i have just swapped my lb9 to an lg4. i have removed the unnecessary wiring from the loom and capped the wires and taped them to ensure short protection. the motor is hooked up and ready to start but i am not getting power to anything, however if i put my test light on the negative battery terminal the positive connections on the starter and alternator turn on the light. and when i put it on the positive terminal and touch it to the grounds which are on the heads and the battery negative (on the block now) the light goes on. when i get into the car, the dome lights don't come on the gauges dont come on and nothing else (i.e. headlights) will work. and the real killer is that when the key is turned nothing happens. so i have this great motor that i cant wait to hear run, and something simple is standing in the way. i am at my wits end with this issue and would appreciate any input as to what it could be.
thanks much

 

How many ground straps did you connect, and where?

 

^^^^^^ if you didn't ground the motor, you aren't going to get anything out of it. All the isolators that mount your motor/tranny to the car are rubber..so you _have_ to run a ground strap from the motor to the frame. there should be a line from the battery to the block on the negative side (I think?) near the alternator somewhere, and another to the frame, as well.

 

there is one strap from the passenger head to the firewall, would that work or do i still need to run a strap to the frame?
thanks for the quick reply

 

Where is the main ground lead from the battery connected?

 

the main ground from the battery is on the front of the drivers side head where my a/c bracket used to bolt to. i sanded to metal to ensure a good contact

 

Have you checked the continuity of the ground lead?

 

my dad did actually, and he said it was good were both stumped

 

Hmm. Umm.. dumb question, but you are sure the battery is charged? I'd start with the battery connections, pull em off, make sure they are good and clean, snug em up tight, and go from there. You should at _least_ get a dome light or SOMETHING unless your fuse block somehow got removed from the loop in the rewire?

 

i checked the battery cables and even put a charger on it and still the same result. the battery was brand new just before i pulled tghe motor and it worked great what in the stock wiring harness would make it seem like the fuse block is not connected?

 

Well, you said you have no power to anything, right? You have a clear circuit to the starter, it sounds like, due to your checks with the light. But if _nothing_ is lighting up, then A) battery is dead (which you checked) or B) somehow power isn't making it to the ignition switch, which energizes the bendix on the starter, which starts the car. But if you aren't getting dome/dash/brake/etc lights, then you have a bigger issue than just no power to the starter. Or did I misread what you said?

 

no you read correctly i should have worded it differently, my fault. i am asking if there are any specific wires or connections i should check under the hood to see if the fuse block is no longer part of the "loop"

 

well, a quick peek at my chiltons (which only goes to 84, mind you) says "red ones".

I'd start chasing it back from the hot connection on the battery.. there's should be a 3.0G red wire that goes to the fuse block.. make sure it's not clipped, broken, etc.

 

thanks ill do that first thing tomorrow, thanks for all your help ill post results. i hope it gets fixed soon though right now i have no car but this one so its not fun to have a dead car sitting in the garage.

 

Also tomorrow, see if you can find a haynes/chiltons guide to your car. They are incredibly handy to have around cause they have things like wiring diagrams in them.

Good luck! Hope it fires for you tomorrow. I remember the days of "if I don't get this fixed right now, at 3AM, I won't get to work tomorrow".. but I don't remember them fondly.

 

i checked the harness and found a couple of red wires that i have reconnected. nothing has changed unfortunately. i metered all of the other red wires in several spots and they all carry the same amount of power, except the two i reconnected (maf and dist. harness)
what is my next step?
thanks

 

Well, make sure you have power to the fuse block. I'm not sure if those years had a fusible link or inline fuse on the battery cable to the main fuse block.

 

well sorry for the delayed response but i did find the problem there are two wires that go to the power on the starter. i forgot this and put the orange (power to computer?) as a ground. no wonder it wasnt getting power huh? put it on the starter everything works now. motor sounds great. its an lg4 rebuilt with a thumpr cam and gear drive machined for noise. my neighbors hate me even more now. thanks for all your help