Thanks in advance for any help anyone has to offer. I'm very new to "fixing" my own vehicles and am almost suicidal trying to figure this one out. Here is all the details I can muster.

Bought this 1974 Econoline Chateau last Sept. It was sitting for 3 years. Got the usual brakes and cleanings done. Van worked A1. Then one fine Alberta fall day, after fueling up, I started it up and as soon as I applied the brakes, she died. Started her back up, touched the brakes, died. I dissconnected the brake light and was doing OK, turned on the headlights....died! Drove her the 10 blocks home at dusk, with no lights and made it. Problem seemed to go away after I removed the 80's stereo that had been put in. I figured a crossed wire or ???.
Then one COLD night, the solenoid croaked. Replaced it. All was fine for a day, then...the starter wouldn't disengage after trying to start the van. Had to smack the solenoid to unstick it. Everything was Ok, if you smack the solenoid that is, but the van ran well. There were occasions where the ignition wouldn't fire on the first turn, but always the second.
Sadly gas prices and the damned solenoid made me park her for the winter.
SPRING IS HERE! On a nice warm spring day, I replaced the faulty solenoid and BINGO, she fired right up and ran smooth. I fired her up 3 more times to move her and had no problems. Then last week, tried to turn her over and it turned, but died upon releasing the key from the starter position. No power?!
Tried again and again..nope, won't stay running. Had a nieghbour help and he tested and said there was power to the engine and everything seemed Ok, had to be in the ignition. Tried it again the day after..NOTHING! It wont turn or nothing. I tested the power to the solenid and it's fine. Think I tested the power tot he starter correctly and got nothing. I've called car people and local shops for advice and get a different answer every time. I love this van to death but cannot afford to sink big bucks into it. My business allows a barter system for mechanical work but there is a limit and electrical can be too $$$$.

Any thoughts from anyone would be taken as a huge favor!

 

Sounds like you have bad wiring connectors, grounds and maybe a bad Ignition Switch.

 

Mke sure the van is in park or the gear shift lever is in neutral. What happens when you take a small jumper wire and jump #3 to #5 in the diagram above?

 

DO NOT SKIP CLEANING THE POSITIVE BATTERY TERMINAL IF THE NEGATIVE TERMINAL LOOKS OKAY!

Now - I apologise for "shouting", but in my experience this is the most common mistake made on electrical systems....

People seem to be afraid of that positive connection. But in practice - it is the one that causes the most trouble. I have seen who knows how many thousands of dollars worth of unnecessary parts sold because of a type of BLACK deposit that corrodes the positive connection on batteries.

Check THAT first. Don't have anything but shiny silver looking contact surface on the post, and the connector as well before you put it back on.

And the best protection is plain old vaseline. It rejects battery acid between the contacts.


You might think this is too simple.
That is why people don't think of it...

 

I cleaned the terminal plugs when the battery was pulled over the winter.


In the diagram #3 could be 1 of 2 plugs on my solenoid...which one is it?

Thanks for the help guys!

 

Ok, I figured the #3 out and it started off the starter. I replaced the ignition switch and it started, just still won't stay running!

Is there any way to check for the fault of bypass it. I have 2 weeks to move this van to my new house!

 

Jog my memory, did the 74 van have points or DuraSpark II Ignition System.

 

Ummm, I dunno?!?

 

It sounds like you are still not getting power from the ignition switch. That other small terminal on the solenoid(relay) sends direct 12 volt power to the coil + when the engine is cranking. This must be working, and is why it tries to run while cranking. When you stop cranking, the ignition switch is supposed to take over and supply power to the coil +.

If you want to try another experiment, run a jumper wire from the coil + to the battery +, and then see if it will keep running. If it does, you have confirmed the area of the problem, and then you have to figure out why the power is not coming from the ignition switch.

There is a special resistance wire that feeds the power from the ignition switch to the coil. Maybe the problem is with it. If you find the ignition switch is ok, and there is something wrong with the special wire, make sure to get another piece of the special wire, or get a white ceramic resistor made for a Chrysler and stick it inline. You need the resistance to make the ignition work properly.

 

Tried the power to the coil, van fired but didn't stay running. Do you know what color the wire is from the ignition? There is power to the coil, and the rest of the engine.

 

I'm assuming you have Duraspark electronic ignition. Look under the distributor cap - there will be either points or a star shaped pickup coil for electronic ignition. Do you have an ignition module? A small (4" square) aluminum box with wires connecting to the dist - it's usually mounted on the fender. There should be a two wire connector, see that the white wire has power during cranking and the red wire has power with key in run postion.

Marty

 

Yes, like subford was asking, I was guessing you had points. But if you do have electronic ignition like Marty suggests, the module red wire needs to be powered as well to make it run.

 

If I'm correct, I found the module and both check out! Red is powered and white when susposed to. Should I replace the box, could that be the problem?

 

I seem to remember a long time ago a guy on here had the running problem and it was the module. You could possibly take it to autozone and see it tests good or bad.

 

Canadian, no autozones. I'll try somewhere else.