BillK

I do not. Dielectric grease is actually an insulator.

BillK

And that is why you have to use a voltmeter to check them They might look perfect and clean but they actually are not.

ICDEDPPL

I had starting issues and once I replaced all the battary cables they all went away

zz28zz

Also make sure ign timing isn't too far advanced at idle. Once had MSD distributor advance weights/springs rust (on both engs) and ign was stuck at full advance. Starter was fighting against cyls firing too early. Actually bent the starter bolts on one eng.

In addition to checking the batt cables and ground cables, check the voltage coming from ign switchs that engage the starters. I've seen where the ign switch was old and passed enough current to make the solenoid click sound but not enough to fully engage the solenoid. This lead to the contacts in the solenoid burning up prematurely.

Brad Christy

BillK,

But it allows for contact penetration, which is why we see it in electrical connections all the time. What it really does is prevents corrosion and arcing around the contact points.

Thanks. Brad.

Tartilla

Regular EP2 style grease non-moly works great on all buss style electrical connections and battery terminals. 100x better than the spray on protection style.

PQ290Enticer

I have one ignition switch that was a little hard to turn so I had already ordered 2 replacements. I assumed if the solenoids were clicking that the switches were probably okay and the problem is "downstream" of the ignition switches. Would be nice if this takes care of it.
It turns out that I didn't adjust the valves correctly after replacing the one set of lifters and then I went through both engines to better align the rockers. Anyway, I hooked up a remote starter switch directly to the starter solenoid and the starters worked fine every time I hit the button. Thanks for the heads up.

Rookie

I once had the square plug under the dash full of corrosion. (yellow/red wire) It had enough voltage to click the solenoid but not enough to maintain continuity and actually engage starter. Took a while to find that one.

PQ290Enticer

In the interest of closing out this thread, BillK nailed it. I got a buddy to help me troubleshoot this and he slowly walked me through my connections and checking voltage readings and there was a voltage drop at the slave solenoid. Hit the key "click" and it dropped to 6.5 volts at the large lugs on the slave solenoid. Not enough to trigger the starter solenoid. I attached the purple wire to one of the larger lugs on the slave solenoid and ran a jumper from there to the coils. In my defense, the sheet I got with the new electrical whip for the engines didn't say anything about the red wire (in the illustration) from the 50 amp breaker going to the slave solenoid. It looked to me like a straight shot from the breaker to the whip. I now have the wire from the breaker going to the slave solenoid and put the purple wire directly to the coils. That main red wire from the engine harness is not hooked up anywhere right now however everything seems to be powered up. I haven't pulled it out of the shop to see if it runs or not but the starters work perfectly now. Where is that red wire supposed to go?? I swapped out the old alternators for new high output single wire units so I don't need it there.
On the bright side, I now have more ground connections than needed so that shouldn't be a problem for a while. I have replaced brand new starters with brand new(er) starters. I have new ignition switches (they needed replacing anyway) and now have a better understanding on how some things work.
I knew the problem was going to be me, I just had to find out where I went wrong. My apologies to you guys that tried to help me. It's hard to help someone when you don't' have all of the info. I changed out the engine wiring harness and failed to mention that.
Thanks to everyone for your help.

BillK

Thanks for the update. Glad its fixed !!!!