1965 350 HEI bulkhead failure---help

[NEWFISHER]

Hi,

Truck stopped running last night. Cranks, no fire and if it does, there is no throttle response. I have ruled out fuel delivery. Acts like no spark, verified and assumed ignition module. Installed a GM ignition module and cranks no start.

Part 2. I have been having trouble with my starter so I tossed on a gear drive mini at the same time as the ignition module. Old starter had 700r4 power, yellow hei wire and choke wire on one side of solenoid with the purple wire on the other pole. Installed mini ( read direction--vague) and placed red(700r4) yellow(hei) red(choke) and purple wire on same pole.

Now it cranks but no start.

Checked bulkhead connector and ( from previous melt down I believe) has the large wire that is red in the pic, but turns to white and feeds the HEI melted and no contact. Cleaned off and stabbed into the bulkhead connector for testing.

Now when the key turned to "run" the starter engages and turns but no fire?

Any ideas?
.

Here is a pic of the bulkhead connector


What is the black wire for? It's cut just outside the picture and doesn't go anywhere? Not that this is my issue as 24 hours ago before the mini starter with single pole solenoid and a new GM hei module are all that I have changed

[NEWFISHER]

Update.

ran only purple wire to starter solenoid. now cranks when in the crank position. removed trans, choke and yellow hei wires from starter. jumped around bulkhead connector to eliminate melted area. pink wire from dash harness to HEI ( was this way before, it just turned into a red wire then to white before the hei plug). Cranks no fire.

[ray_mcavoy]

The purple wire needs to go to the "S" terminal on the starter solenoid. That wire is only live in the "start" position and is what activates the solenoid.

The factory wiring (with points ignition) had a special resistance wire running from the bulkhead connector down to the "R" terminal on the solenoid. From there a yellow wire went up to the coil. The "R" terminal on the solenoid feeds full battery voltage to the coil during cranking and then when the engine is running, the voltage is dropped through the resistance wire.

With HEI you don't need any of that. And a proper HEI conversion should have removed that resistance wire and replaced it with a regular copper conductor wire. You can also simplify things by eliminating that leg down to the starter "R" terminal. Just run the HEI feed directly from the distributor to the bulkhead connector terminal that mates up with the pink wire inside the truck. And use a test light or voltmeter to verify that the pink wire has power with the key in both the "start" and "run" positions. If it doesn't, you have a problem with the ignition switch or wiring.

Does your truck have a factory gauge cluster? If so, that cut-off black wire would have gone to the ammeter (BATT) gauge.

[NEWFISHER]

Thanks Ray, It is a mini starter with only 1 wire terminal and after only hooking up the purple wire I think I have solved the start issue. It now cranks when its supposed too.

The bulkhead connector has a pink wire that has 12v in the run and crank positions. I have ran it to the dizzy in the same spot it has always been, next to the tach wire. I believe its marked "bat".

I have eliminated coolant temp (green) out of the bulkhead connector. I have eliminated the red wire from my choke that used to be coming from the starter and also the yellow wire that used to come from the starter and was connected to the " bat " terminal of the hei woth the pink wire.

cranks but no start

[ray_mcavoy]

Okay, that sounds like you have everything wired up like it should be.

The pink wire having 12V in both run and crank positions is good.

It sounds like you either have (A) a bad connection that's preventing the 12V from that pink wire from reaching the distributor. Have you tested it right at the distributor's "BATT" terminal? If you remove the plastic dust cover from the top of the coil you should be able to probe the connection right at the distributor with everything plugged in.

Or (B) there is a bad connection somewhere in the distributor that's keeping power from reaching the module. Inspect those 3 wires that come from the base of the dist and plug into the cap right near the "BATT" and "TACH" terminals.

Or (C) there are still some bad parts in the distributor. Even though you replaced the module, you might still have a bad coil or pick-up coil. I know those little wires that connect the pick-up coil to the module can sometimes break inside their insulation so the broken wire isn't obvious.

[MacsGTO]

So for starts I think some clarification is needed. You should have a ground from the battery to the frame and from the frame to the block. A positive from the battery to the large post on your starter. The purple wire should come from the fuse block and go to the small post to your starter. You should have a recharge wire, normally red going from your alternator to your small starter post as well. Are you running a one wire alternator? This will make a big difference in wiring. Depending on what's going on with that harness connector, your choke wire should come from the fuse block. In an HEI set-up you should have a wire I think going from the fuse block to the dizzy which is normally pink. The black wire that is cut on your connector is a ground/common for something.

To address the issues, there are a few places to start. Since you said the ignition coil has been replaced already, I would double check all of my plug wires. I also wouldn't trust that your choke is adjust correctly. A simple test light will tell you where you have power and where you don't. Have you tried starting it with the choke disconnected? You can manually turn the choke houseing to get it to open or close without power. Also, have you checked your timing and made sure your dizzy is tightened down and not moving? Make sure you check timing with the vaccuum off once you get it started. I would say that your wiring from the truck, at least the ignition part is good if you are able to turn the key and get the starter spinning. It's going to be on the engine side of the house IMO. Check your grounds also, those will always be the ones that kick you when your down. Does the rest of your electrical system work? Lights, horn, etc... Needless to say, just "stabbing" that wire in the connector isn't the best way to trouble shoot this nor leave it that way for use. Hope this helps, I know its a long post.

[MacsGTO]

Originally Posted by ray_mcavoy

Okay, that sounds like you have everything wired up like it should be.

The pink wire having 12V in both run and crank positions is good.

It sounds like you either have (A) a bad connection that's preventing the 12V from that pink wire from reaching the distributor. Have you tested it right at the distributor's "BATT" terminal? If you remove the plastic dust cover from the top of the coil you should be able to probe the connection right at the distributor with everything plugged in.

Or (B) there is a bad connection somewhere in the distributor that's keeping power from reaching the module. Inspect those 3 wires that come from the base of the dist and plug into the cap right near the "BATT" and "TACH" terminals.

Or (C) there are still some bad parts in the distributor. Even though you replaced the module, you might still have a bad coil or pick-up coil. I know those little wires that connect the pick-up coil to the module can sometimes break inside their insulation so the broken wire isn't obvious.

Hahaha it took me so long to type that you jumped in before me. I see we are both in the same direction for the issues though. I hope it helps out. GL NewFisher

[NEWFISHER]

Thanks guys. Update:
The truck died while driving last night, lost ignition have fuel. All grounds good, positive cables good. Tested pick up coil with ohm meter and good, tested one at parts store same result. I understand that shoving the pink wire, engine side, into the connector is not acceptable for long term, just doing it to test and have since jumped around connector ( see above). replaced module with new GM. Tested coil with one at parts store. Pulled dizzy and rotated, checked ohms etc seems good. stabbed back in and now off...F#$%^! pulled #1 and rotated to TDC. restabbed and now have a "PUFF" of smoke from carb and if dizzy rotated with really drag down engine on crank, like its way out of time. taking a mental break, seem to now have spark I think????? going back out to reset timing.

[MacsGTO]

Enjoy the break. I'm sure you'll find it will help. A quick positive check for spark at the coil is to pull off just one of the plug wires from the cap and hold it close to the terminal and you'll see a spark jump while cranking the engine. Will take 2 people. I also know that if you are satisfied that all of your wiring is good which honestly it sounds like, you can have carb issues where you are getting fuel to it but internal to the carb is failing. If anything just take it slow and don't jump into mulitple things at once.

[NEWFISHER]

Thanks MacsGTO. I tried to repair multiple things at once, skipped a few steps and then was baffled. I ended up finding the ground strap under the coil corroded and not in good shape. Installed a new one after the module, testing the pick up etc and restabbing the dizzy a bunch of times. Pulled #1 plug set the timing, reinstalled everything and it fired and idled. Re wired and cleaned up the whole mess, took it foor a drive and runs great. I ordered the engine side bulhead connector and have temporarilly wired (safely) around it. New starter zings the engine to life and I think the truck "feels" better. Mabey its just my excitement that I didn't have to scan it with an OBD 2 and ohm test a bunch of injection stuff that lives under plastic covers!

[MacsGTO]

Hey congrats on your victory! Nice work, now enjoy cruising.