Starter wiring- Please help me out masters! (1989 firebird)

[DustyWusty]

So I bought this firebird a few weeks ago...needs a lot of new stuff but it runs good I was told... ;)

So ive been wondering why the car didnt have any power for about a week now until I finally checked the starter!

Up on ramps now I look at the started and i put a test light to see if its getting power it sparks when i touch it and the fan and lgihts turns on (i had them set on in the cab) and im like holy shit thats cool. The bolt is loose and all rusted so i decide to take it off and sand all the surfaces, as im taking it off something falls...dunno what, maybe some old thread lock or something
I sand the connectors and the bolt and thread post from the starter for a lil then put them back on, more sparks and the fan comes back on, then I decide its a good idea to disconnect the - terminal at the battery so I did that...
I put the
-----------------0 red wire with the loop thingy
-----------------
-----------------0 Another red wire connected to a smaller red wire (like an appliance cord)
back on the started post and begin tightening the nut back on...i get it nice and tight.

Then I reconnect the - terminal at the battery again and nothing happens, no matter how much I wiggle the connections at the starter

NOTE: The ac was set on when it first sparked and the starter post did turn red hot in the spot it was touching the o ring for about 1 second but it was still going when I disconnected the battery

Does this sound like one of the fusible links on the starter + cables? How do I check if there ok? (there the little black circular things in the cables right?)

Please help, I was so excited to have got it sort of working for a second :(

Thanks!

[Corey]

I'm not quite sure I've made sense of what you said but here goes...

First, whether the starter is working or not should not have anything to do with the rest of the car getting power. If it is acting dependent on that somehow I would suspect that the large cable going to the starter is somehow touching the smaller one and kind of providing an alternate route to power the car. It may be a good idea to get the starter and maybe even the battery checked out. Most auto parts stores will do that for free (as long as you take them off first). BTW, the large positive cable should go directly from the positive battery terminal to the large stud on the starter solenoid. Everything else on the car is run by the smaller wire(s) from the positive terminal. May want to check that large one for broken/missing insulation. That would cause a direct short to the battery.

The smaller wires at the starter should connect to the small stud on the solenoid.

You can check the fusible links with a continuity tester. The auto parts store should have one for 6 or 7 bucks. You can also use it to help look for shorts in the battery cables. Make sure the battery is disconnected when you use it.

You might also try totally disconnecting the wires from the starter and see if that restores power to the rest of the car. Just don't let the exposed ends touch anything. Wrap them in tape or something.

Hope this helps some.

Not that it really matters at this point, but is it a v6 or v8?

[DustyWusty]

Thanks for the reply, its a v8 ill read slower when I get to school, ill shoot you a reply to clear things up then

Thanks!

[karlseus]

When I replaced my engine I removed the starter, and did not take note to the number of terminals on the starter or the location of the wires. When I installed the engine and finally got to installing the starter I hooked it up thinking I had it hooked up right. Well it did not work. It did absolutly nothing. All of the other power to the car was fine. Saying this I discovered something.

There is 3 terminals on my starter. The big one (which is connected to the main battery cable) and 2 little terminals. If you have the little starter wire connected to the wrong terminal it will not work.

Also make sure the alternator is hooked up.