Battery has full charge but!
 

Need a little help guys .I have a poor man's gto with the 400.1967 battery is full charged .when I turn the key nothing and with key on or off no lights.horn does work.got the car up 18"used my creeper and jumped the starter ,it engages just like you were turning the key tried it twice for a few seconds.fusr box under dash looks good I do have a started relay on the fender.what do you guys think if it's the ignition switch does the dash have to come out 71 years old now .that would be tuff for me.your knowledge is second to none!what do you think?

Check you fuse panel for power with the key on. does the dome light work when you open the door?

Check/tighten the underhood 3/8 bolt that clamps the fuseblock together.

Column Lock
 

Not sure if your car has this. My 1969 Firebird has the linkage that actuates a collar w/switch on the steering column that will interfere with starting engine.

No it doesn't just wondering if I should start it by jumping starter and just let it run...see what happens

No no lights battery fully charged jumping works fine alternator maybe?

Did this issue come up after you made any changes?

Neutral start safety switch gone bad? Not sure how that affects any lights tho. When you say "no lights" is it dome light and/or headlights?

It's a rag tip but no interior or headlites

I went into the garage and it started right up for one second and then nothing ever since.no changes except black widow mufflers

Ok tomorrow

I thought maybe neutral safety but no lights has got me

I erased this idea, but here it is (again);
Clean Pos+ Battery post & clamp of a dark gray corrosion as it acts as a 1-way diode.

As asked before any recent work done? Check all grounds,if you can get it to crank by jumping starter under car( putting 12v to "S" terminal) you have to ck why you are not getting power to the starter solenoid from ign switch. BTW stick or auto? Forget alternator. You say no headlights? Also ck bulkhead connector on firewall "S" wire would be coming from Ign switch down to starter via this connector. Headlights would go though here also.

I'm thinking a fusible link gone bad, or maybe somewhere between the fusible link and where the battery splices in. On a Tempest, it looks like the electrical tie in point for +12v power is at the starter battery terminal. Different platforms tie in this +12v different places. 1st gens tie in everything at the born relay. 2nd gens tied in at the starter.

Disconnect the battery first
Then loosen/remove the bolt in the fuse box bulkhead connector - it is under hood - on the firewall.
It pulls out like a receptacle from a wall plug.

My van lost power to a lot of stuff once , and that was the problem.
Bad corrosion on 2 of the lower pin connector terminals.
One of them - the wire had broken off from it's pin terminal connection.
It hit all at once - no warning signs.
Don't know how it kept working while it did in such bad condition.

Had to bypass those 2 pin terminals , with spliced wires going through where those pins were.
Instead of finding another underhood harness for a 1989 Dodge van.
The broken one had to be done , the other one was preventive maintenance.

Usually there is a rubber boot that covers the exterior of the bulkhead connector.
Roll it back to inspect the actual wire-to-terminal connections.
Those boots will hold the water in the bottom if any gets in from the top.

If no lights also, the main feed wire thru the firewall is the culprit. Therefore you are getting no power into the cabin as evidenced by no lights. The light circuit is not fused separately. The fusible link in the harness could be bad.

George

I think some on here may be missing the fact he is running a fender mounted relay (guessing a ford type solenoid?)? If so, it is not a stock configuration and a few ways to wire and/or screw this up.

If you can 'jump' the starter from underneath the car, the main/big cable to starter must have power to it when you do this. This would suggest the fender solenoid is being activated - are you jumping connections there as well to send power to starter or is someone hitting the key while you are jumping the terminals underneath?

How is the S terminal down at the starter normally getting power? Jumper wire from main power cable at starter? Separate wire from fender solenoid? Wire from stock harness? I would start my troubleshooting there.

S pole getting power from fender relay,jumping starter with key on
 

s pole getting power from fender relay.jumping car with key on from u derneath.the key does nothing ,no lites in or our ignition switch maybe

It would actually start the car by jumping underneath or would the starter just keep engaging the fly wheel i am jumping with 2 gauge wire from starter main to s pole lot of juice

How could I check ignition switch or just get one.hard to change?

Unless you have multiple issues all at once - the ignition switch isn't it.
bdk1976 didn't pick up on the part that you also lost headlights and interior light in the same swing.

All you have is horn .

Crossing the solenoid will spin the starter - but the engine will not fire and run unless you have power to the negative pole on the ignition coil.

If all you want to do is hear the engine run , you can run another jumper wire from battery to the negative side of coil - and then jump the solenoid just long enough to make it start and run.
If you leave the solenoid jumped the starter will try to continue spinning/grinding on the flywheel.

This is what they called hot-wiring a car back when.
When you remove power source from the negative pole on the coil - it will cut the engine off.

We always crossed the solenoid with a hefty screwdriver to spin the starter.

Your ignition switch has a receptacle on the back side.
Unplug it
Use a test light to see if you are getting a hot signal to the switch.
It sounds like you are not getting power to the switch.

If that is the case ,,,, you have a wiring harness or fusible link issue.
If that jumps over your head , you can hot wire the car and drive it to a mechanic.

It would not start the car, just crank it. It will start if you connect the ignition circuit to the battery at the same time. Make sure the car is in neutral (manual trans or auto) or park (auto trans) before you try that tho, because the park safety switch is being bypassed when you jump the ignition to the battery.

If you are unclear, it's best not to fool with it. Be safe.

George

If you don't have lights, changing the ignition switch will do nothing for your issue. You have a bad power connection from the battery under the hood to your dash/ fuse box.

George

I don't suppose, by any chance, an exhaust shop did some welding?

I screwed up on where to run the hot wire to the coil .
Run it to the + positive pole on the coil.
They usually have the poles marked with + and -

Very sorry about that misguide !
Negative side goes to the points in the distributor , or to read dwell with a dwell meter.

You guys are right too much went out at one time.lighrs ,ignition. Finally got 4 days off .gonna trace ignition wires and fuse block not exactly where there would be a fuse link .Just process of elimination I'll check in and take a Pic if I find the problem.can is 18 inches off ground all the way around so I can do some creeping if need be!

No sir

But some good news i ran a jumper wire from my battery to the fuse box and the lites and with the key in on position the car turns over.must be a fuse or a wire ground been sick .when I feel better I will start tracing

I agree george.the jumper wire from battery to fuse box grooves that

T.y.

Proves

Where would Fus able link be

Last time I had a similar problem on 69 bird it was a bad key switch on the column the one the rod comes down and contacts at your knee level.

The fusible link is between the battery post on the starter solenoid and the bulkhead connector on stock wiring. It looks similar to a regular length of wire but it is designed to burn in half if overloaded. You may or may not be able to see the insulation damaged but you should be able to pull it in half at the break.

T.y.

On a 67 A body, there is a harness the runs along the top edge of the driver side valve cover. It goes from the alternator output stud to the firewall. The fusible link is in there if I recall correctly. A wire from there also goes down to the starter large bolt.
That's what I remember, I need to check the wiring diagrams.

George

I think you are right George. That is also what I remember. The junction of that wire a couple of feet from the alternator post is also known to deteriorate or corrode. The problem could be right there. Pretty easy fix.