crazy with this

i turn the key and shes dead . i left the key on and jumped it off the selinoid and she fired up . i let her run for a bit and turned the key off and she shut rite off . just before i let it go off i turned the key back on and she fired rite back up. so it will not turn the starter over but the switch works to shut her off any ideas what it might be?

The problem may be in the ignition switch but there are easier things to check that are more likely the problem. You already know the starter motor and starter solenoid are working, also the HEI distributor sounds like it's OK. The trouble your describing is the solenoid is not getting 12 volts when you turn the key to crank. Near the solenoid inline with the small red wires are fuseable links, these look like a rubber bulge in the wire a few inches from the solenoid, if these links are melted internally you won't get voltage through that wire. Use a 12 volt test light or volt meter or ohm meter to test each wire, these wires are the feeds for the entire electrical system other than the heavy battery cable that is needed for the high current draw of the starter. If you check these smaller wires and fuseable links and find that you are getting voltage through them then move on to the ignition switch.

quote:

ORIGINAL: 78buckshot

You already know the ... and starter solenoid are working,

This is not necessarily so.

If he is jumping the solenoid - that is, from the solenoid input terminal, to the solenoid output terminal, that does not mean the solenoid is working. It does mean the solenoid probably is NOT working...

How 'bout it 75vette, have you had time to check out the no crank problem? cwb makes a good point, how did you jump the solenoid to get it to crank, did you jump between the two large terminals to make the starter motor spin or did you jump from the small start terminal to the battery cable terminal? this would allow the solenoid to pull the starter motor in, let us know more detail so we can help you figure it out.

quote:

ORIGINAL: 78buckshot

How 'bout it 75vette, have you had time to check out the no crank problem? cwb makes a good point, how did you jump the solenoid to get it to crank, did you jump between the two large terminals to make the starter motor spin or did you jump from the small start terminal to the battery cable terminal? this would allow the solenoid to pull the starter motor in, let us know more detail so we can help you figure it out.

THIS is exactly correct '75...

If he understands it there buckshot, then we can solve this one. But he left us completely hangin' on the other post too, which I think was a related problem...

Well cwb, looks like he's finding help elseware or so busy workin' on it that he can't find time to chat, we coulda' had it running in no time, see ya latter.

hi i went away for the weekend with the family but im back now . i jumped the selonoid from the large and small ternimal.turned right over.

OK, now we got somthin' to work with. So we know the starter and solenoid are good, follow the small wires up the harness to each connection and check for voltage when you turn the key to Start.

hi i have a  350 30 over 4 bolt main in my vette it was redone .it has trw 11.00compression  high dome pistons ,67 heads ported and polished roller rockers ,steel crank ,edelbrock rpm intake,edelbrock 600 performer carb,and competition cam 507 lift 292 duration . she runs awsome but the you can see the exaust fumes coming out of the pipes. it smeels rich.i am running the stock plugs in it .if i rev it you can see the smoke and it smeels like gas.do i need a hoter spark plug? if so can you give me an idea ?what to do? this thig is all power and hasnt been on the road yet thanks john.

hi i have a  350 30 over 4 bolt main in my vette it was redone .it has trw 11.00compression  high dome pistons ,67 heads ported and polished roller rockers ,steel crank ,edelbrock rpm intake,edelbrock 600 performer carb,and competition cam 507 lift 292 duration . she runs awsome but the you can see the exaust fumes coming out of the pipes. it smeels rich.i am running the stock plugs in it .if i rev it you can see the smoke and it smeels like gas.do i need a hoter spark plug? if so can you give me an idea ?what to do? this thig is all power and hasnt been on the road yet thanks john.

Hi 75vette, glad to see you back. You say the exhaust smells rich and you can see it, I assume you can see black smoke. It's all in the carbeuration, as long as the engine is running fairly smooth at "off idle" and on up the RPM band then the plugs are probably firing the mixture OK. Sounds like the engine builder set up the carb pretty rich, with 11.0 to 1.0 ratio you don't want to go too lean or you'll get pre-ignition but you can start leaning the carb a little at a time 'till it cleans up the exhaust. Edelbrock has tuning parts for their carbs with jets and metering rods so you can fine tune it. Find someone who has experience on that carb or call Edelbrock tech support and they may be able to get you a bit closer on the jetting.

quote:

ORIGINAL: 75 vette

hi i have a  350 30 over 4 bolt main in my vette it was redone .it has trw 11.00compression  high dome pistons ,67 heads ported and polished roller rockers ,steel crank ,edelbrock rpm intake,edelbrock 600 performer carb,and competition cam 507 lift 292 duration . she runs awsome but the you can see the exaust fumes coming out of the pipes. it smeels rich.i am running the stock plugs in it .if i rev it you can see the smoke and it smeels like gas.do i need a hoter spark plug? if so can you give me an idea ?what to do? this thig is all power and hasnt been on the road yet thanks john.

 
Did you get the cranking problem fixed? What was the problem?
 
Tuning a carb is a little tricky... If you're gettin' black (rich) exhaust, you might have no more than a mis-routed, or unplugged vacuum nipple. Check them first.
 
First thing afterward is to remember each little turn of your idle stop screws and your jet/mix screws. ESPECIALLY IF IT'S ALREADY RUNNING.
 
If it is, turn the linkage screw to increase the idle speed. This is so it won't cut off as you make adjustments.
 
With the motor off, screw all the way in each of the primaries' mixture screws. REMEMBER EXACTLY HOW MANY TURNS YOU TURN EACH ONE. Write it down if necessary!
 
Back each one out one-half turn - that's a rule of thmb, I think. (Might be one whole turn, but you can go further without damaging anything).
 
Pull the trigger, see how well it idles. If you got black - you shouldn't at this point, but if you do (motor still runnin'), screw back in each mixture screw about 1 eighth turn. Not one half back in, or one quarter, but half a quarter = 1/8. But again, you shouldn't at this point even have to screw  IN.
 
If there's no black exhaust, or if it don't fire, turn each screw one eighth OUT further, to increase gas in the mix.
 
Once it's running again, continue backing out each screw in one eighth increments, until the idle speed begins to go down, and the black exhaust just barely becomes visible.
 
Then, return the linkage adjustment screw to set the proper idle speed. Leave it just a tad high, to see how well the cold start situation is. After a few drive cycles, make further idle speed adjustment.
 
 
We could begin mixture screw adjustments where you are now, but we don't know where each actually now is. Which is also why we're making note before hand.
 
Come back on this now, hear?