starter gets no power... please help

[zebra]

so i just did my 4.3 -> 5.3 swap in my 99 NBS. the engine's in, bolted up, all wires & hoses connected, fluids in, battery charged, etc. when i went to start it, everything lit up & dinged as normal when i put the key to the 'run' position. the fuel pump was working (i know because i noticed a leak from one of my fuel line connectors) but when i pushed the clutch in & went to start it, nothing happened...

the odometer went blank, as usual. radio lost power, as usual (not that i had the radio on... i just turned it on once to see if that happened).

we went in with a light probe & the direct battery line to the starter had power. when we jumped the power to the starter solenoid, it would click over. then we checked the probe to the little solenoid screw & tried to start it, but got no power going to it. we then tried the starter relay in another truck & it works fine. next, we went under the fuse block & found the lead to the starter (the bigger purple one) - it had no power when we turned the key.

does anybody have any clue as to what would be causing this?? i triple-checked every plug & terminal connection before & after i dropped the engine in and, as best as i can see, everything is connected as it should be.

the clutch safety switch is still plugged in, and i can hear it click when i push the pedal in. the last time i drove the truck (mid july - when i moved it from the parking lot to the back of the shop to pull the V6), everything worked perfectly except for the broken rod flopping around. the only thing i can think of now is that the harness didn't get wired for the clutch safety switch or the tune doesn't recognize it.

the engine came from a 2001 tahoe (obviously an automatic) and it was sent to current performance to get the appropriate wiring for the manual transmission. the guy who did the work accidentally started rigging it as a standalone, so they had to get another harness & start over. i don't know exactly what they got the replacement harness from, but i'll call in the morning find out. the computer was from scratch as well because i had the black 4-connecter computer and traded it for a tuned silver 411 PCM. i'll need to double check with him to make sure it was tuned accordingly as well

please let me know anything you know

thanks
~z

[txarkitekt]

I would definitely have the PCM checked to see it was flashed to accomodate the manual tranny.

From there, check with the guy who made your harness. More than likely, he will know where for you to look. Good luck!

[zebra]

yeah... they both closed about 20 minutes after we figured it had to either be the harness or computer... dang eastern time!!

i guess i'll be on the phone in the mornin

[txarkitekt]

It always works out that way, doesn't it???

[zebra]

yeah... i thought about just getting the bobcat & pushing it to the top of the hill & dropping the clutch as it started rolling down

then i thought about the fact that i don't even know if the motor runs yet it supposedly fired right up & ran good when the yard got the truck in august...

[straightaxle]

why not just jump the starter?

[zebra]

we did. it would click over then. after chasing it with a probe, it ain't getting power somewhere between the key switch & the relay. i'm gonna do a security relearn first thing & pray it works. if not, i'm gonna make some calls




bump before i go to the shop

[oleshifty]

you should be able to jump the starter to start the truck....i think that's what he meant.


if THAT won't start it, there might be other issues too.

[GasGuzzler]

If you can jump the starter with the key on and it runs the problem is with the base vehicle (wiring, starter solenoid, ignition switch, etc.). If it won't start this way the problem is more likely in the PCM or theft system.

[zebra]

got it sorted out today.

our trucks with manual transmissions have this extra jumper wire in the fuse block. installed it, pushed the clutch, turned the key, & the engine started turning.

details will come when i can get the pics off the camera - it might be a week or so, though