Technical 1962 Ford Fairlane starter removal

^^^^^ I only covered the basics. Jim went further in depth and all valid.

 

Thanks guys! I’ll give that a shot in the morning!

 

With the key on have you lost any other electrical? The power to the car comes from wires that go on the same terminal as the battery cable at the starter. Did you leave one off?

 

I had the same start/but not continuing to run. It was a bad ballast resister

 

Oh, and fwiw: the distributor has been swapped out for an HEI style unit, if that makes any difference.

 

HEI prior to starter swap or during?

 

A test light is your friend

 

The HEI was prior

 

Test light confirms that I have power on both posts upon ignition, but once the key is released I lose it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

This is the way I have it wired…

 

That’s the starter wiring. What about distributor wiring?

 

The distributor wiring hasn’t changed since I put it in, so I would be shocked if that was the issue.

 

Ok but your diagram doesn’t tell any of us how your distributor is wired? Now if your distributor is wired to the key switch/push ****on terminal of starter relay that would explain why it run’s only for a few seconds.

 

Ok! Got ya. So yes, the dizzy is wired to the ignition switch

 

Just curious why this would all just start happening now, however.

 

Cause you worked on it. Happens to all of us.

 

I don’t have an answer. Vehicle is with you and I can’t see a thing. Jim (Squirrel) did say to put a test light to things to see what wires are doing when ignition switch is at On position and Start position. Some disconnecting of wires required.

 

Been there.

 

@AngleDrive aint that the damned truth!

 

@Johnny Gee all good my man, I appreciate all of the help from everyone! I just verified, with the key on, I have power going to the distributor, and it stays on and lit, even after the car dies

 

How does the wiring look? Are the terminals hanging by two strands which would be enough to get a reading but not enough to get all the voltages to the distributor.

 

@Johnny Gee No sir, all of the wiring is about as fresh and clean as it can be. I’ve tried to be sure that if anything looks unkempt I immediately replace or repair it all properly with the correct connectors and heat shrink.

 

Ok, so I fooled around and swapped some wires and it starts and runs now. But weirdly it starts by turning the key to the “on” position. And when I turn the “off” you can hear the starter slowing down. This is a giant pile of WTF. I took a video to show what I’m talking about but hopefully you get the gist.

 

I think I figured it out finally!

There was an extra, but apparently not needed wire on the starter solenoid. I removed that and VIOLA! Car starts and runs as it should!