Go to crank my car and nothing. Battery charged. No click, nothing. Turn on lights and crank, no cranking, no clicking, lights stay the same. Used a screwdriver to jump it at solenoid and it starts. So I figure solenoid. Buy one. Put it on. Same result. I’m not super knowledgeable on this type of stuff. What should I be checking next to diagnose this thing? 72 Scamp. Electronic ignition. 318. If that helps at all.
No crank
- Thread starter jrc4y4
- Start date
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67Dart273
Well-Known Member
Judging from the photo you did NOT buy a starter solenoid, but rather a starter RELAY. The solenoid is integral with the starter. HERE is how that works
Notice there are two "push on" flag terminals, the two smaller wires at one end. One of them gets 12V from the key in "start" and the other terminal must be grounded to fire the relay. THAT terminal is grounded by the neutral safety switch on the automatic, the center terminal, only when the trans is in park or neutral. If you have a stick, that terminal is grounded by pushing in the clutch and activating a switch on the pedal linkage
First thing to do is hold the key to start while working the shifter from park through neutral and back and see if you get a crank or at least a click. If not..........
Dig up a test lamp or multimeter. Identify the wires (which change color over the years) see if one is yellowish and the other dark. The dark one is likely the neutral grounding switch wire. Pull that one off and hook your test lamp to the relay terminal you uncoverered. Twist the key and see if you get a light. if not change the test lamp to the other wire still connected to the relay. If it does not light in "start" for "to be sure" move your light to the remaining wire---you pulled loose. If no light there either, that is on either wire, then the circuit from there, through the bulkhead connector, to the ignition switch or the switch itself is faulty
If you DO get a light on either wire in the above test, hook that wire back up to the relay. "Rig" a jumper clip wire to the opposite flag terminal and ground it. Be careful here that the car is out of gear, or in park. See if it starts. If so, you troubles in the neutral safetly switch or wiring. This is just one wire that goes to the CENTER of a 3 wire connector. Make sure the connector is tight. Do the wiggle test on the shifter while twisting the key to be sure. If no go, check that wire, and if has continuity, replace the siwtch
If you don't have a factory shop manual, you need to run over to MyMopar and download one--free
Notice there are two "push on" flag terminals, the two smaller wires at one end. One of them gets 12V from the key in "start" and the other terminal must be grounded to fire the relay. THAT terminal is grounded by the neutral safety switch on the automatic, the center terminal, only when the trans is in park or neutral. If you have a stick, that terminal is grounded by pushing in the clutch and activating a switch on the pedal linkage
First thing to do is hold the key to start while working the shifter from park through neutral and back and see if you get a crank or at least a click. If not..........
Dig up a test lamp or multimeter. Identify the wires (which change color over the years) see if one is yellowish and the other dark. The dark one is likely the neutral grounding switch wire. Pull that one off and hook your test lamp to the relay terminal you uncoverered. Twist the key and see if you get a light. if not change the test lamp to the other wire still connected to the relay. If it does not light in "start" for "to be sure" move your light to the remaining wire---you pulled loose. If no light there either, that is on either wire, then the circuit from there, through the bulkhead connector, to the ignition switch or the switch itself is faulty
If you DO get a light on either wire in the above test, hook that wire back up to the relay. "Rig" a jumper clip wire to the opposite flag terminal and ground it. Be careful here that the car is out of gear, or in park. See if it starts. If so, you troubles in the neutral safetly switch or wiring. This is just one wire that goes to the CENTER of a 3 wire connector. Make sure the connector is tight. Do the wiggle test on the shifter while twisting the key to be sure. If no go, check that wire, and if has continuity, replace the siwtch
If you don't have a factory shop manual, you need to run over to MyMopar and download one--free
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Yes, sorry. Relay! I moved through into neutral and same issue. Automatic.
Ok I’m really sorry for my ignorance. I really don’t mess with electrical stuff hardly ever. So do I use the ohm setting and then put the negative probe as a ground to the negative terminal or to a bare piece of metal, then the positive probe to what I’m checking? I know. I know. I don’t know what I’m doing lol. Dad came and guided me through the wiring harness. Other than that I’ve had very little electrical experience over the years.
Well, ended up being the neutral safety switch had come off the tranny. Go figure. Before that, I ran my meter on it to see what was going. Where the yellow wire was (in the diagram says brown), labeled I on the relay, it said -1. Cranked it then -2V? I didn’t think that made sense. Then the brown wire, labeled G on the relay, yellow wire on the diagram (you were right the wires change colors over the years lol), it ran 15-16? Then crank it and it goes to 1. Then blank. Not sure if that helps anything. But just what I did. So since the one side read negative, I looked there first and found the neutral safety switch. Unsure how it came undone but didn’t seem like there’s a clip on it. Just slides on.
67Dart273
Well-Known Member
Great!!
You could actually reverse the yellow and dark wire. The relay coil does not know the difference electrically. I don't understand your test results. Either you did not have the meter grounded? or meter function switch set wrong, etc
The "functional path is........transmission ground (in park/ N) through switch...........to center pin.........to dark wire.......up to one relay coil terminal............through coil...........to yellow start wire...........through bulkhead connector-------into interior to ignition switch connector--------through switch "in start"--------to 12V switch supply
The relay contacts are the remaining two terminals. One of them, "the big stud" is also used as a junction point. The "square" terminal then feeds power (relay closed)----------down to starter solenoid.
You could actually reverse the yellow and dark wire. The relay coil does not know the difference electrically. I don't understand your test results. Either you did not have the meter grounded? or meter function switch set wrong, etc
The "functional path is........transmission ground (in park/ N) through switch...........to center pin.........to dark wire.......up to one relay coil terminal............through coil...........to yellow start wire...........through bulkhead connector-------into interior to ignition switch connector--------through switch "in start"--------to 12V switch supply
The relay contacts are the remaining two terminals. One of them, "the big stud" is also used as a junction point. The "square" terminal then feeds power (relay closed)----------down to starter solenoid.
Awesome thank you for the additional info. I need to retest them just so I know what I’m doing. I was confused by the results too. Did not make sense.
That was my first guess, neutral saftey switch.
Glad you got it figured out.
Glad you got it figured out.
@67Dart273 Man....You have helped out A LOT of FABO members. Thanks for stepping up, your help is invaluable.
He sure has. I was reading his stuff on other people's posts as I was trying to figure this out.
He sure has ^^^^^ he was the first one to put his finger on the Election Fraud in Wisconsin, after the polls closed on 11-3-2020 he saw this huge voting spike in the middle of the night that was humanly impossible. Thanks @67Dart273 for bringing that to everyone's attention, facts are facts . . .
Lolz!
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