Recently i was given a 1976 pinto to take care of but unfortunately it won't start up, so i took a look under the hood and realized it didn't even have a battery in it. so i realized that it was on the ground next to it at my friends house whom is letting me have it and installed it. i tried starting it up and it still wont work, im assuming that it might possibly be a ignition problem or electrical problem. when i turn the key nothing sparks its just pure silence. i hope someone here can help me out, i haven't had a car for a month or so, it always gets to me when i see a poor and helpless car just rotting away on someones yard not being driven the hell out of.
Quote from: delizious on January 10, 2008, 04:19:58 PM
Recently i was given a 1976 pinto to take care of but unfortunately it won't start up, so i took a look under the hood and realized it didn't even have a battery in it. so i realized that it was on the ground next to it at my friends house whom is letting me have it and installed it. i tried starting it up and it still wont work, im assuming that it might possibly be a ignition problem or electrical problem. when i turn the key nothing sparks its just pure silence. i hope someone here can help me out, i haven't had a car for a month or so, it always gets to me when i see a poor and helpless car just rotting away on someones yard not being driven the hell out of.
Did you test the battery?
If so, and the battery is good, are the connections clean and secure?
Bill
Actually, most of the wires under the hood have rust on them...wow i guess that must be the problem eh? I defanutly know the battery is good, how do i clean the wires though?
My bet is a bad battery. They don't like to sit on the ground. Check to see if the headlights work. If not the battery is deader than Julius Ceaser.
Grab a known good one & try again. If it still won't do anything use a pair of screwdrivers to bridge the big terminals on the solenoid. This feeds current directly to the starter, so don't hold it there long. You won't like what it does to the screwdrivers or the starter if ya do!
Best of luck & let us know how things go for ya. I'm sure we'll be able to get you going on the cheap.
Thanks man i really appreciate your help and of course others as well :D i will let you know as soon as possible!! oh yea what the hell does a solenoid look like anyway?? i know starter solenoids receive large electrical currents from the car battery and ignition switch, oh shizod i think i just figured it out...haha.
Follow the positive battery cable. The first thing it connects to is the solenoid. Bridge the two big lugs on either side of it. If it cranks over, the solenoid is most likely bad. That's like a $15 part. Also take a piece of wire from the positive battery terminal to the "S" terminal of the solenoid. That will eliminate the ignition switch as the culprit.
If it DOESN'T crank over, you get the pleasure of changing the starter. (after you hit it a time or two with a hammer to see if the bendix is stuck)
Quote from: crazyhorse on January 10, 2008, 04:47:00 PM
...If it still won't do anything use a pair of screwdrivers to bridge the big terminals on the solenoid...
MAKE SURE the key is in the OFF position, or the car is in neutral or park with the E-Brake on. Also, don't stand in front of the car to do it (JIC).
Bill
You know Bill, I never think about that kind of stuff when I make suggestions. ;D
I guess I just assume people should "know better". Considering I work with some potential Darwin Award winners, I should know better!
Did someone call for a Darwin award winner? One of these days I am going to sit down write a paper called " How to make a Pinto road worthy that has been sitting for ten years". Chapter One....Go to the store, buy 10 cans of wd-40 and spray everything except the seats and carpet.
Chapter Two...Paragraph Six...When tapping the starter with a hammer don't excede 75g's of impact force.
Good luck Delizious....we are here for you.
High_Horse
I'm having similar problems. I replaced the solenoid today and all I get is a click. Could it be the ignition(which I dont believe would make sense, since it will make a click when I try to start it) or could the starter have a dead spot on the motor? It has been doing this for a week or so and it has always started eventually after a few tries. When it is wet outside it harder to start.
To rule out the switch, get a length of wire, and jump from the positive battery cable to the "S" terminal on the solenoid. The engine should crank over.
Well it looks like I get to put in a new starter. dumb question.... is it difficult to get to the starter( its currently dark and there is about 2" of snow on the ground).
When I did mine I had to remove the rack & pinion mounting bolts, & the three bolts that hold the starter to the tranny. Oh, and the starter wire also.
no No NO! do NOT start with the tranny talk... it leads in strange directions....
Quoted from another forum
"I don't like fried trannies, their fishnet stockings go all melty in the grease"
In lighter news, the starter isn't an absolute bear to change, just a cub. Drop the rack bolts, unbolt the motor mounts, raise engine, unhook wire unbolt starter, pull straight out. As Haynes says: installation is the reverse of removal.
IIRC you need a 15mm, 9/16, 5/8 a big crescent, and channelocks. Can you tell I've done this a time or 3?
AHEM! well, so far i got someone to help me with this ford pinto and he took a look under the hood and said that theirs no oil filter so i went to go get one and some 10w-40 or something oil like 4 quarts of it or so. he said after we get that in we'll go from there, he also said if i spend over 100 or even 300 bucks that it probely won't be worth it on that type of ford pinto. but then again its a car and i'd hate to see it rust away all by its lonesome self ;(
Any car, from a Rolls to a Pinto, is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Is sinking a couple Franklins into this car worth it to you?
of course! this car means a lot to me ;P
Well, there ya go. It's official. You are one of us. Unfortunately a lot of people think putting $10 in a Pinto is too much. I usually tell them to shut up & mind their own business.
hell yea! ;D well heres what i REALLY need:
1. new muffler
2. new alternator
3. new batter
i already put in a oil filter and got 4 quarts of oil and the muffler was burning WAY to much of the oil, so that in close tells me and the other guy that was helping me that we needed a new alternator :D.
oh yea and did i mention A WHOLE NEW MOTOR! ugh