Grounds with fenders off

I would say no. Grounded to the fender, grounded to the rad support should be the same if the front clip were on, they're bolted together.

There are 2 sides to an electrical circuit, the negative, in this case ground, and the positive side so don't jump to the conclusion that it's a ground issue.

Your engine is grounded via the negative battery cable to alt bracket. Not sure what year your car is but that's how a 70 came from the factory. Is there a star washer under the cable clamp that can bite through the paint? Do you here a click from the solenoid when you try to start it?

You may have problems with gauges and lights if the dash isn't grounded properly but you should still be able to crank the engine. 12v comes from the ignition switch through the neutral safety switch to the S lug on the starter, purple wire. The engine provides the ground for that circuit, not the dash or chassis.

Check for 12v at the neutral safety switch then work back to ignition switch or other way to starter depending on whether you have 12v or not.

jbrockman said:

Thanks "finally"... It's a 71 Malibu with factory AC


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Okay, what's important is you have a good solid connection of the battery negative cable to the engine. It can be the alt bracket, that's how mine is, or the block or head. If you have that then do what I suggested and start checking where you do and don't have 12v going to the starter solenoid. I assume you have a good connection from battery positive cable to main lug on the starter. Do you hear any clicking of the solenoid when trying to start the engine?

Jeff,

Yes the starter is grounded to the engine by the fact that it is bolted to the block, does not require a separate ground. Follows Joe's advice, I suspect you won't see 12v at the starter on the purple wire, that is if it's connected properly. The purple wire goes on the lug closest to the engine. Yellow wire goes to lug farthest from engine if you still have original points style distributor. If it's been changed to HEI distributor the yellow wire is not needed.

Also, it's time to put a charger on your battery. It's discharged enough that it may not be able to start the engine. If everything was working properly it should try but may not enough juice to spin the engine. A fully charged battery should be around 12.8v, 12.2v and it's about dead.

jbrockman said:

Thanks... I didn't know the battery reading 12.3 was almost dead... That's good to know...Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

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Many people assume a 12v car battery should read 12v. At 12v most cars won't start, 12v is less than 50% of full charge. A fully charged 12v car battery will read 12.6v. After charging you'll read a little higher until the surface charge drains off which can take awhile.

jbrockman said:

UPDATE: purple wire for starter solenoid test light lit with key crank... Purple wire to neutral safety switch light did NOT light at all...


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jbrockman said:

UPDATE CONT: test light lit on purple wire from neutral safety switch to ignition switch with key crank...


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Well I'm confused? Not sure where you have 12v and where you don't.

At solenoid, yes or no?

At neutral safety switch, yes or no?

Somethings not right. You can't have 12v at the solenoid if you don't have 12v both side of neutral safety switch. If you do have 12v at the solenoid it should crank over, you don't need anything else.

Good news, glad you got it sorted out. Now you just need to adjust the neutral safety switch or possibly replace it if it's bad. Hey, and you learned a lot about your car in the process.