trfcrugby

I just finished installing a 351c 4V in my coupe from a donor Cougar. The motor was running in the Cougar before I pulled it. We started it in the Cougar by jumping the terminals on the starter relay, and it fired right up.

Dropped it into my car, and just completed making all of the connections this afternoon. I don't have the new ignition installed yet, so we attempted to turn it over by jumping the hot terminal and the S post on the starter relay, and nothing happened. I used the old starter wire, and jumped straight to the starter side of the relay, and the motor turned over just fine.

This relay was brand new out of the box, but I figured it might have been bad, so I tried two other older relays I had, and the same results. The odds are really against all three relays being bad.

Is there anything else I can check that would prevent the relay from working when the posts are jumped? Brand new battery in the car.

I have it wired with the red/blue on the S post, and the brown wire on the I post, hot wire from battery is on the foward post by the S, and the starter is on the opposite side.

Any suggestions?

Stepman

The relay (sol) doesn't have a good ground.

trfcrugby

I was looking at the wiring diagram, and I was thinking the same thing after posting this. The screws that hold the relay to the fender are just finger tight because the screw holes are somewhat stripped.

Concerning grounding, the battery is grounded to the engine block. Is there a ground from the chassis to the engine as well?

Stepman

Yes, there is another ground but, tthee ssolis grounde thru the bodyy of the sol(?) SO, you have to have a good ground there. If your bolts are getting loose, use a bolt and put a nut behind the fender.

trfcrugby

Thanks for the info. I will try this in the morning, and post the results.

trfcrugby

OK, so I removed the paint under the solenoid, and secured it with nuts, bolts, and washers. Still nothing. Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Scott

Stepman

Does it click when you jump it? You may have 3 bad ones.

trfcrugby

When I jump it with a screwdriver, there is no sound at all.

Stepman

Sounds like the relays are bad. Don't suppose you can get the one out of the cougar that you know is good? If you have a volt meter, test the S term to ground for resistance...or continuity.

trfcrugby

OK, got it work. Stupid mistake, and the ground error is what the problem was.

When I installed the battery, my friend who was helping me on the car ran the battery ground to a bolt on the front of the water pump. When I started pulling everything apart this afternoon, I saw where it was grounded, moved it to the block itself, and everything is fine.

Now I have to find the wire that does from the harness to the coil.