estone06

I have a 91 RS with a built 350 from a 1982 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup. I have recently completed the swap. At first, the starter was grinding down on the flywheel, so I bought new flywheel and starter, correct for the make and model of the block. 3970010. When I try to turn the key, no crank. Power is ran to everything, including lights etc... when i get under the car and use a screwdriver on the solenoid it turns over. I have no idea what this can be. All the connections are clean and tight. Does anyone have a clue. ---i have not tried to jump it yet either, and yes there is spark. It is almost as though there is not enough juice to turn the starter, but i have charged the battery, and if that was the case, it would not be able to turn the motor over when shorting the solenoid.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Getting the full battery voltage to the solenoid can be an issue. I was losing 2 volts through the ignition switch. I finally put on a remote solenoid to "solve" the problem.

Make sure you have all of the wires hooked up properly. You probably do, since you know which terminals to jump to test it. Check what voltage you are getting at the solenoid.

In my "quest", I also found that a cheapo Autozone solenoid worked better than the "good" NAPA solenoid. So, your new starter may have a solenoid that is more sensitive to low voltage.

hoseman007

Do you think it could possibly be the vats system causing your no crank problems

estone06

it is possible that the solenoid is not up to par, I will try to replace that first, and put a new solenoid on the new starter.
hoseman--can you elaborate a bit more on what you mean by vats?

hoseman007

Look at your ignition key there should be a chip in it or its actually a resistor that works with the ecm theres an article on this site about it if your key switch is getting some wear on it the key and the ecm might be loosing sync with one another i have a 92 and mine dose this ocassionaly thought this might be worth looking into.

estone06

hoseman, ok i know what you are talking about now. However, the block is a 350 in place of the 305 tbi. I have disconnected all of the ecm components. I still have power to dash, headlights etc.. the motor and starter were turning, but the starter was grinding the flywheel, so now i have replaced them both, and this leads to the current problem.

hoseman007

hmm ok have you got the wire hooked up on the S side of the solonoid thats for the switch or it might just be loose or something.

estone06

I have a new development now. I went to start it again as a last ditch effort, and when i turn the key I can hear the starter tryign to turn but it doesnt actually turn over. Every single time I was hitting the key, the starter attempted to engage, although it did not continuously turn over, it tried to turn almost as if there is not enough juice going to the starter. My timing is not set yet, but am positive that it should not be a factor at this point. Any ideas anyone? Hoseman?

hoseman007

Try this slow charge your battery all night then try to start it, if that dosent work you might need to shim it

rgarcia63

Did you disconnect the ECM before or after trying to start it the first time, or before installing the new flywheel, and starter?

Is the new motor a carbed 350?

The anti-Theft system is part of the car not the motor, remove the motor and you still have VATS. There are conditions where VATS will allow repeated attempts to start (no signal from the ECM) as long as you have the right key, or the VATS is currently disabled.

estone06

that is some great info. I disconnected the ecm when I made the engine swap. I dont feel that this is a vats issue. in my mind it would be more along the lines of th eactual solenoid or the coil inside of my distributor. it just seems as though it is not getting enough juice. I will play with it over the weekend and see what I can come up with. keep the ideas and theories coming though guys.

RPOL98

from what I've read, the VATS module is separate from the ECM. you may have removed or disconnected the ECM, but you might still have the VATS wired up to your ignition key circuit, inadvertently.

not sure on the intricacies, but it's conceivable that if the VATS isn't getting the right signal from the now-missing ECM... not allowing a start?

estone06

okay, so i had a bad solenoid, replaced it and got another brand new starter, everything was turning over earlier today just fine. I went to set the timing tonight, and now the starter is doing the exact same thing, except when i had the camaro jumped to another car. then it turned over a few times then as well. came back to it a few hours later, and now we have the same problem. the starter is not kicking out, i can hear one metallic click on the starter and that is it each time i turn the key.

rgarcia63

Assuming jumpering the terminals with a screwdriver makes it turn.
Try bypassing the fuseable links and associated wiring to the starter's B-terminal by running a wire directly from the battery positive to the B-terminal.

Use one cable from a cheap pair of booster cables and put a ring terminal connector on one end. If there's not enough room on the starter B-terminal post for another ring terminal, remove only the one coming from the battery positive. Clamp the other end of the booster cable to the battery positive.

estone06

garcia, im not sure that I follow you and what you are suggesting......

rgarcia63

Correct me if I'm wrong;
When you shorted across the terminals on the prevoius starter it turned as it should, but wouldn't with the key.
You've changed out the starter/solenoid since then, and it turned, and now it's back to square one.


If the battery has the cranking amps to turn the starter then there's a problem with getting the current to starter e.g. wiring.
At this point you've eliminated the starter/solenoid and battery unless some how you're damaging them, so there's nothing left, but the wiring. Specifically the positive battery cable.
Wiring can corrode internally and cause the resistance to increase and reducing the amount of current the wire(s) can handle.
Assuming the engine block is properly grounded, there is only one wire than can supply the current and that's the positive battery cable (4g,) if it's corroded internally it will not be able to carry the current.

Basically what I'm saying is replace the battery cable, or bypass it as a test.
Of course the problem could also be on the ignition side, but bypassing the battery cable will isolate the problem to the ignition side.

When I had this problem the first thing I did was replace the positive battery cable with one from a Dealer because parts store don't carry the original, which has the alternator wire already attached, and yes it did solve my problem.

estone06

Well, make a long story short fellas, I replaced the distributor, cap and rotor. Started immediately. Now I am swapping out my old oil sending unit that came off of the block and using the 91 305 oil sending unit. There is a bit of oil escaping from the hole however. I am having a rough time tracking down a few brass parts, but in the morning, I will go to a plumbing store and im sure ill find it there. thanks for all the help fellas.

rgarcia63

So what happen to the starter problem?
You can't solve a starter problem by replacing the cap & rotor.

estone06

Well, after swapping the starter and solenoid a total of 9 times in one day, I said "F" AutoZone and went to Oreilly. Problem solved there. It wasnt the Vats, it wasnt a loose ground or connection. It was just 9 pieces of junk from China.