87 4x4 won't start...help please...

Hi all. I have an 87 4x4 that won't start. First the truck had a 22R, now its home to a Chevy 350 w/ NV4500. I did the swap about 4 years ago and haven't had this problem until about 2 weeks ago. Turn the key and the solenoid would chatter but not engage the starter everytime. Eventually would only chatter, no engagement at all. Figured I'd replace the starter, no luck. Had the battery checked and was weak (had 12V, just no oooompf). New battery, no luck.

For some reason, I'm not getting any juice to the sol. wire (black w/ white stripe). Starter relay clicks when I turn the key, but no start. All the fuses I can find are ok, no broken wires visible, and I've taken apart and cleaned all the wiring harness connectors with no luck. Right now I've got a

12ga wire connected to the battery and sol. via a momentary switch crudely fashioned to the dash to start it (lol). Should I leave it that way, or try to find the problem? Any help appreciated.

TIA, Del

Reply to
DFerree923
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Use a volt meter to backtrack the signal and find out where the problem is. Measure the solenoid voltage, it its more than 0.5V less than the battery voltage while starting, trace those wires back to the relay. If the voltage out of the relay is low, it may be bad. If the voltage at the relay coil is low, it may be the ignition switch that is bad. I installed a new relay on my '85 (never had one stock) and the starting is much better now:

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Reply to
Roger Brown

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