Dead electrical system - and more!

[lpratt]

Strange happenings trying to start my freshly purchased 62 Comet with a 170 CID powerplant – a long sordid story here. Not sure how many years this thing sat in the weeds but looks like at least 5 – trailered it home. I couldn't get any response from the starter so I whacked the rusty old solenoid and got lucky - that did the trick. Then I could only get the engine to run on starter fluid – back to the fuel issue later because now it’s become an electrical issue again. I rebuilt the carb, purged the hard fuel lines and replaced the hoses, filter, etc. While I was waiting on the carb kit to show up I replaced the solenoid, battery cables and got a new battery. Then, no reaction turning the key. I thought I may have burned up the new solenoid earlier because when I replaced it I forgot to disconnect the battery and set off a heck of a spark with my wrench – not sure what exactly I touched. Anyhow, to troubleshoot I put the old rusty solenoid back in and it worked after another whack. That told me I needed a new solenoid (again). I put a second new one in and it worked – well, sort of. When I turned the key to ‘on’ vs ‘start’ the starter unexpectedly engaged and started the engine, but the starter wouldn't disengage. Again the engine ran on starter fluid so I didn’t solve the fuel issue. But, now I had a starter that wouldn’t disengage. I took it out and tested it with jumper cables and it’s works perfectly as advertised. I put it back in and now I get absolutely nothing for electrical power – no dash generator light, no horn, nothing. I looked everywhere for a problem and can’t find anything. Am wondering if I need to now replace the ignition/key switch. Anyone have any wild ideas? Voltage regulator maybe? I'll get back to the fuel issue later, but first I need to fix the electrical mystery.

[popscomet]

DID you hook the ground wire from motor to the fire wall??,,it needs this wire..it may not fix your problem 100%.but !!pop

[poboyjo65]

I would remove & clean all the connections under the hood. Ground from bat to block, block to firewall ground, starter & make sure it's bolts are tight, solenoid,v. regulator & clean its' mounting bolts ,really not too much under there .even if it don't fix it -it may save from future trouble. I've crossed the small wires on the solenoid & it would try to start by just turning the key to the on position. one time I did that & I had to unhook the battery just to stop it from cranking. just keep after it & there will be an AH-HA moment!

[lpratt]

Will check these things out you guys suggest next weekend, see what I come up with and report back. This thing is so simple and straightforward under the hood I suspect I'll figure it out soon enough. Thanks for the tips!

[lpratt]

Looked at a cell phone photo I took of the engine earlier and realized I'd put the solenoid upside down, so all my connections were wrong - bonehead! Flipped it over - ignition, starter and everything else works fine now. Next up - figure out what's up with the fuel system!