Painless install. WonÂ’t crank

[rfleeman]

I ended up tackling the painless wiring install myself and have all the lights and accessories working! Big problem now is that when I turn the key to crank it I get absolutely nothing at all. Any tips to would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rfleeman]

Should have mentioned that it's a manual so the NSS shouldn't be an issue

 

[SHX669]

Did you connect the two NSS wires together ?

 

[DirtDonk]

With any aftermarket harness the NSS / Start circuit can still be an issue. Like SHX said, check to see how painless expects you to use the red with blue stripe wire.
If it's just a single wire from ignition switch to starter relay and you're expected to cut it to use with an NSS, then you should be good as is. But if it's two separate wires that you're expected to connect in the absence of a neutral safety switch, then you have to do that.

I remember that Centech actually had two start wires. One for use with an automatic and the other for use with a manual. So you had to use the right one. I can't remember how painless has theirs.

If yours is just one wire, or you have already connected it the way painless asks you to, then check power at the wire coming out of the ignition switch, check for power reaching the starter relay, and then check the starter relay itself.
It's rare to have a bad circuit from painless, though it can happen. It's more common to have a bad ignition switch and or a bad starter relay.

Do you know how to test the starter relay? That's actually The easiest step so you might even start with that.

 

[rfleeman]

Thanks everyone. It actually was the NSS. Connected those two together and now I'm good to go!

 

[joshforrest12]

Thanks everyone. It actually was the NSS. Connected those two together and now I'm good to go!

Did you just splice the two together or use a toggle switch? I’m having the same issue . Cant seem to figure out why I have no crank. I have power at ignition, power to the #919 at the starter relay. I tried connecting the two #919 nss wires together and still nothing

 

[DirtDonk]

So you’re saying that when the key is turned all the way to start, you have power on the red with blue wire at the starter relay?
Is it connected to the small post on the left marked with an “S” or the other one?
Is the starter relay cleanly bolted to the body to get its ground?
If that checks out, you may have a bad starter relay. This happens quite often these days.

You can fairly easily test this by running a jumper wire from the positive battery cable to the small S post.
If the battery is connected and fully charged, you should hear it click and the starter should crank.
Make sure it’s in neutral with the parking brake set and don’t be surprised when it cranks!

 

[joshforrest12]

So you’re saying that when the key is turned all the way to start, you have power on the red with blue wire at the starter relay?
Is it connected to the small post on the left marked with an “S” or the other one?
Is the starter relay cleanly bolted to the body to get its ground?
If that checks out, you may have a bad starter relay. This happens quite often these days.

You can fairly easily test this by running a jumper wire from the positive battery cable to the small S post.
If the battery is connected and fully charged, you should hear it click and the starter should crank.
Make sure it’s in neutral with the parking brake set and don’t be surprised when it cranks!

Yes everything connected. On the research I’ve done, people say to connect both #919 wires together if you don’t have a NSS. Did that. Turn ignition to start and nothing. Have 12v at the red/blue line on the ignition, 12v at the S terminal on the starter relay, but no crank. Brand new starter relay as well. I am, however using the original voltage regulator. Would that have anything to do with my issue if that’s possibly bad? I’ve induced 12v on the starter itself, and it cranks. I’m a little baffled as to what the cause is.

 

[Oldtimer]

Run a jumper wire from the battery NAGATIVE post to the bolt that holds starter relay to the fender.

 

[DirtDonk]

Ford starter relays are probably one of the most often cited modern parts that fail within a few starts, or are simply bad right out of the box.
So you can’t rule that out just yet.

Being that it’s new makes even more likely to be bad than if it was old. In fact, we usually say that getting an old tired one out of the junkyard is a better gamble than buying a brand new one over the counter.

You’ve done half the testing by jumping the starter. You now know the starter works, but if you went directly to the starter, you don’t know whether the relay is good, or the starter cable is good, or the positive battery cable is good.
So work your way up the line and jumper the starter up at the relay. If you did that already, then you have verified that the starter cable is good as well.
Next step is to jumper from one side of the starter relay to the other side of the starter relay on the big studs.
If the starter cranks, then you have verified that the battery is good, the battery cable is good, the starter cable is good, and the starter is good. Leaving only the starter relay.
So the final test (short of testing the ground as suggested) would be to jump from the battery positive to the S post.
if the starter still doesn’t crank, then you have verified that the starter relay is bad.
Or it’s not grounded properly to the body.

Do you have a main body ground? That would be a wire of at least 10 gauge from the battery negative directly to the body nearby.