Allright, well this afternoon I installed my new distributor I got from Summit, I picked up a new Mallory unit since I was sick of trying to fix and get my old one to perform.

Anyways, I got it in the car and started the car up twice in order to get the timing okay, but the car seemed to keep dying. So the third time I went to start it, I started it and then went to get the timing right, well I revved it a few times and thenit died again, however after it died, it kept cranking, and cranking, and cranking. I pulled the key out, nope, still cranking, tried putting it back in, and still nothing is working and the engine is STILL cranking (can't be too good for the started), finally, after about 30 seconds of trying to figure this **** out, I went and unhooked the negative from the battery to stop it. At this time the battery is completely dead, no power to the lights, horn, radio, etc, no matter what position the key is in.

Now, whenever I go to hook up the negative, it just drains the battery, I tried jumping it and the cables got REALLY hot and the second I put them on my battery, the car tried once again to start cranking, thisis without the key even in the ignition! I just had my old distributor in last night and it was working fine, so it has nothing to do with my wiring on anything but the distributor, so I've narrowed it down to that.

Anyone know what the problem could be? I have the ground on the distributor installed, I don't really know where else to go from there. The first 2-3 times the car started and shut off fine, now I can't get it to work at all, so it seems like it came on kinda suddenly. Anyone got any ideas?

I was thinking maybe started solenoid?

-Thanks, Brandon

 

classic starter solenoid, the problem is, the extended cranking probably overheated the starter motor, and may have damaged the wiring going to the starter...

I'd pop off the starter and trade it in as a core at the parts store - they're not expensive, and who needs the hassle of swapping the solenoid, only to find out that the starter motor is also cooked.

Spend some time checking out the wiring going down to the starter as well, pull the loom back and feel along the length of the wires to see if the insulation is damaged, or if the wires are shorted together. Pay close attention to the red-orangish wires that attach to the solenoid, if they feel "hollow" the've burnt up - they are called "fusible links", and they're designed to burn out in this kind of situation, instead of overloading the battery, and possibly having it explode...

If the battery won't recharge, it may have shorted internally - I wouldn't try jump starting it again, if there is a short present in your car, it could damage the other car, possibly even causing the other car's battery to explode... just put is on a charger on slow, and watch for signs of it "boiling"...

Most likely you just need a $10 solenoid and a recharge on the battery, but put in a little extra time so you don't cook more parts, or possibly get hurt by a battery going nuclear on you...