TR6 TR6 project back together- turn the key and CLICK

[sammyb]

I've been hard at work on my recently acquired '74 TR6 project. Got the head back from the machine shop with a clean bill of health. Got it back on and the various wires, hoses, etc... Hooked up the battery and CLICK. No starter engagement. Solenoid click, and that's it. I tried hooking the jump box directly to the starter and ground to the engine, and nothing.

The starter appears to be brand new. I didn't look to see if the TR6 starter has an integrated solenoid -- I suppose that could be a problem, but I'm hearing a good solenoid click. Wiring is anybody's guess, as the car seems to have a bit of non-standard wiring here and there.

I rocked the car in gear and was able to get the fan to move, which tells me that the engine isn't seized, which is always the biggest fear of buying a non-running project car.

Any ideas from the gallery? My plan is to pull the starter and check it. My sense and logic areas of my brain are totally off this week due to the heat and the bit-here/bit-there working on the car (getting filthy and sweaty every single time.) Therefore, I might just be missing something stupid.

At least I tested the lights, turn signals and they all work. Interior lights, as well. Stereo powered up but needs a code (Aarrrgh -- hate that!)

 

[Andrew Mace]

Battery low? Grounds and/or other major electrical connections "iffy"?

 

[Gliderman8]

I agree with Andy... check your battery for charge.

 

[sammyb]

Oh, there's no doubt that the battery is, as Miracle Max would say, Mostly Dead. I've had it on the charger trying to nurse it back to usuable status, and it really was only maintaining a surface charge. Still, with an industrial jump box going directly to the starter, I would have expected something. I'll try swapping out batteries tomorrow just to check that the cells weren't so cooked that it was actually stealing amperage from the circuit.

On the radio front, I removed it entirely to find any additional model numbers and found the security key had been written on the top of it, so it works now.

 

[mrv8q]

On '74s, there is a seatbelt interlock module under the passenger seat. Does your car require the seatbelts be connected to start?

ISTR that by jumping pin 11 to pin 12 on the module, you bypass it, and the car will start. I only know this because of my '74, and a fellow who helped me out....

BTW, also found that disassembling and thorough cleaning of the fuse box worked wonders!

 

[poolboy]

I don't believe he would have even heard a 'click' if that were the scenario, Kevin. The juice from the ignition switch would not made it even as far as the starter relay. However if the white/red and the white/orange wires at the seatbelt warning module have not been spliced together as yet, it would be a good idea to do so now before he has a problem.
The module and the plug are not under the seat but in the upper passenger foot well. You can't miss it. It's round electrical plug has 12 wires, including the 2 I mentioned.

 

[mrv8q]

Poolboy, you are absolutely correct about the location of the interlock; don't know why I typed the "seat", when I meant "footwell". Spent enough time under there, with the module, replacing heater hoses and the glovebox. Thanks for the correction!

Hope Sammy finds his solution...

 

[sammyb]

I got a new battery today. Still the same CLICK. Yesterday I looked and found what appeared to be the interlock -- and IIRC it was already jumpered.

As I mentioned before, I've never heard or seen the car run, so I can't tell people much about the condition before my work.

My next move is to pull the starter. There's always the possibility it was wired incorrectly -- or it suffers from the same issue as what plagued my dad's Lotus Elan a few months ago: the starter was bound up against the ring gear, so we got the same click, but it wouldn't engage until we rolled it back and tried to compression start it and it let loose.