no start

[1969CoronetR/T]

My 1969 R/T will play games with me a few times a month. I will open the door and the map lights and interior lights will turn on, but once I insert the key and twist.....nothing. No whine, no spinning just dead. Open the hood and touch the two metal contacts on the starter relay with a nail and she fires right up. I can order a new relay for about $30.00, but could there be other parts that would cause this problem? It only happens in my garage, so the engine is stone cold, and it happens one out of ten starts if I had to put a number on it.
Thanks again,
Mark

 

[MarPar]

hmmmm starter relay or ballast resistor gettin funky???

 

[Mopars & Missiles]

Mark,

Are you getting a good ground to the starter relay when trying to start the engine? Try moving the gear selector to neutral, then turn the key again. Also might try running the gear selector all the way to 1st then back to Park, then try starting.

Sometimes the shift linkage gets a little out of adjustment (especially if there is a lot of wear and slop) and then the lever on the transmission isn't quite in the right position to get a ground from the transmission neutral safety switch.

You can troubleshoot this issue by using a DVM to check for the ground when its acting up and won't start. If its not there, you've found the problem.

I had this same problem when I first got my R/T. The previous owner had rigged up a hack job to ground the starter relay instead of finding and repairing the real problem. It turned out to be an intermittent wire (the ground wire) in the wiring harness from the NSS. Just replaced the harness and the problem was GONE! Then I removed his hack job too!

PS - IIRC the ground wire to the starter relay is the BROWN wire (small terminal) and the +12 volts from the ignition switch is the YELLOW wire (also a small terminal on starter relay).

 

[Mopars & Missiles]

hmmmm starter relay or ballast resistor gettin funky???

Ballast resistor has no function related to cranking the engine.

Starter relay could be the problem, but he says it does NOTHING! Just DEAD. If starter relay was bad, it would probably still "CLICK" when the key was turned.

I'm thinking ground to starter relay. If not that, then possibly not getting 12v from ignition switch to starter relay.

Mark, let us know what you find!

 

[MarPar]

Ballast resistor has no function related to cranking the engine.

Starter relay could be the problem, but he says it does NOTHING! Just DEAD. If starter relay was bad, it would probably still "CLICK" when the key was turned.

I'm thinking ground to starter relay. If not that, then possibly not getting 12v from ignition switch to starter relay.

Mark, let us know what you find!

Hmmm...i was told (second hand mind you) that if the ballast resistor crapped out (or is crapping out) that the motor would not crank at all. something to do with the ignition, not necessarily the battery or starter

either way, i'd like to know what Mark finds!!

 

[Ron 73]

It also could be the harness to ignition switch warning its going bad.. COULD be, not IS. Ive seen this and later found that to be the problem. Just thought id throw it in the mix, these electrical issues can be the worse pain there is and 9 out of 10 times ive found it to be a bad or dirty, even broken ground, especially in Mopars.

 

[MarPar]

It also could be the harness to ignition switch warning its going bad.. COULD be, not IS. Ive seen this and later found that to be the problem. Just thought id throw it in the mix, these electrical issues can be the worse pain there is and 9 out of 10 times ive found it to be a bad or dirty, even broken ground, especially in Mopars.

ha! yeah, damn grounds!!! :angry9:

 

[coloradodave]

Good advice on the shifter adjustment and the starter relay to ground wire.

 

[tpodwdog]

heres what a bad ballast resistor does.:

the car will start but when you let go of the key,,,it will quit. !

the starter relay directs ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL available power to the starter. so if your ballast is bad....it will quit running when key is released. a ballast resistor cuts power to the coil from 12 volts to around 4 or 5 to the coil.....the coil is a step up transformer( ...NO MAR...NOT A TRANSFORMER TOY YOU CAN PLAY WITH WHEN NOBODY IS WATCHING )...lol...and thats how ignition works......kinda !

 

[1969CoronetR/T]

I will play with the shifter when it happens again. It will not make a noise when I turn the key, but if I leave the key in the 'on' position and touch the rrelay with a metal object to bridge the two connectors it will fire up. Only happens when it is cold. I will buy another relay and ballast resistor. So, I will swap out the relay and see if it happens again as well as checking the ground.
Thanks
Mark

 

[MarPar]

More than meets the eye!!!!

heres what a bad ballast resistor does.:

the car will start but when you let go of the key,,,it will quit. !

the starter relay directs ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL available power to the starter. so if your ballast is bad....it will quit running when key is released. a ballast resistor cuts power to the coil from 12 volts to around 4 or 5 to the coil.....the coil is a step up transformer( ...NO MAR...NOT A TRANSFORMER TOY YOU CAN PLAY WITH WHEN NOBODY IS WATCHING )...lol...and thats how ignition works......kinda !

a-ha!!!! so this guy had it all ***-backwards!!

thanks for the clarification there, pork chop!!! lmao :upside down:

 

[Ragman]

'66 Charger. Had the same exact problem. My starter relay was not grounding to the fire wall. Tightened the mounting screws. All good now.
Rag