Electrical I Fried Something

[Olythekid]

78 Mustang ii 2.3L 4 speed manual.

Trying to crank after winter storage, I had sparks at the bat + terminal when turning the key to start. Turned out my Starter Solenoid was falling apart rusted inside.


I replaced with a new one. I have power to the dash when turning the key to acc, but when I turn it to Start I hear the solenoid closing and I lose all power. When I disconnect and reconnect the battery only then I get power back. The starter was tested and working, grounds look good, the purple/blue wire connected to the 'S' terminal of the starter, nothing on the 'I'. The green fusible link out of the + of the starter solenoid doesn't seem to have fried as it connects to a tan wire that has 12V (and my gauges work anyway). Fuse box does not seem to have anything burned up.


What do you gurus recommend?

 

[MustangIIMatt]

78 Mustang ii 2.3L 4 speed manual.

Trying to crank after winter storage, I had sparks at the bat + terminal when turning the key to start. Turned out my Starter Solenoid was falling apart rusted inside.


I replaced with a new one. I have power to the dash when turning the key to acc, but when I turn it to Start I hear the solenoid closing and I lose all power. When I disconnect and reconnect the battery only then I get power back. The starter was tested and working, grounds look good, the purple/blue wire connected to the 'S' terminal of the starter, nothing on the 'I'. The green fusible link out of the + of the starter solenoid doesn't seem to have fried as it connects to a tan wire that has 12V (and my gauges work anyway). Fuse box does not seem to have anything burned up.


What do you gurus recommend?

Either the battery needs to be charged or you have a loose connection.

 

[jozsefsz]

Agreed, a shorted battery or loose terminal will act that way. If the terminal itself is tight to the battery, it may have corrosion in the part where it connects to the wire. The grounds may also look good but have corroded inside, most important is the thick wire straight from the battery to the block. You can help eliminate the options by trying to start it, letting it do its thing (don't reconnect and get it working again, leave it as-is), and then checking for voltage or ground at various points along the way.

 

[LILCBRA]

+3
Sounds like a crappy connection somewhere. As stated, double check all of your connections and make 100% sure they aren't corroded or otherwise bad. Sounds like the terminal connections are the places to start. Good luck!!

 

[Olythekid]

Even with a battery from an another vehicle same stuff. When I undid the bulkhead connector to access the fuse box, the plug receptacle broke in 3 places. Dung nugget, got to be a good place to start. I wonder where I can source one. Maybe I'll have to go full 'painless'. Thank you for pitching in.