Electrical issue, wont start justs makes one "click" noise

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mcampbell26915

Active member
Joined
Nov 14, 2013
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Location
St. louis
My Car
1972 mustang coupe 302
Hello, I have been having a very hard time figuring out why my '72 wont start or even crank. 

quick back story, it drove fine until I stored it for 12 months without starting it or driving it (I know, big mistake).  did a quick tune up 2 weeks ago (replaced fluids, drained and replaced gas, charged up the battery, etc) before trying to start it. I tried starting it after that and it just clicked. Not the typical fast paced clicks associated with a dead battery, but just one click sounding like it was coming from the starter. so thats when I began trouble shooting, here is what I have done so far:

Tested the battery since it did sit for a year and found that it was holding charge. I also borrowed a friends new battery (730 cca) and saw the same results, so I dont think the issue is the battery.

- Replaced the start solenoid

- Replaced the starter

- Replaced both battery cables and terminal connectors

after doing all of this, I tried starting it and it still did the same exact thing- "click". So then I thought that the engine might be seized, so I got a 24" breaker bar and hand cranked the motor to make sure it wasnt siezed.  It did have some resistance, it wasnt the easiest thing to turn, but it also wasnt that difficult either, it definitely wasnt seized.

So just now I thought maybe the brand new starter solenoid I bought was defective, so I jumped it by connecting the two ends of the solenoid with the key in the "on" position.  When I did this, there were sparks and I heart it crank one time (first time ive heard it crank in a year). But after that one crank, nothing happened even if I held them connected together- no sparks or crank. So I thought id try it again with a freshly charged battery so I charged the battery back up to try again and this time there were significantly less sparks when I jumped it and no crank at all, just a tiny bit of sparks and then nothing.

I cannot seem to figure out what the problem is.  Any help would be sincerely appreciated, I want to get this thing back on the road!

Thanks in advance-

Matt

 
I am definitely no mechanic but I would want to first ensure motor can turn over. Almost sounds like a starter or connections issue. So first just make the starter turns the motor over good without the main top coil to distributor wire connected. Once it turns over good (complete rotations), check for spark and fuel.

Some of the better mechanics can break that down for you.

Good luck,

Ray

 
In addition to the above, check your ground cable. Does it connect to both the chassis/body and the engine block, and are the connects to clean metal? In the year it wasn't run the metal the ground cables connect to may have rusted/corroded.

 
Thank you guys for the replies!

Ray, the motor does turn over (with the help of the breaker bar by hand) but the starter will not turn over the motor because of the electrical issue, the starter just clicks.

73Pony, yes it is an automatic.  I was not familiar with the NSS until you mentioned it.  I just went outside to try to start it in neutral (full 100% battery) and it did the same "Click" sound as before, so I suppose it wasnt the NSS unfortunately.

Don, I thought that may have been the issue as well so I went ahead and disconnected the ground wire and sanded down the surface that it was connected to until it was clean bare metal again and reconnected it.  Unfortunately, it didnt help.

any other guesses? I find it really weird that when I jumped the solenoid I was able to get it to make one turn, but after that one time it wasnt able to turn again even when jumping the solenoid a second and third time. Thanks for the help again, hope to hear back!

 
I do not think the car sitting that little time would cause mechanical issues. Has to be a ground issue, solenoid etc. . I have one car that sat for 42 years and had no issue starting. Only thing that was changed was the voltage regulator that was corroded. Will be doing same thing with a 73 Mustang that has not been started since 1982. I just finished a 73 that had sat for 27 years again no issue except that the PO put a head gasket on backwards. When I pulled head inside motor like brand new. Absolutely no rust or corrosion.

A car sitting will not cause you mechanical issues unless you let it rain in the carburetor or let varmints get in there and nest, lol. Yes a seal might leak but a car running that old leaks also.

Just keep looking. Take the starter off the car and see if it runs fine. Could be a worn out bearing and then some rust inside the starter keeping it from kicking off. You can actually bump the side of the starter with hammer while someone tries to start it.

Try just shorting out the solenoid with a screw driver between the hot wire and the closest terminal coming out the side of the solenoid. That should crank the engine over and has nothing to do with key or safety switch. If that works then look at the ignition switch adjustment on the steering column.

I had electrical issues nothing to see wrong, lol.

 
WHERE is the click coming from? solenoid or starter? NSS will stop anything from happening, it's clicking so that ain't it.

You've replaced the solenoid and it does the exact same thing? Have you tried jumping the solenoid from the small S terminal to the battery side post??

If jumping the solenoid doesn't turn it over see what the voltage is when you hit START. Since you already put in a new, charged battery my money is on a bound-up starter.

 
Thank you guys for all of the replies. I ended up tracing the issue back to the wire connecting the solenoid to the starter, it wasn't connected tight enough.  I tightened it more and it cranked right over.  However, now I have a different issue, which is keeping it running.  I was able to get it to start but it idled very rough and then eventually just died out. So today I just replaced all the plugs (.035 gap, which is the gap I found to be the consensus online for the 302) and the wires, along with the ignition coil, and the distributor cap and rotor.  after replacing all of that, now it wont even start at all.  I dont think I mixed up the firing order but thats the first thing I am going to re-check tomorrow.  Feel free to help me spitball ideas as to why this thing isnt wanting to run smoothly (or at all). in the meantime Ill be troubleshooting and keeping you guys posted.  Thanks again for all the replies.

Matt 

P.S: There is a wire coming directly from the distributor leading to the ignition coil, is that wire supposed to be on the positive terminal of the coil or the negative? I forgot to take a note of which wire goes where before I removed them from the old coil.

 
I'm pretty sure it should be on + since it controls spark and the ground or - is a common. You're right, first step is double check all your wires, and make sure they're right, after that its fuel flow, engine turning over, active spark, and the exhaust shouldn't cause a problem unless you have a bent valve.

 
What ignition coil did you replace the original with? Some aftermarket ones require 12 volts - this may now be your problem.

The red with light blue stripe is your start circuit - it pulls the solenoid in to start the starter motor - there is  an auxiliary contact on the starter solenoid that feeds 12 volts to the coil when cranking ( posting pui so cant remember if it's the I or the S post on the solenoid) the red with the green stripe goes to the positive on your coil. The negative on the coil goes straight to your points to discharge the coil.

Hope this helps

Shane




 
In addition to the above, check your ground cable. Does it connect to both the chassis/body and the engine block, and are the connects to clean metal? In the year it wasn't run the metal the ground cables connect to may have rusted/corroded.
99% of starting issues can be traced back to the ground cable. Ford's original cable had a tab that was bolted under the lower rear screw of the voltage regulator on the fender apron. Many replacements don't have this feature, or get ignored by the "mechanic". Make sure you have a good connection at the battery, on the block, and that you have the tab that bolts to the fender apron. 

Ground path:

battery -> fender apron -> block

This listing on CJ's shows the tab on the ground cable very well.

https://www.cjponyparts.com/cj-classics-battery-cable-set-show-quality-standard-duty-usa-made-1972-1973/p/BC12/

 
Matt 

 There is a wire coming directly from the distributor leading to the ignition coil, is that wire supposed to be on the positive terminal of the coil or the negative? I forgot to take a note of which wire goes where before I removed them from the old coil.

The SIngle wire from the distributor goes to the - Negitive marked post on the coil.    

I would suggest slowing down, using your camera on your phone and taking photos so you can go back and refer to them.  Most of this stuff is second nature to us, as we have been buying, fixing and restoring cars for 40+ years.

We got this info from reading and doing over and over.  So that info "builds" (like you build a layered cake)  TODAY - in the rush to do we often see "I'll try this!"    

Mark

 
Did you find out why the starter wouldn't disengage?

If the small S and I posts are wired backwards the starter will engage with key ON and stay engaged until key OFF.

If you twisted either if the large posts on the new solenoid they can become 'cocked' inside the case and spot weld the disc to the stud.

Make sure your replacement is a good quality solenoid - get a Motorcraft one from NPD to be sure.

 
Firing order is correct, just checked it this morning.  Tried turning it over again and it just cranks, occasionally it sounds like it wants to start but for the most part it just cranks without any firing. it cranks for a while (5 seconds) and then makes this loud clank then spit/cough sound and stops cranking altogether.  after cranking for 5 seconds there is a strong gasoline smell, making me think it was flooded, but I didnt touch the gas petal at all while trying to start it.  Same thing happened last night- I tried starting it, it cranked, stopped cranking after a while, and then strong gas smell.  anyone have any idea why this might be? sounds like im not getting spark now because I at least got it to run (very roughly) before I replaced the plugs,wires distributor cap, rotor, and ignition coil.

 
Firing order is correct, just checked it this morning.  Tried turning it over again and it just cranks, occasionally it sounds like it wants to start but for the most part it just cranks without any firing. it cranks for a while (5 seconds) and then makes this loud clank then spit/cough sound and stops cranking altogether.  after cranking for 5 seconds there is a strong gasoline smell, making me think it was flooded, but I didnt touch the gas petal at all while trying to start it.  Same thing happened last night- I tried starting it, it cranked, stopped cranking after a while, and then strong gas smell.  anyone have any idea why this might be? sounds like im not getting spark now because I at least got it to run (very roughly) before I replaced the plugs,wires distributor cap, rotor, and ignition coil.
Sorry for all of my rapid posting.  I connected the ignition coil up properly and just tried cranking it more because it kept sounding like it wanted to start.  eventually after cranking for a little bit I got it to start.  it ran pretty rough for about 1 full minute (3 second periods of smooth running followed by 3 seconds of extremely rough running back and forth), and then it died.  so now we are back where we started- runs for a little bit but then dies.  could it be the points/condenser? gas, fuel pump and fuel filter is new, looks like its getting plenty clean gas so I dont think gas is the issue.  while it was running I sprayed starting fluid around all the vacuum lines carb and intake manifold and the RPM's didnt kick up at all, so I dont think its a vacuum issue.  leaves me with spark being the issue but I replaced many of those components and its still having the issue. could the timing have gotten messed up at some point causing this? or possibly the idle adjustment screws on the carb?  Sorry if I sound like a noob! Thanks guys

 
rule of thumb.

you have air, Spark, fuel.

air is working

spark is working

next issue fuel. did it go bad in the tank. is the carb gummed up with bad gas. is there a clogged fuel filter. etc...

 
rule of thumb.

you have air, Spark, fuel.

air is working

spark is working

next issue fuel. did it go bad in the tank. is the carb gummed up with bad gas. is there a clogged fuel filter. etc...
Hi 72HCODE,

The fuel was pretty old so I drained the tank and lines last week and replaced it with new (87 octane, maybe shouldve used 93?) gas and replaced the fuel filter as well. So if there is an issue with fuel it would be from a gummed up carb since I havent rebuilt the carb in about 4 years.  sounds like its time for a carb rebuild, or maybe i'll just replace it this time, and see if that smooths it out.  any recommendations on 2 bbl carbs (preferably under 300 bucks)?

 
Turing into a FB style post....where you will have to go back and REREAD all of the OP issues/changes that got to this point!

I Have reread, see you have been "changing a lot of things" so you have to either go over your work and confirm done right OR start from here and pin point what the problem is.

Fuel or SparK

1) Fuel - just use some of that Starting fluid and see if THIS TIME WHEN CRANKING "it fires" !! If so you have a fuel issue.

2) From above IF NOT.....then you have a secondary spark issue (too weak).

If spark, I would clean the points with sandpaper lightly and try again. SOme would say replace the condenser - but for now let's see if it is just a corrosion issue.

Remember you can isolate the entire car and run a wire from the battery + to the + of the coil to isolate wire harness issues.

Mark

P.S. WHat I hope is that there isn't something you haven't told us .....like "I took the distributor out to change the cap/wires" ! (Then we would be looking at ignition timing not secondary spark/advance. Did you TURN the distributor at all ????

 
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