Well this forum area was conveniently created.

OK, so a while back i took a road trip and burned up my dash harness because i didn't protect the circuit properly after i added a hi-po alternator. Anyways, thats old news as i fixed the wiring harness by replacing the burnt out wires. After that, i put my harness back in, and nothing (i mean nothing) worked at all. So i took it back out, unwrapped it and double-checked the wires to make sure i didn't cross any accidentally, and i most certainly did not.
Anyhow, the deal is now I'm just trying to get my car to fire. It seems as though the only two things that the car needs to turn the starter is the power from the battery, power to the ignition key and the signal from the ignition key. It seems these are getting power, but for some reason unknown to me i can't get it to fire. Does anyone know if i am totally overlooking something? I've checked and double checked and triple checked my wiring diagrams and i keep coming up empty.
The only wiring mods to the car are the elimination of the ballast resister as per Dan's instructions for the HEI module, and the addition of the hi-po alternator, both of which worked perfectly before the harness burnt up.
The other thing that bothers me is before I took the harness out, I could turn on the headlamps without starting the car. Now i can't, probably for the same reason as the starter. Anyways, I'm sure this issue will resolve itself as soon as i figure out what i'm doing wrong with the starter.

Thanks a ton if you guys can help.
-Allen

PS it's a 62 Valiant.

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1962 Valiant V-200
170 C.I. Super Six, HEI, Dutra Duals

Ok... first things first... are you getting +12 to the ignition coil when the key is in the on position? And... are you getting +12v to the ignition coil when the engine is cranking?

-Mac

Did you check the fusible lnks?

There is no fusible link as factory equipment in a '62. They didn't start using them until sometime in the '63-'64 timeframe. I originally would've asked if you checked whether the starter relay is properly powered and grounded and tried bypassing first the starter relay and then the starter solenoid, but your inability to turn on the headlamps without the engine running means something is definitely not hooked up correctly. Possibly several different "somethings". My best advice is to follow the wiring diagram, wire by wire, with long extension leads on your multimeter, checking for continuity at each end of each wire. When you find one that's a broken pipe, focus in on that wire and test it section by section, connection to connection. You do have the wiring diagram for the car, right?

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Aren't there a few wires that go thru a firewall connector to the amp gauge? If so, maybe a bad connection at the connector or something wrong at the amp gauge. (I have a '63, so not sure about the '62 connectors.)

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Chuck Rivers, Webmaster

Yes, i get power to the coil both when its in the on position and cranking. My battery's a bit low on power right now because its been in storage for a while, but I get the full voltage when the key is in the on position and it drops a bit when its in the crank position (the engine doesn't actually crank).

Dan, does the whole harness need to be connected for the engine to crank? I just don't want to put myself through the whole hassle of hooking the whole thing up just to have to take it out again if something's wrong. If i can start the engine with only the bare minimum attached then that would be optimal.
Well, that's what got me into this mess originally, i'm pretty sure i have that taken care of, as i'm getting power everywhere. I just connected them together for now until i can figure out an active shunt.
Thanks guys,
Allen

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1962 Valiant V-200
170 C.I. Super Six, HEI, Dutra Duals

I believe I misunderstood your original post. When you said it wouldn't "fire" I thought you meant no spark. If it won't crank, that is a different issue.

With an automatic, there is a wire from a starting relay that goes down to the neutral safety switch in the trans. If the wire is not connected, the relay will not get grounded. Check for that. Also check for 12v at the big terminal on the starting relay, which should be on the firewall.

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Chuck Rivers, Webmaster

Yeah my bad, I should've been more explicit in my first post. I'll check the neutral safety switch and the starting relay tomorrow.

Thanks,
Allen

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1962 Valiant V-200
170 C.I. Super Six, HEI, Dutra Duals

k so the starting relay is getting power and from what i can tell, the neutral safety switch is connected. Any other ideas?
I went over everything i could find with a multimeter, and i found some stuff thats rather interesting. First of all, my voltage at the battery right now is ~8 v, but when i turn the ignition key to the key-on position it drops to ~1.5 v, which i am going to assume is abnormal. A couple of other things: i'm getting 1.5 v everywhere (including the + terminal on my alternator) but on my electronic voltage regulator, where i get ~2.4 v. Is this normal?
Thanks,
Allen

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1962 Valiant V-200
170 C.I. Super Six, HEI, Dutra Duals

That battery would not crank an engine that had perfect wiring. Have the battery checked for dead cells. If they are all good, get a battery charger. You can essentially by pass the neutral switch temporarily by grounding the wire from the relay to the neutral saftey switch. If, after getting a good battery in there, it cranks with the relay grounded, then you know your neutral saftey switch is bad. Do you know if your starter is good? You might take that to have it checked along with the battery.

Sam

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After you get the battery checked out and replaced if necessary, you should be able to hear the relay click when you turn the key if it is working correctly.

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Chuck Rivers, Webmaster