I've got an 87 Crown vic that will be used for a derby car. The whole thing is gutted and we have replaced the TBI with a carburetor and also swapped over the distributor. The problem is this:

It wont start. It wont even turn over!!!! I took and moved the battery and solenoid inside the cab to the passenger seat in order to protect it from hard blows. I then put a push button starter on it to get rid of the normal key start.

I took a test light and checked to see if I was getting power to the starter and I was. Is there something else that needs to be in this circuit that I am missing? I even tried to get just the starter to turn over the engine without worrying about the distributor. I know for sure that the starter is good because I took it out and had it bench tested and for sure that the battery is good because it came out of my brothers truck. The solenoid is also good because that is brand new (bought it when we tested the starter). I dont know what to do.....any ideas?

 

So the starter doesn't turn at all? Did you try jumping direct to the starter and bypassing the solenoid and associated wiring?

 

yes, we tried jumping the starter and nothing happens. There is power at the starter but nothing happens.

 

So you have power at the starter; do you have a good ground? The starter grounds through the bellhousing. The bellhousing is bolted to the block, which should have a heavy-gauge cable to the negative of the battery. You need a good solid ground for the block, especialy since the starter is going to draw close to 200 amps when you're cranking. If the starter works, and you have +12V to it, the only thing missing is ground.

As a general rule, you always need a heavy cable between the negative post of the battery and the block. Then you need a good size ground strap between the body and the block. Don't bolt to painted surfaces.

Now, if you find you have a good ground, and +12V at the starter, then something is wrong with the starter if it still won't work. And be safe about checking for voltage at the starter...I've read about accidents where people are down by the starter and telling their buddy to hit the ignition, not expecting it to work, and it all of the sudden does work. Not trying to insult your intelligence or anything, just covering all the bases. Make sure it's not connected when you're checking for the voltage, if you haven't already.

 

jump the starter with a set of battery cables if it turns over its good!

 

I'll have to try re-grounding it I guess. Right now, the battery is grounded to the floor pan inside the car. Is a piece of welding cable too big for the job? I got about 30 feet of that.

 

Use a single welding cable from the negative battery post to one of the bellhousing bolts. You probably fried the small body-to-block ground cable trying to start it- it's only about a 10guage wire.