I need help..truck has been sitting about year now 78 4x4 with 460. battery started going out so thought it was alternator. replaced alternator, battery, starter sylenoid?, and "brain", and coil. also took plugs out and smelled a little like gas, replaced them. no truck wont start....no clicks or anything...seems dead, but all wires seem to be connected!!!!

does anyone have any ideas? on the syleniod (on the side of the truck) does anyone know exactly how the wires connect?? i think there are 2 on the right side, one plug on same side and 1 wire on left side????? does this sound right?? does anyone have pics of the wiring system?? need to fix asap.

thanks for the help!!!!

 

Is it an Automatic trans? If so, try playing with the shifter. It may not be making the neutral safety switch.

Oh yeah, you were close. Solenoid.

On the solenoid, you should have 2 large and 1 or 2 small terminals. The large terminal (closest to the battery) should have the battery cable from the battery and at least one more smaller wire going to it. Most have 2 or 3 depending on the year of vehicle.
The large terminal on the other side should just have the large wire that goes directly to the starter.
The small terminals have a letter above them. The "S" terminal should have the small red wire. This is what activates the solenoid when you turn the key.
The "I" terminal will use the other small press-on wire if needed. This gives the ignition full battery voltage to help it start easier.

 

thanks for that!! i only have one wire and that is a push on and i think it is black.... dont know for sure...but it hooks up to the "S" terminal...any other suggestions????? have tried and tried and tried and no luck

i WANT my truck!!!!

 

OK remove the wire from the "S" terminal.......make sure the truck is in park or neutral....then take a wire and jump from the battery + terminal to the "S" terminal....

if the starter turns then the battery, solenoid and starter are good......so check for 12 volts on the wire you removed from the "S" terminal with the key to start....no voltage .....neutral safety switch could be bad, igntion switch or even a fusible link could be burnt on the starter solenoid....

if the starter didn't turn when you used the jumper wire.... check the connections for corrosion and tighten them......battery +, battery -,starter wire from solenoid to starter (both ends of each)

 

Do you have power to anything in the truck with the key on (radio, heater blower, etc.)? If not, it sounds like a battery connection problem. Check the battery connections, fuses, and especially the ground.
If you have power with the key on but the starter won't turn over, check the solenoid. I know you said it's new, but it could be bad, it happens. The solenoid should have two large terminals and one or two small terminals. One of the large terminals should have a cable which runs to the positive battery terminal. The second large terminal should have a cable which runs to the starter. If your solenoid has only one small terminal, then it is a self grounding solenoid (via the mounting bolts) and the wire that hooks to the small terminal should have power to it when the key is turned to the "Start" position. If it does not, you possibly have a problem in the starter/ignition circuit (meaning no power from the key switch to the solenoid).
If you have two small terminals, one wire should be a ground and the other a power wire from the key/ignition switch. Since you said you don't even hear the solenoid click, it tells me you either have no power coming from the battery, or no power coming from the ignition switch to activate the starter solenoid.
I hope this didn't confuse you and I hope it is of some help.

 

All very good ideas....... except the one quoted above..........all the relays are case grounded thru their mount bolts....the one with 2 small terminals has an extra terminal "I" which supplies 12 volts to the ignition coil during starting for a better spark....hence the designation letter "I"
the other terminal "S" receives 12 volts when the key is turned to start thus closing the relay and powering the starter, hence the designation letter "S"

 

thanks for all the help guys....ill let you know what i turn up!!! (or what turns over

 

if it turns over and youve replaced all those parts , id bet on tne pickup coil in the dizzy, or the ignition switch,bob

 

good luck

 

what is the dizzy??

 

I think hes talkin about the distributor...I saw it called that on another post earlier and was confused as hell but i think I understand now haha

 

sorry about that . the distributer is where the pick up coil resides, you can replace the whole thing for about fifty bucks , or dollars, nine times out of ten thats where your problem is . the only other thing to replace would be the ignition switch, which every thing goes thru. a check for the pick up coil is to see if you have 7 to 9 volts on the positive side of the coil and aprox 1 volt on the other side , if you dont have any reading on the negative side , its the pickup coil .ive just replaced three of them for friends who had already replaced everything else . you might want to get a book that has a good wiring diagram with voltages for your truck . if you test for voltages at the places where they're supposed to be and theyre not there ,, the faulty part is the one thats in between . unless there is a broken ground or wire, but that would be in between also. a multi meter is a good thing to havbe for this kind of work , you can get one for as little as 20 dollars, and that way when you have a problem , you can come here . tell people what your voltages are and get help diagnosing the problem much faster,good luck,bob

 

sorry again, i reread your post , id bet on tne ignition switch,turn the key to on , and with a jumper wire from the positive post on the battery , touch the post with a plug on it on your starter solinoid, if your truck starts or turns, its possibly a bad ignition switch,bob

 

Dizzy because it spins in circles. It's also easier to type!!

 

now you know i cant type , bob