4 speed conversion - what went wrong?

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la67DartGT

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Hey All,

Tried to start the car for the first time today after converting over to the 4-speed. I thought all I needed to do was ground the wire that went to the neutral safety switch on the old auto. Here's what's happening.

1. Without the neutral safety wire grounded, I turn the key and get absolutely nothing. Complete silence.

2. With the neutral safety wire grounded, I get a strong, solid click. From inside the car, I thought this was the starter not able to engage properly, so I crawled underneath and had my lady turn the key for me while I watched. The clicking is definitely not at the starter.

So, wonderful, helpful, knowledgeable folks, what did I do wrong. :)

Thanks for your help!

- Don
 
Im not an expert but I think you need to bypass the switch, not ground it. My guess is with it grounded, when you turn the key, you are directly grounding your starting system (not a good thing).
 
Hmmmm............If that's the case, anyone know where I'd find this thing? I guess i could attempt to follow the wire, but it's inside the loom and I don't really want to cut that apart.
 
The terminal on the starter relay that had a wire that went to the neutral safety switch needs to be grounded. Or, you can replace the relay with a manual tranny one that won't have one.

But it sounds like you are doing that since you hear the relay. If you temporarely jumper the battery wire and the solinoid wire ont the starter it should turn. If it does you don't your wiring right. If it doesn't I would pull the starter and have it checked. Autozone, advanced or one of the other chains should be able to do that.
 
Hmmmm........Speaking of the starter. I got underneath again to look around........the starter pinion seems awfully close to the flywheel. Should they sit like this? They seem to be almost on top of each other. Is this normal?

starterclearance2.jpg
 
la67dartgt,I have the wiring diagram.Is your car a 67dart? You might wanna get your rubber mallet out and tap that starter a couple of times.Your flywheel and starter set up looks normal from what i can tell from the picture.
 
It's a powermaster mini starter, and worked perfectly when i pulled the auto. Next time i can get out there, I'll check my connections at the starter and double check my battery connections.
 
clutch said:
la67dartgt,I have the wiring diagram.Is your car a 67dart? You might wanna get your rubber mallet out and tap that starter a couple of times.Your flywheel and starter set up looks normal from what i can tell from the picture.
Click to expand...

My car is a 67. Yeah, when i get out there next, i'll check my connections all around and see what I can come up with.
 
OK the 67 wiring diagram shows one wire coming out of the neutral safety switch and going right to ground and the orther wire going straight to the lug on the starter relay that is nearest to the firewall.I know everyone likes those mini starters but i have never had any good luck with them.
 
This may be a dumb question but what type of pilot bushing did you use? Are you sure it isn't bound up? Not all engines are drilled for a manual and I've seen several people put it all together without realizing the input shaft bottomed out in the crank and got it bound up where it won't turn over.
 
I'll go for the battery leads as well, particularly the negative cable. Thinks about it. Cable is likely connected to your engine block. Bellhousing bolts to the block and starter bolts to the bellhousing. Your high current electrical path is exactly the same route. Paint, rust, or dirt can interfere. Try redirecting your battery negative connection directly to the starter housing, or provide a good solid jumper to the engine block.
 
Blownfish said:
This may be a dumb question but what type of pilot bushing did you use? Are you sure it isn't bound up? Not all engines are drilled for a manual and I've seen several people put it all together without realizing the input shaft bottomed out in the crank and got it bound up where it won't turn over.
Click to expand...

I'm actually using the newer type bushing that fits in the large end of the crank, where the snout for the torque converter would go. Unfortunately, I'm not even to this point yet, as the starter isn't doing anything. The starter isn't even engaging the flywheel at this point. I just need to figure out how to get the power down to the starter, and then go from there. I'll keep you guys posted on what i find, when i get back out there.
 
Got it resolved!!! It was a broken wire at the starter. When putting it back together I accidentally pulled the wire out of the end that bolts to the starter. Put a new end on it and fired it last night. WOOHOO! have yet to drive it, but ran it through a couple of gears on the stands last night. Nice and smooth. :)
 
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