark. I found this out with my buddy's 97 S10. I used the timing light to verify he had spark at #1 & at the coil. Flashed just fine. Well, his engine still refused to start. Turned out his spark plug wires were shot. An inductive timing light will trigger the strobe whenever electricity travels down the wire past the inductive clamp--but it won't give any indication of how strong the spark is.

[Longhorn Man]

Lets start at the very basics...
Your horn works...that is about 2 amps...maybe 5. Turn on your headlights, and try to start it. If they go out, or almost out as your key is turned, give it a jump start.

[Pumkin Truck]

THanks for the help guys, k lets see, i read so much i forgot what i had to answer. When i turn the key, the starter goes "click click dead" I then tried it with the lights on and mother says they dimmed when i turned the key. All my plug wires go to the correct place. I double checked that. My timing is a bit high at 8 degrees. All my cables and wires under the hood are intact. I thought that you had to have the engine running inorder to use the timing light?

[colohusker]

Sounds like your selenoid, or a loose cable going to the starter from the battery. Did you disconnect any battery cables during the maintenance? Might check to make sure those are tight on the battery.

Do you have a spare battery, or can pull one from another vehicle and try that one instead? Don't think it's that, but something to think about doing.

8 degrees isn't that far advanced, so don't think it's that. You can use a timing light, if the engine would turn over, but as it's been mentioned, it will just show that some electricity went past it, not how much, whereas pulling a boot, and jumping a spark 1/4" or a 1/2" to a ground gives you an indication of how strong the current is.

[Longhorn Man]

Grab your jumper cables and give her a boost from mom's car. Let it charge up for about 2 or 3 min.
When (if) it starts, remove the cables imediatly and let it run at a high idle for about 15 min before moving it or turning on any elevtrical stuff.

[PushinPebbles]

This is sorta embarrising but.......................on my dads 77 the battery cables looked just finebut..................we got no juice..................took he ends off cleaned them and covered them w/ packing grease................still works.......................this might help but................these other people prob. gotcha by now............................Jack

[Pumkin Truck]

Now i am convinced that it is the battery for sure. Was gonna give the truck a jump but couldn't find jumper cables. So i had to remove the battery to charge separately. I also took out the battery tray and am sanding it as we speak. It had a lot of rust in some corners and acid dust build up but now it is looking shinier than ever, any recommendations on primer and or how to properly paint it? Hopefolly it is the battery. Anyway, thanks for the input!

[Woody]

Sounds like a bad battery. A battery with a dead cell will run lights and other stuff but die when a heavy pull is put on it. If the battery has caps that you can remove, open them and look for a dry cell, also (with Safety Glasses on, or at lease sun glasses) have some one try to start the engine and look at the cells, if 1 of them starts to boil, it is a shorted cell and the battery is bad.

[Pumkin Truck]

THats some useful info. I had the battery recharging since 6pm, still low on power at 9pm and for got about it that night and disconnected it at 10am the next day. THe vents were off while charging but at 10am they were boiling. Havn't put the battery back in because i am still sanding the tray.

[Longhorn Man]

So what's the word?

[colohusker]

Did charging the battery take care of it? Just curious...

[racedvl]

Cables tight and clean on the battery?

[Pumkin Truck]

In the end, it turned out to be a very very low battery, once i charged it overnight the truck started right up. but i am not finished sanding down the tray becuase i have been cramming for my final tomarrow. Thanks again for the interest and help everyone.