I am Lost! But now I am found!

[jordan]

So I have a mix and match electrical system in my 71 cuda.  I have been doing a complete rebuild, so I have new dash harness, engine harness, headlight harness, and tail light harness.  I did put my battery in the trunk and ran a cable to the starter post from the positive side. The battery is grounded in the trunk, and the engine is grounded in the engine bay.  I attempted the alternator conversion by running a new larger cable from the alternator to the same starter post.  Redline Gauges did the ammeter to voltmeter conversion.   Xtra wiring I have done include a Keisler transmission 4l60e conversion including the controller.  I have also wired in a Vintage Air A/C system.  That is connected directly to the battery.  A column tach rounds it out.  So it is a mixture of factory (aftermarket, all new) harnesses, and some custom wiring.  I am waiting for a reverse light harness from Year One.  No brown wire to the starter solenoid if that means anything. 

So, I have power to the starter and it also reads at the alternator.  My biggest question is how do I get that power that is terminated at the starter to the  ignition switch?  Somehow the positive power at the starter needs to be activated by the ignition switch.  I have a cable from the starter solenoid post to the small post on the starter, but no power to it at the solenoid.  So obviously I don't have power anywhere else in the car.  Blue wire on alternator spade and green wire on the other alternator spade.  Coil is blue on positive and gray/black on negative.   

Electrical is not my strong area in automotive work.  I am not sure any of it is my strong area, but I am really lost with electricity.  This may be the point I have it taken some where to get fixed, even though I don't want to.  I need help with the magic to make it work.  As soon as I have power, I can attempt to turn it over!  Thanks guys. 

[Chryco Psycho]

the positive battery cable from the factory will have a smaller cable to the start relay bat terminal , connect a cable from the bat cable on the starter up to that terminal , use 10 ga

[Bullitt-]

When you bypass the ammeter, even when doing a conversion, the terminals that go to it need to be connected to each other.
Also there is a fusible link normally connected between the starter relay and a red wire going through the bulkhead connector that is one end of this circuit, if that is not connected or the fusible link is blown you will have no power.   

[jordan]

Just to clarify.  If I connect a wire from the + battery cable at the starter to the post on the starter solenoid that has a cable running to the small post of the starter, am I supplying power to both sides of the starter? 

If the wire from the alternator runs to the starter and not through the bulkhead I was assuming that those wires to the ammeter are basically dead.  I did not connect them behind the gauges.  I guess I can put a bolt through and connect the red and black wires.  I removed the black wire from the alternator to the bulkhead completely, since I made a new one that runs to the starter.  If it is not in the bulkhead connection, why do I need to connect the ammeter wires if nothing is running to it? 

As you guys can tell, I really suck at electricity. 

[Bullitt-]

Follow the schematic, all your under dash power originates from these. I think your OK removing the black wire under hood but the red wire needs to connect to the black where the ammeter was to complete the circuit.
http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1971/71BarracudaB.JPG

[Chryco Psycho]

the lighter wire to the second terminal on the starter is only energized when the key is in the start position , you need to run a second similar wire from the Battery terminal on the starter to the Bat terminal on the start relay to power the rest of the car ,
 The ammeter circuit behind the dash still works but carries a LOT less load so the easy fix is to bolt both the red & black wire to the same terminal on the back of the ammeter

[jordan]

So, I am still lost.  I have + from the battery to the starter.  I have a cable from the alternator to the same starter post.  I also have a cable from the same starter post to the large post on the solenoid marked BAT.  I then made a 10ga wire from the SOL post of the solenoid to the small post on the starter.  When I connected my battery, and turned the key to ON, my wiper motor started.  I turned the switch but it kept running.  The dome light came on and stayed on.  The dimmer switch and door switch did not matter.  I have no crank at the starter.  I did not blow any fuses and no wires got hot.  I did connect the red and black wires from the ammeter as suggested from a previous post.  I feel so screwed.  Did I say I don't understand electricity?  I feel like it is something pretty easy, but I don't even know where to look.  I think I have the starter connected wrong.  And the power going from the solenoid to the dash is screwed up somewhere under the dash I suppose.  If I keep messing around, I am afraid I will melt it down, or start it on fire.  I may just have to have it towed to a local shop and pay somebody to go through it and get it started.  I hate that idea because I did so much work, that I want to be able to bring it to life.  I just don't have enough working knowledge.  Suggestions?    

[Bullitt-]

I can imagine that with all the changes that have been made you may have multiple issues.
Probably your best bet is to bring in a knowledgeable person to sort things out at this point.
Don't know that just any mechanic is the best answer, a local car club might be a good resource to find a guru(someone familiar with these old cars) who would come on site probably at less expense than a tow in & do a better job. 

[dodj]

Wiper dome light issue  not related to starter issue.  So try to ignore those for the moment. The starter is likely not turning over because you claimed there was no brown wire at the solenoid - the brown wire is what completes the ground for the solenoid. You can jumper that terminal to ground temporarily and see if the starter engages when you turn the key. If it doesn't, check to see if the yellow wire has power when the ign sw is in start position.

Electrical can seem very daunting when you have multiple issues, they are less overwhelming if you just focus on one issue at a time.

[CudamanTom]

Wiper dome light issue  not related to starter issue.  So try to ignore those for the moment. The starter is likely not turning over because you claimed there was no brown wire at the solenoid - the brown wire is what completes the ground for the solenoid. You can jumper that terminal to ground temporarily and see if the starter engages when you turn the key. If it doesn't, check to see if the yellow wire has power when the ign sw is in start position.

Electrical can seem very daunting when you have multiple issues, they are less overwhelming if you just focus on one issue at a time.

 
The brown wire is where I would focus. No ground, no crank.

[Chryco Psycho]

- Battery + to Starter is correct
- Ammeter bypass to starter is workable , I usually connect to the Bat post on the start relay not the starter but it works either way
10 ga wire from second smaller post to relay smaller post is correct also
- You need the yellow wire from the ign switch to the blade terminal on the star relay .
- You need to have the brown wire from the second small blade terminal on the relay to ground , with auto it would ground to the neutral safty switch on the trans but you have a different trans so it can go to ground but it will start in gear if you do that , your new trans may have a NSS on it somewhere I am not sure but at least grounding the brown wire will allow it to start .
- The dome light is a ground problem , that cicuit is always powered 7 it grounds through different locations to complete the circuit so you could have a pinched wire or a bad door switch allowing it to ground out , start disconnecting grounds until the light goes out .
- The wipers are unrelated , you can unplug the 4 pin connector at the firewall , possibly the wiring is mismatched so the wire colors are not the same so you can check that or maybe you have a 2 speed switch with a 3 speed wiper or reverse with  2 speed wiper & 3 speed switch.
 I have no doubt you can work though this &  learn from it as well .

[jordan]

I just got the reverse light switch harness in the mail!  I plugged it in, but I have to read the instructions on how to wire it into my new reverse light switch.  I put the brown ground wire on the solenoid.  I will have time tomorrow to work on it.  My friend, who is a professional ford mechanic, is coming over to help me go through things to see if I can get it straightened out.  At least he knows wiring.  I have the FSM for a schematic.  Chryco, thanks for confirming what I have done so far as correct.  Maybe all I need is a ground (brown wire) ?  to get me over the hump.  Thanks Bullit, Tom, and Dodj for your input.  I really need all the help I can get.  I really want this to run soooooooo bad!!!  I'll let you guys know tomorrow how it goes.  J

[jordan]

So.....it was the brown wire to the solenoid.  I wired in the reverse/neutral switch to my trans, and the funny thing is that the starter works!  I spent the evening chasing fuel and trans line leaks. I really had to crank on those stainless lines!  I did get the engine to run, but not well so far.  First I had trouble with no spark.  Had power at the coil, but no spark.  I swapped out my rev-n-ator to an orange box and got spark.  Later I found out I didn't hook up my ground strap on the Rev-n-nator.  When I did, it didn't put out the same spark as the orange box, so off it went.  I had some issues with the distributor cap not sitting right and fixed that.  The rotor was 180 off.  Fixed that.  I did get the engine to fire and sort of run, but it seem really retarded and wanted to backfire through the carbs.  I couldn't get enough rotation on the distributor to advance it enough to get it right.  I did check #1 TDC and rotor placement, and plug wire placement and it appears right.  It feels as though I am one off on the cap though.  I will do some more work tomorrow if I don't have to work.  My dome light is still on, but I will chase that later.  It appears my gauges work, and my windshield wipers seem to work correctly too.  I have lots to do, but I am getting closer.  No fires and no melted wires so far!  It is almost alive!  Felt good to get it to fire and run even if it was only for 20 seconds at a time.  I will keep trying. 

[Bullitt-]

Sounds like your making good progress..may just be a timing issue now, do you have a timing light?....You know the dash panel dimmer also turns the dome light on?

[jordan]

I have a timing light.  Gonna work on it tomorrow I hope.  The dome light is on all the time regardless of the door being open or not.  I did try the dimmer switch with no luck.  Im going to work on getting it running before I worry about the light.  I did make some progress tonight.  I still have a ways to go though.  Ill keep hitting you up for help as I go along.  Thanks Guys!