1949 Starter Problem

[FabCad]

Over the weekend, I changed the battery cables on my 49. I hooked everything back up and now the car won’t start. When I turn the ignition on and push the starter button, I have power coming to one terminal of the starter relay. But no power on the other terminal of the starter relay. Did I somehow fry the relay? Any recommended tests to isolate the issue?

Thanks.

[Jay Friedman]

Fab,

One of those wires comes from the neutral safety switch.  The other goes to the G (middle) terminal on the voltage regulator.  I suspect you are getting current on the one from the neutral safety switch, but somehow the one to the G terminal on the voltage regulator is not carrying current.  (That circuit grounds through to the G terminal on the voltage regulator and subsequently through the generator.  When the motor is running and the generator is turning the ground is "cut", preventing the starter from being engaged with the flywheel while the engine is running.)

Try running a jumper wire from the solenoid terminal without current to the G terminal on the voltage regulator and see if the starter then works.  Good luck.

Jay

[FabCad]

Hi Jay,

Yes, correctâ€"I’m getting current on the wire from the neutral safety switch, but no current beyond that. From the other terminal on the starter relay, there’s a wire going to the generator and then to the G terminal on the voltage regulator. There’s another wire going from the B terminal on the voltage regulator to the starter solenoid.

I’ll try running a jumper wire as you suggest.

Thanks!
Fab

[Jay Friedman]

.....From the other terminal on the starter relay, there’s a wire going to the generator and then to the G terminal on the voltage regulator.....

Hi Fab,

I don't know if it matters or not, but the wire from the other terminal on the relay should go to the G terminal on the regulator, with a separate 2nd wire going from the G terminal on the regulator to the A terminal on the generator.  The way you described it, yours seems to be the other way around. 

You can see this at the bottom center in the wiring diagram on page 201 of the shop manual. 

Jay

[FabCad]

Good point, Jay. I'll reverse those wires so it's correct.

As I mentioned, I changed the battery cables. The prior owner had installed generic cables (the kind you find at your local auto parts store). I used a heavy-duty 2 gauge cable for the positive lead to the starter solenoid. And then I reverted to the original ground strap for the negative lead -- going from the starter motor mount to the frame rail to the negative battery terminal. All surfaces and connections were cleaned. Not sure what happened during this process....