Good And Bad News With 71 Challenger

[Daveh]

Ok the good news is that the Challenger is wired new engine harness rear light harness since the P.O. butchered everything.  Everything went in fine but the bad news is that nothing is powered so I need a place to start looking for the culprit.  As you may or may not know I relocated the battery to the trunk and I have power at the starter.  And the battery is completely charged.

So knowing that where do you suggest that I begin?  It seems like it could be one thing since nothing is working.  All of the grounds are on fresh bare metal, not to say that I missed one but not having anything seems weird.  So throw at me what you think and I will begin checking. 

I'm excited that after all of these years of putting the car back together I'm about ready to start it, so in the big picture what's another minor issue like this.     Thanks

Dave

[Cuda Cody]

What wiring are you using?  When you say you don't have power, have you followed the power along and see where it stops?  If this a steering column issue or a fuse box or ground?

[JonH]

If you relocated the battery to the trunk, and you have power to the starter, can we assume you ran the positive cable directly to the starter? From there you should have run a wire to the starter relay on the inner fender, assuming it is still in use? This 12 volt connection on the starter relay is what powers the rest of the car. This is assuming that other than battery relocation, your electrical system is stock/OEM.

[Topcat]

Did you increase the wire dia. to compensate for the length?

Should look at running 4 guage.

[Daveh]

Yes I increased the wire diameter.  I used welding cable like recommended from people on this site.

I purchased both wiring harness's from Year one.

Yes the entire system is stock except for the Distributor I'm running a Pertronix unit. 

Yes I did run the wire from the starter to the relay.  I will start checking at the relay tomorrow.

[Topcat]

With key in on position:

In neutral; cross the relay screws with a screwdriver and see if it'll start.

[Chryco Psycho]

You still need a 10 ga wire from the large  terminal on the starter where the battery cable is connected up to the start relay where the power goes through the fusable link into the bulkhead & into the fuse block & ign switch

[Daveh]

Ok the starter Relay on the firewall has power from the starter.  Now where do I start checking?  Thanks

[dodj]

Starter relay to Red wire at bulkhead connector next. There is a fusible link between the two.

[Daveh]

Ok so I have power at the relay and then I pulled the bulkhead connector and tested the red wire and it was powered. I hooked the test light under the dash with the harness in the bulkhead connector and checked the fuses and nothing was hot.  I made a jumper wire from the firewall to the harness just to make sure I was getting contact and I'm definitely getting power to the bulkhead.  From there I'm note certain none of the fuses are hot with or without the key one.  What do I do next? 

[dodj]

Next it goes through the ammeter, then back to the fuse panel. Is the ammeter connected? Should get 12v on both terminals. If you only have 12v on one side, jumper it.
(disconnect battery first....)

[Daveh]

No I don't have an ammeter.  I installed all aftermarket gauges and wired them normally and didn't use any of the old gauge wiring.  So how do I get around it and have everything be powered?  Thanks in advance.

[Chryco Psycho]

You should have 2 large wires in the area of the gauges , 1 red & 1 black with ring terminals on the wires , you can crimp or bolt them both together & insulate them

[Daveh]

Yes I did that Neil based on your recommendation a long time ago when I had it all apart. 

So what do I do next to get this thing powered?  Thanks

[anlauto]

Wow...great looking set-up ! Those gauges fit nice in there