HELP! camaro will not start

[KevinT68]

I have just(almost) finished replacing all the wiring in my 68 camaro with the stuff from painless, I havent hooked up the steering column radio or heater, but everything else is done. I cant get it to start or even crank, the starter will click when I turn the key but thats it. I put a brand new battery in it, that didnt change anything. Also the accessories(headlights, wipers etc will not turn on. The fule guage and voltmeter kick on when I try to start it but thats about it. I need some help here , any ideas or anything I would really appreciate.

[bonesfab]

Sounds like you have the wires on the ignition switch wrong. Double check that to start with. Usually when I rewire a car i make sure everything else is right before I try to start it. Just a suggestion... With the headlights not working it might be in the wiring to the starter. The headlights should have power with out the key on. Check the big red wire that goes to the starter and the purple wire that goes to the switch...

[Sparky]

Doesn’t Painless wiring have any Tech Support?
Seems like with all the money they spend in Advertising, they should at least be able to help customers with their product. It’s not the first time I have heard of people having problems with a Painless product.

[KevinT68]

Painless wasent much help on the phone. Every thing seems to be in the right spot. I pulled the starter and put a new one on it was the same thing, except now it wount even crank when i just the starter itself it just clicks. I thought mabey the starter was jamed on the plate, but there were no shims on the old one so I didnt put any on the new. My next step I think is to just go through and check every single connection and if I still cant get it. Anyone know any good shops near Pasadena CA.

[Sparky]

That doesn't surprise me, I have heard that Painless has been unable to help people when problems arise, many times

Please give me a call tomorrow and I will help you.

Sparky

[CAMAROBOY69]

Make sure you have a really good ground and all of your connections are tight. Check all your ground cables and straps. Also make sure the wires on the starter are not touching themselves or any other metal. Its very easy to do.
Is your battery in the truck or up front?

[KevinT68]

The battery is up front. The battery is droping volts rather quickly. Its been in the car for just over 24hrs and has droped down to 11.95 volts, could something be drawing all the power that fast when nothing is really working? It started raining today so i dont know if I will get a chance to go back and rechack everything for a couple of days. (I donthave a gargae the camaro is just in my driveway)

[streetk14]

It sounds like it might be a ground problem. There are some things you can check, but first get a battery charger on the thing so you can eliminate battery voltage as the problem. Where is your battery grounded? Make sure your battery ground and engine/subframe grounds are clean and tight. You could also try jumping the starter solenoid (and bypassing the ignition switch). If the car still doesn't crank then you have a battery voltage or ground problem. Good luck and keep us posted.
-Andy