74 newport 400 wont crank
 

i have a 74 newport with a 400 all factory. i took the carb off to clean it and after reinstalling it, it had no problems. ran smooth, started up fine. but now (about a week later) it wont start. it started fine then sputtered and died. after that it wont start, not even crank. i recharged the battery (its only a year old) and then it started up again. the following day it tried to crank, after 3 failed attempts to start it then wouldnt even attempt to crank. the battery light doesnt come on so it still has a full charge. i dont know what it could be, the wires are good and the fuses are good(i even tried tapping on the starter with a screw driver). ive never had this problem before. any help is greatly apreciated. thank you in advance.

1..........First thing to do is determine if it has the dreaded "seat belt interlock." Look under the hood and read these threads:

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/...p?p=1969624169

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/...ad.php?t=14304

If you have this, you need to permanently jumper the yellow / yellow -tracer wires together going to the reset

2.........If this doesn't do the trick, actually learn to do some troubleshooting. You have a shop manual? You can download a 73, the latest available, over at MyMopar. There ARE some wiring differences between 73--74. I would HIGHLY recommend that you get a proper 74 factory shop manual. Not Chiltons, and not Haynes, but a CHRYSLER factory manual. You can find both paper and "CD" reprints on the internet and ebay

ALL of these cars work about the same

They have a starter relay looks something like this:

http://classicnosparts.com/wp-conten...Relay%20SW.JPG

HOW IT WORKS

The huge stud is not only a junction, but ONE of the contacts. That is "battery."

The second largest is the SECOND contact. There is one wire off this, goes down to the starter SOLENOID connection. You should be able to take a pliers / screwdriver and jumper the two large exposed terminals, and the engine should crank

If not, stop there and find out WHY. Bad connections, bad cables, bad starter, bad battery. EASY

If it DOES crank, then it's either a bad relay or wiring to the relay. EASY

See the two small "push on" connectors?

3.......These are the relay magnetic coil. They are usually marked, but they DO NOT MATTER. You can reverse the two connectors it will work fine.

ONE of the two push on connectors goes down the firewall to the neutral safety switch on the transmission. So WIGGLE the shifter from park--to neutral while holding the key into "start." If you get a click or it cranks, that is the area of the trouble.

4.......If not, disconnect BOTH the two "push on" wires. Connect your lamp or meter to EITHER (if you cannot ID them) Twist the key. Have power? Yes? Connect that wire BACK to the relay. Take a clip lead and ground the remaining 'push on' relay terminal. The engine should crank with the key

5........No? Do you have power at the wire "in start?" You sure the remaining terminal is grounded? Try this. Be CERTAIN either 'push on' terminal is grounded. JUMPER the second 'push on' terminal over to the big battery stud. Does it crank? No? THE RELAY is bad.

there was another guy helping me with it and he recommended checking the relay as well so ill check that as soon as i get off work. i found an article on ericthecarguy.com and it mentioned if theres a click when turning the key it might be the starter solenoid if nothing it might be the actual connection to the solenoid. i actually already ordered a haynes manual for it, but the more help the better so ill look for the actual manual for the car from chrysler.

While a Haynes (or Chiltons, etc) is "better than nothing" they leave a tremendous amount to be desired. Post back if you have more

i finally got it fixed i completely over looked a wire going to the coil hich had a very small bit of wire exposed that was contacting the engine causing it to short out. got it fixed now thank you all for the help and suggestions.