No crank

-

Jason96R

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 22, 2004
Messages
263
Reaction score
3
Location
Ohio
I own a 69 Barracuda 360 with 4 speed.

My problem is that I turn the key and nothing happens. The battery is good and I have power to the bulkhead and the starter relay. It has a new ignition switch and a new forward wiring harness.

I had the same problem last year when attempting to start the car. I took the starter off to have tested and it ended up working at the auto parts store. I re-installed and car started fine.

This year it's doing the same thing and it is frustrating. I did just install the wiring harness so not sure if that is a factor to why it will not crank.
 
I own a 69 Barracuda 360 with 4 speed.

My problem is that I turn the key and nothing happens. The battery is good and I have power to the bulkhead and the starter relay. It has a new ignition switch and a new forward wiring harness.

I had the same problem last year when attempting to start the car. I took the starter off to have tested and it ended up working at the auto parts store. I re-installed and car started fine.

This year it's doing the same thing and it is frustrating. I did just install the wiring harness so not sure if that is a factor to why it will not crank.

Which harness did you install?
 
had same problem it was the post on started it was not tight turned key car was dead cleaned and tightened positive wire post and no problems
 
I forgot to add. At one point I must of had the relay crossed on accident. I was hooking up the battery after trying a spare relay, a MT relay that had given me problems but I still had laying around, and it starting cranking til I disconnected battery.

Wiring harness was from evans.
 
I haven't had time to work on it lately and by the time I'm finally off it is dark, car is behind dad's garage. Sunday I plan to go over there and I hope get car to atleast crank.
 
Part stores cant properly test a starter. Just because it will run on a table doesn't mean it will turn an engine. This is especially true for the mini starters.
 
Part stores cant properly test

anything_metro_logo_t_shirt_black_ex_2.jpg




LOL, best I could do.

Whenever anyone "tests" something, the usual best you can do is to test for an absolute fail. That is, if you test, say, a lamp and there's no continuity, and you are careful to make SURE the continuity test was proper, then the lamp is BAD

But just because you test it for continuity and it shows "good," that does not mean good, it means "might be good." The filament might be broken loose and just touching, IE intermittent.

This philosophy holds true in just about any component testing.

You have to check the "system," find the most likely culprit, and sometimes do a little guessing. This does NOT mean throwing a new starter at the problem.
 
jump the realy first see what happns does it spark or turn make sure in nutural

could be nutural safty switch id the linkage adjusted right turn key to on and see if you get interior lights then find true nuetralbumpthe relay make sure nuteral safty switch is pluged in fire wall and tranny nothing go to fusable link punch it up on wiring diagram and get started cleaning grounds add a few clean posts on and on
 
The car is actually completely torn apart. I had at a body shop but lack of money and a falling out with body shop owner caused me to park it behind my parents garage now.

Anyway it will have to be Sunday that I will get to work on it

Oh on the starter. Took it to Advance that one day had my dad with me. Guy hooked it up and wasn't working. I went over to counter to check on price of new one guess he giggled some wires then the starter started to work, I was a few feet away when did start to run though.

I don't know if that will add anything to the puzzle.
 
You can just short out the terminals with a screw driver to see if it crank the engine over. The big thick post is always hot, use that post to get juice to the small post. Just wedge a screwdriver between the posts and it should crank. If so, then just turn the ignition key to on, and crank the engine over with the screwdriver. When it cranks over, goose the throttle by hand and engine should start up.

If you hear a thump thump from the starter, try turning the crank by the balancer in front with a large beaker bar to see if the engine is frozen. If the crank turns, then it might well be a bad starter motor.
 
I know the engine is not froze because when I must have accidentally shorted the starter relay. The engine did crank and it was in gear and tried to run me over LOL

I'm going to pull the dash too and check the ammeter. With who owned the car before me I'm sure I will just find those wires just duct taped or jb welded together.
 
A little update this morning before work i was able to take tester and I have power to starter relay, bulkhead on firewall underhood and under dash.
 
You need to give us more of a "step by step." Power WHERE? WHEN?

Can you get it to crank by jumpering across the starter terminals? If not, then the battery, main cables, and starter, and possibly engine are your concern

Will it crank when jumpering across the two large terminals of the starter relay?

Is the starter relay grounded? MUST be on a 69 stick!!! OR do you have the RIGHT relay? How many terminals? 3? 4?

If it cranks when jumpering across the two big relay terminals, then disconnect the (should be just one) "push on" terminal, and jumper from the big battery stud to the push on terminal.

If it DID crank when jumpering the battery stud/ solenoid terminal, but now does NOT crank when jumpering to the "push on" terminal then the relay is bad.

If it DOES crank in all cases, then hook the "push on" terminal back up, back probe the connector with your meter, and twist the key. You should get "same as battery" and the car should crank. If the voltage here is low, or none, then you have problems in the under dash harness, or the bulkhead connector
 
Thank you for the help i will check all of that regardking relay. Probably tomorrow since I prob wont get off of work til dark tonight.
 
Thank you for the help. Did what you said and it looks like a bad starter relay. I have a 3 terminal stud, screw, and push on terminal.

Now with a bad starter relay would that cause my coil to not be getting any power with the key on?
 
No. There are three separate igntion switch contacts, IE three separate circuits having to do with starting.

1--"Ignition run", or IGN 1, traditionally dark blue. Comes off the ign switch, feeds power to the cluster, runs THROUGH THE BULKHEAD and goes to the ballast resistor, the IGN terminal on the regulator, and on 70/ later cars, the blue field wire on the alternator, electric choke, if used, and on some cars, a smog doo dad or two. This is hot ONLY IN RUN, NOT in start

2--"Ignition bypass", or IGN2, traditionally brown. comes off a SEPARATE switch contact, THROUGH THE BULKHEAD, and only goes on place---to coil + side of the ballast. Hot ONLY in "start" and supplies "hot" power during cranking for a hot spark in start

3--"start" signal, traditionally yellow, comes of a separate switch contact THROUGH THE BULKHEAD and to the "push on" terminal of your start relay. Hot ONLY in start, it's what makes the relay/ starter operate. ON CARS WITH the "reset button" relay for the seat belt interlocks, this wire is in series with that relay contact, and should be bypassed.
 
I am still not getting any power anywhere.

However, tracking power by use of a tester light the only place I am receiving power to the bulkhead connectors.

http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/amp-gauges.shtml

I checked out this link that you have provided in other threads. I am getting power from the red wire on both sides. However, the wiring a previous owner had did not even have the fusible link connected and the underdash wire is getting power but is cut off at the connector.

The previous owner must of had a problem and rigged his own wiring. My main purpose for obtaining the new wiring was that I was constantly frying coils.
 
Saying that you are "not getting power anywhere" is not very descriptive. Power "not" where, exactly?

Check power as you follow the diagram------------

You have battery at the battery POST?

at the starter relay battery STUD?

At the RED bulkhead feedthrough? On both sides?

(Now you say this has been CUT?) That means someone has run a new wire SOMEWHERE from the battery, through the firewall, to the ammeter.)
Probably time to pull the cluster so you can "get in there."

Pull the battery ground

Pull the trim piece under the column

Pull the floor flange bolts

Should be 1 bolt holding the column "up in" by the brake pedal, then, last, pull the two nuts on the clamp out near the front of the dash. By gingerly turning the wheel, it should drop down into the seat.

Pull the screws, out of the dash trim, reach up and unhook the speedo cable and fold the dash cluster forward slightly until you can assess the cluster harness connector and unbolt the ammeter connections.

Bolt the ammeter connections together and "safe them off" then hook the battery back up. Now you can more easily get into and see what you are doing.

If the wiring has been hacked, no telling what has been done, or what has been broken...........

your top no1 suspects are

the fuse link or "some wire" ran to replace it.

the bulkhead connector terminal which that wire goes through, or if someone ran a different wire straight through the bulkhead, it should STILL end up on one side of the ammeter

ON the other side of the ammeter, (BLACK) this goes from the ammeter, down into the harness a few inches, where the factory welded splice is taped up. You might want to untape / cut open the harness, from the ammeter ring terminal until you find the splice and inspect it. Then the black continues on, and backout the bulkhead connector

IF THIS has been hacked, there HAS to be a wire run somehow to replace it.

You have a shop manual?

These are not "cuda specific" but t he general wiring is the same:

Main difference is the Rally Cluster

[ame="http://www.abodyjoe.com/pictures/Misc.%20car%20info/69%20dodge%20service%20manual.pdf"]http://www.abodyjoe.com/pictures/Misc.%20car%20info/69%20dodge%20service%20manual.pdf[/ame]
 
I have power to the battery post, starter relay post, and the red wire to the bulkhead connector on both sides. I have to drop the steering column but I looked at the cluster and the ammeter just had a connector and the black wire looks to have been cut too.
 
Thank you for the help. Luckily, it's the winter in Ohio or trying to sort the wiring the previous owner did would be more frustrating than what it is.

I was hoping the new wiring harness would stop making the coil overheat and not be a whole can of worms. At least I will able to fix all the ignition issues on this car.
 
-
Back
Top