HELP - new motor will not start!

Condor232

Registered User
I have a 4.3L stroker SC engine and have just tried to start it for the first time. Here is what is happening -

Key on works fine, but when going to try to crank, I get one loud click and then nothing. I went underneath and checked the starter to flywheel, and I notice the starter gear will engage, try to turn, and then get bound up. I can turn the motor by hand, but when trying to crank via the starter, this bind condition happened.

It is a 4r70w transmission and Mustang starter, any help would be appreciated, I've just been flooding the motor trying to start it.

Thanks!
 
Check that the battery has sufficient voltage and that the battery cables are all tight, grounds are good. It takes a lot of current to turn a motor with a little gear like that.
 
Check that the battery has sufficient voltage and that the battery cables are all tight, grounds are good. It takes a lot of current to turn a motor with a little gear like that.

The grounds should all be good, I have three grounds for the wiring near the headlights and one on the driver's side of the engine to the frame. Wiring is tight.
 
Dead Battery. Kill your fuel (switch in the trunk works) until you get your cranking issue resolved so you don't end up washing down the cylinders of that new engine!

Thomas
 
Dead Battery. Kill your fuel (switch in the trunk works) until you get your cranking issue resolved so you don't end up washing down the cylinders of that new engine!

Thomas

Battery is brand new. The bendix on the starter will engage, but on key off it won't disengage. It is clear that the starter seems to be binding on the flywheel, just not sure what would cause it. Battery is good, power is good, other ideas?

Starter bendix will engage and look like it tries to turn but seems bound.

EDIT: Battery was bad at first and starter just clicked and clicked and clicked. Replaced it and now there is one *CLANK* and then nothing. You can see the bendix try to turn and it can't.
 
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Sounds like a bad starter, try a different one.

Starter worked fine before I tore down the engine, now it doesn't...that just seems peculiar. Any way the starter may not be drawing enough power? Battery cables get warm also when I try to crank it.
 
Do you have a different flexplate/flywheel on, as in are the gear patterns for the starter and ring gear the same.
 
Do you have a different flexplate/flywheel on, as in are the gear patterns for the starter and ring gear the same.

They are the same.

Here's a question....currently, my starter has 3 posts. The top post gets the heavy red wire. The bottom post is getting the heavy ground wire, and the post on the left is getting a smaller wire that was taped to the larger red wire. Does this sound right?
 
No doesn't sound right.

The ground wire should be on one of the bolts with a stud that mounts the motor to the bell housing, not on the solenoid. Studs on solenoid are for you positive from the battery then the other big stud is solenoid to starter(which is already hooked up, you don't put anything there) after solenoid is triggered and small stud is you trigger positive.
 
They are the same.

Here's a question....currently, my starter has 3 posts. The top post gets the heavy red wire. The bottom post is getting the heavy ground wire, and the post on the left is getting a smaller wire that was taped to the larger red wire. Does this sound right?
Chris beat me to it. :)
 
I have a loom of wires going over near the starter. One is a thick red wire, the other is a thick black wire, and then a thin black wire.

Thick red wire - upper positive on solenoid
Thick black wire - Lower terminal on solenoid
Thin black wire - small left terminal on solenoid.

How can I remedy this? Thanks for the help in advance!
 
Take the black, heavy ground that you have on the lower post of the solenoid off and bolt that heavy ground to one of the transmission bell housing bolts. Make sure the short terminal that's soldered to the solenoid is still on that lower solenoid stud and put the nut back on.
 
What year car is this? Not that it should matter. Can you get the thick black wire to any bolt hole near the starter? Can you get a pic of the harness?

Casey beat me to it.:)
 
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What year car is this? Not that it should matter. Can you get the thick black wire to any bolt hole near the starter? Can you get a pic of the harness?

Casey beat me to it.:)

Here is a pic of the wires at the starter, about the best pic I can get. The heavy black wire has some slack but not alot.

Car is a 98 Mustang, but comparing to a 94 tbird harness, this section is the same.
 

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Here is a pic of the wires at the starter, about the best pic I can get. The heavy black wire has some slack but not alot.

Car is a 98 Mustang, but comparing to a 94 tbird harness, this section is the same.

Take the ground wire and put it on one of your motor mount bolts. You should have a studded motor mount bolt. Just slide it over one of the studded motor mount bolts and put a nut on it. Can you do that?

This is how the early model cars do it. I think the late model cars are the ones that use the bellhousing bolt to ground the starter.
 
Here is a pic of the wires at the starter, about the best pic I can get. The heavy black wire has some slack but not alot.

Car is a 98 Mustang, but comparing to a 94 tbird harness, this section is the same.

Move the thick black wire to the lower bolt that holds the starter to the bellhousing.

The way you've got it now just creates one big short.
 
Take the ground wire and put it on one of your motor mount bolts. You should have a studded motor mount bolt. Just slide it over one of the studded motor mount bolts and put a nut on it. Can you do that?

This is how the early model cars do it. I think the late model cars are the ones that use the bellhousing bolt to ground the starter.

I am gonna try this over lunch and see, hopefully it works!
 
FYI, putting it on one of the starter bolts that hold it to the bellhousing works just as well. I was just giving you another option if you don't have enough slack.

It'll work either way.
 
Alright, took a few minutes and moved that wire to the mounting bolt on the bellhousing. It cranked! Gonna wait for a second person to be here later to start it up for the first time, but its a good sign.

Thanks to all for the fast help!
 
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