No crank, no start on new crate engine

[MountainMan300]

Hey all,

I finished installing my crate engine in my 1990 K1500. It is a 350 and I am still running the original TBI setup. I have everything in place and ready for cam break in, but when I turn the key nothing happens.

My headlights work, I get power to the dash, and I can hear my fuel pump turn on. I have a brand new starter with both connections hooked to it. When I turn the key nothing happens though- the starter doesn't even turn.

Where should I start looking to fix this problem?

EDIT: Just went to try and crank it up by jumping the starter. The signal connection (not the wire itself) smokes when the key is the cranking position, and we heard a pop come from under the cover that protects the fuel pump relay and a few other connections

 

[evilunclegrimace]

Do you have power at the starter main lug? Power at the solenoid with the key in the start position. Did you remember to connect the ground from the battery to the block and the block to the frame? Is your neutral safety switch adjusted correctly?

 

[Schurkey]

First Guess: Failed starter and/or starter solenoid.

Second Guess: NOW you have a failure at the underhood electrical center--popped fuse, burnt relay.

Other possibilities are a failed ignition switch, an out-of-adjustment neutral safety switch, broken or corroded wires including a failed connection at the main bulkhead between passenger compartment and engine compartment.

MAYBE you have a solenoid with four terminals, (Main power IN, "S" terminal, "R" terminal, and heavy cable or connection from solenoid to starter motor) You may or may not have an "R" terminal. Perhaps you've installed the "S" wire on the "R" terminal.




When I had a no-start, no-crank on my '97, I needed a new starter and solenoid, but I also had to replace about three feet of 12-gauge wire from the "S" terminal half-way back to the starter relay in the underhood electrical center. Road splash wicks up inside the wire insulation, turns the copper conductor green or all the way to black. Voltage loss is so great the power doesn't get to the solenoid. The wire is purple, but fades to pink. On my truck someone had already replaced the last eight inches with a length of white wire; but that was all corroded again, too.

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