Electrical problem

[ratrod67]

Having some trouble and need some advise. I have a 69 and I installed a 350 and auto tranny I pulled from a running and driving 68 Impala. The truck had a running and driving 307 and 3 speed. I just pulled and swapped them. No changes to either motor. Now I can't get the 350 in the truck to start. When I hit the key it just clicks at the starter a couple times and then stops. I took the starter and got it checked and it was good. I checked and replaced the battery cables and wires to the starter. Still the same. I bought a new(not rebuilt) starter and installed it. Still just a click and no start.
I made sure and triple checked everything. The chassis is grounded and so is the motor. I'm getting power to the starter but I just get a click. I even installed a 3rd starter just to check and still nothing. The 350 has an HEI and the old motor had points. I ran a power wire from the HEI to the fuse panel and I'm getting a full 12 volts to the dist.
Any chance it might have something with the neutral safety switch? Any other suggestions? Thanks for any help...

[bpmcgee]

1) Is there any chance the motor has seized?

2) It takes a LOT of juice to move the starter. Is it possible you have a bad ground or a dirty connection?

3) The click will be the solenoid. There's a completely separate wire that actually provides power to the motor. Have you double-checked this connection?

Brian

[jku72]

You may be on the right track. Have you tried the old screwdriver across the solonoid to isolate the problem to wiring?
Also, there is a chance that there was is some confusion on wire placement on the solonoid contacts. I did it once.
Other possibilities are the key switch, and possibly the nuetral switch. Do any key-on accesories work when you turn the key on?

[ratrod67]

Thanks for the quick replies...

The motor turns freely at the crank so I know it's not siezed.
I made sure and checked all electrical connections and they are good. I'm not dropping any power after each connection. I have the purple wire to the starter hooked to the S terminal and the yellow(small gauge) hooked to the R terminal. I made sure and wiped the block where the starter mounts with carb cleaner and I have the block grounded with 2 ground straps and the neg battery cable is grounded to the head. I havn't tried to jump the starter because the header is in the way. All of the accessories work fine(horn, lights, radio ect)

[cdowns]

well if you're going to run a hei distributor you have to get rid of the original yellow wire because that's a resistor wire to the coil and will only provide 8volts to the coil of a points system . i believe what your problem is the purple wire, back track it and find where the neutral safty switch is , i'm not farilar with the location for standard shift vehicles, then you have to jump it out and the engine should fire up

[bpmcgee]

Is it possible that there's a problem with the starter engaging the flexplate? If you disconnect the starter hot (for safety) and engage the solenoid, you should be able to lay underneath and see that it's engaging.

Brian

[cableguy0]

that battery though it says its charged might not be any good. how old is the battery a battery with a bad cell is all it takes and the battery will show 12 volts untill u put it under load then it will drop to 6 or lower. if i were u i would try a different battery just to be safe

[krue]

Try a new battery. Sounds to me like your not getting enough juice to the starter!

[ratrod67]

Ok..Thanks again for the quick replies. I went and jumped it at the starter and it turns freely. It has a new battery. Just to be sure I pulled the battery from my Corvette and it still does the same thing. I disconnected the yellow wire(small wire) from the R terminal on the starter and still the same thing. I replaced the wires from the harness that go to the starter because they were very brittle. I will have to go back and re check the wires again but I know I'm getting power but maybe it's not enough to turn the starter....