I currently have my alternator and battery taken out because my alternator is dead and my battery looks like its been in a volcano for a day or two. Before I pulled both out, I replaced the battery cables and when I tried to start the car nothing happened. No click from the starter or anything, but the lights would come on. I tried to start it with my friends battery and still nothing. Thats when I pulled the alternator and got it tested and it failed. Besides the fact that whoever wired my car, didn't understand and removed the external regulator and put an internal regulated alternator on there, the whole wiring harness is a mess. Is my problem the starter? I want to replace the whole wiring harness with the painless wiring kit, but the cheapest one I can find is on Summit Racing for $500.

So,

you have an external mounted regulator to a internal regulated alternator, right? Wow... I just don't know where to start. If you were to buy just the engine harness you should be able to correct the issues you have now. Just a thought....

To eliminate those issues with the starter try this:http://novaresource.org/starter.htm. This will eliminate those pesky "hot starts" that is common with those big starters and headers.

Hope this helps

have you tried to test you starter? i am not sure if this info can help but before installation i make a test by grounding the body of the starter on the (-) of my battery and using a good wire i supply (+) to the selenoid first and if it works, test the starter.

First do not assume the person who replaced your external voltage regulator with a one wire alternator didn't understand. Unless you are doing a concurs restoration, with chalk marks and white gloves; consider the solid state internal voltage regulator to be an upgrade. The external spring balanced points connected mechanical voltage regulators are notoriously unreliable. If you stay with the one wire alternator (my advise for trouble free cruising) then ditch the external voltage regulator.

To test your starter you need only short out the main battery terminal (the big wire) to the start relay (purple wire on the interior side) with an old screw driver you will not mind getting a few electrical burn marks on. Once you make the connection (with the car in neutral and parking brake set) the solenoid will engage and the starter motor will spin the motor over if you have 14 volts (a fully charged battery) in your battery.

If it doesn’t then you need to verify the battery voltage with a volt meter (DC voltage setting on a multimeter). If you have between 12-14 volts then your problem is with the battery cable the battery cable connection the starter relay (solenoid) or the starter motor. Working from the battery terminal down to the starter check each one.

Disconnect ground first then disconnect the positive terminal. Examine both for corrosion and clean the terminals. With the positive cable disconnected still put an Ohm meter on the two ends of the battery cable (Ohm setting on your multimeter). It should read no more than thirty or so Ohms resistance if they are free of grease and corrosion.

If the battery is good and the cable and connections have been eliminated (the easiest to check, and we have to remove this stuff anyway); now it is time to drop the starter motor assembly. You can carry the whole thing down to the corner auto parts store and they can check it for a dragging commutator, shorts or other defects. If it is just the solenoid you can buy a replacement and bolt it on yourself instead of buying a whole starter assembly (It is just two bolts and a tab that you rotate the solenoid to disengage holding it on). That will save you quite a bit over the starter assembly.

Big Dave

Ok thanks for the help. Another thing, I dont know if my ignition switch is bad or hooked up wrong, but whenever I used to be able to start the car, it would turn over when I turn the key, but would start when I let the key go.

Ok thanks for the help. Another thing, I dont know if my ignition switch is bad or hooked up wrong, but whenever I used to be able to start the car, it would turn over when I turn the key, but would start when I let the key go.

That is caused by not having power to the coil during engine cranking. You need to find a source of power that is hot both with key on and cranking to feed power to the coil.