96 Speedster - No crank w/ spark plugs installed

[Milemarker81]

Howdy.

It's a bit of a story so here goes:

About two weeks ago the port engine cut out on me so I limped home on the starboard. It was slow but no issues.

The brass valve gear had gotten trashed so I pulled the engine, cleaned it out and replaced the gear. I reinstalled and all's good with that engine now.

But, out of nowhere, the starboard now refuses to crank when the spark plugs are in.

I've tried battery and new aftermarket starter. Still no luck.

I've read about some sort of hydro locking but that doesn't seem to fit because nothing but air comes out of the plug holes when I crank it with the plugs out. I clamped off the oil supply hose at the tank when pulling the other engine and had to add two quarts when i removed the clamp after the port engine was reinstalled.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Rob

 

[mikidymac]

First the aftermarket starters are absolute junk and are known to be bad out of the box.

If it cranks with plugs out but not in and no water or oil comes out it’s the starter, battery or bad cables or dirty connections.

 

[Milemarker81]

In my defense, the starter rebuild kit was 4 days away while the new starter was next day. I plan on rebuilding the original for when the next one fails.

I went back and checked cables. Great at the battery, great in the electronics box but the one that runs from the mag case to the other mag case wasn't connected. Seems that I forgot that step when re-installing the port engine. I connected it and I'm great now.

Thanks for shoving me in the right direction.

Rob