1987 Crown Vic LTD - Replaced Heater Core, Now Won't Start??
 

Hello,

I have a 1987 Crown Victoria LTD, and just replaced the heater core in the car. Got everything back in, but now I can't get it to start. The car clicks one time right when you first try to start it, but doesn't click repeatedly like you would expect it to if the battery was dead. Also, the lights and radio all work fine, so again, doesn't seem to indicate the battery is dead. Any ideas on what I can check to find out why it's not working, or ideas as to what might be causing it to not work. We did remove all the dashboard trimming and dropped the steering column in order to get to the heater core, so it's possible something was disturbed then, but visually we cannot see anything that has been broken or disconnected. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

There is a good possibility the wiring/connection from the ign switch to the neutral safety switch then on to the starter solenoid has an open circuit. If you have a test light clip the clamp on to the small wire at the starter solenoid then bring the test lite up to where you can see it and jam the point into a good ground anywhere , then attempt to start the engine. If it lights the circuit should be OK and you might confine your efforts to the starter section. If it doesn't lite, start at the ign switch and check from there to the neutral safety switch and from there to the solenoid at the starter.

Did you reconnect all the ground wires and are the battery cables clean and tight?

Maybe just whack the starter with a hammer while trying to crank it? Maybe the heater core was done correctly, but the starter crapped out at an inopportune moment?