Could problem with Ammeter gauge cause no start issue?

[WH23G3G]

I still haven't figured out the reason for my Valiant not to start up with the key switch. I've checked everything I know that should be getting power is getting power when the key is turned. I tried grounding the NSS terminal and nothing changes. I can't even get a click from the relay, no sound at all. The only way I can turn the engine over is by crossing the relay with a screwdriver. It's driving me nuts. I've since remove all the wiring at the firewall to verify the appropriate wires are in the right spot and they are. I used a donor 65 Valiant harness since the ammeter wires were melted on my original one. I also have a donor set of gauges from another Valiant. I spliced in the new ammeter wires, soldered and covered them. Those are the only wires I had to cut to splice in the replacement harness. I was told by a mechanic my no start problem could lie in there. He said the ammeter gauge was notorious for causing no starts on old Chryslers. I did verify the nuts were tight on the back of the gauge. I did notice that none of the gauges seem to move when I turn the power on. I don't know why but the gas gauge worked last time I messed with it. I had a voltage limiter on the back that I tested which is good. And I had something that looked like a radio condenser that I was told was for the fuel gauge, but I can't find it on any wiring diagrams so I took it off. Maybe that's why the fuel gauge doesn't work now. The mechanic told me to disconnect the wires at the ammeter and bolt them both to one of the studs on the ammeter. What is that supposse to do? I did verify it's getting power when I probed the studs. I havent tried putting both the wires on one stud yet. I notice the 12 gauge brown wire going from the small stud on the starter to the SOL terminal on the relay doesn't light up the test light when I turn the key. Is it suppose to have power?

[69_XS29L]

First set the park brake and chock the tires, when you start jumping wires it is possible to start the car in gear, I know, 'cause I have done it. You should have at least battery voltage at both sides of the ammeter at all times. Bolting both wires together on a single stud eliminates the possibility of an open condition inside the gauge. Power to the start switch red wire comes from the black wire/alternator side of the ammeter so an open should theoretically kill power to the start switch. Check for power coming into the start switch red wire which should be hooked to the 'B' terminal. If good then turn the key and you should have power to the yellow switch wire out to the start relay hooked to the 'S' terminal. The NSS merely supplies a ground for the yellow wire through the start relay allowing the relay to close. No power to the yellow wire suggests bad start switch. Hot wire/jump the red to the yellow behind the switch and you should have power to both the yellow wire into the start relay and the brown wire out to the NSS terminal as checked both at the start relay and the NSS terminal itself. No power indicates open relay. When this circuit is complete you should have power at the start relay wire headed for the start solenoid, I forget what color this wire is on my Charger. Verify that the NSS is in fact a good ground w/ the transmission in P or N. If it is then you should have power going to the wire headed out from the start relay to the start solenoid. No power indicates bad relay. You said you can jump the solenoid and it works, but what you should be able to do is jump the heavy power lead coming in from the battery to the small wire from the relay and have it work, not just jump the two heavy gauge terminals together if that is what you are doing.
The condenser is just that. The volt limiter functions just like your old mechanical alt regulator, opening and closing to limit the instruments to 5+- volts of input. The condenser is meant to absorb the clicking or buzzing that one might hear in the radio from this switch occuring I believe. It should plug into the ground leg of the circuit board. Don't understand the fuel gauge part of your problem. Hope this helps, good luck.

[WH23G3G]

I just want to make sure if I unbolt both wires going to the ammeter studs and connect them to one single stud nothing will burn or catch on fire? My electrical knowledge even on this simple of a wiring harness is limited. I do know that the yellow wire has power when the key is turned to start at the switch and outside going through the firewall. All connections to the ignition switch have power. The only one that didn't show power was the brown smaller gauge wire coming for the small stud on the starter to the SOL terminal on the relay. When the key is turned to start the test light didn't light up. Everyone seems to think it's a shorted relay. But I just replaced because that's what I thought it was before. I doubt two could be bad, I had even replaced the one before that not but a few months before. I can try the two ammeter connections to one stud, but I don't what else to test. Just want to make sure it won't burn up my harness by testing it that way.   

[Ghoste]

Just make sure when you join them that it is a good solid connection and that it is insulated and not able to short itself out on anything.

[69_XS29L]

If you have the same voltage on both studs of the ammeter there should be no need to disconnect them. The connection is solid inside I believe and there is a coil that generates the field that the gauge reads as current is passed through the gauge.
Think of the relay circuit this way. You must have battery voltage at the big red wire into the relay. With the key in start, you should have close to battery voltage all the way from the yellow wire terminal at the key switch, into the yellow wire terminal at the relay, out the brown wire terminal to the wire that goes to the neutral safety switch, and through the NSS to ground at the transmission. Once this circuit is closed or complete, the relay pulls it's contacts together and sends battery voltage out through the (other) brown wire going to the solenoid. If the brown wire on the solenoid itself has no power then check these:
1 - I'm not sure what year your Valiant is. If you have a three wire connector at the transmission then I believe the center wire is the ground for the relay. If current is not getting to ground at the transmission, then the wire is broken or could have been melted on an exhaust pipe. This is common, so there is actually no power arriving at the NSS, or the NSS itself is open or misadjusted. Disconnect the wire at the NSS and check for voltage arriving w/ the key in start. Then check for continuity to ground through the NSS. W/ the wire disconnected, use an ohmmeter or self powered continuity light to make sure the current gets all the way to ground through the NSS and into the transmission. If not then the NSS is misadjusted or defective.
2 - If this circuit is complete, and you know for sure power is getting to ground at the transmission, then battery voltage should appear at the terminal headed out to the solenoid. If not then the solenoid is open inside or defective. If it was shorted to ground then you would be burning wires.
3 - Apply battery voltage at the relay to the wire headed to the solenoid. The solenoid should engage and the starter turn over. If it does not then check for voltage at the solenoid itself. If you don't have close to battery voltage right at the small wire solenoid terminal, then you have an open wire somewhere between the relay and solenoid.
So, the big wire at the relay must have battery voltage. W/ the key in start, both sides of the relay must have close to battery voltage and that voltage must get all the way to ground through the NSS at the transmission. Voltage must appear at the relay terminal for the wire to the solenoid and get all the way to the small stud on the solenoid.

[WH23G3G]

Well I know there is power at both studs of the ammeter. I don't think there was power at the NSS terminal on the starter relay. But that's just a ground. Mine is one threaded stud terminal. It's a 65 cable operated 904. I'm wondering what all happened because when I got the car two years ago it had all the mangled and melted dash harness in there and it started with the key. I've got a new forward/light engine harness and a lot better dash harness and I can't get anything to happen. I didn't ever touch or mess with the NSS. I painted the firewall and inner fenders. Added new ballast resistor, relay, voltage regulator, new battery cables, new starter, new distributor points/ type, coil, and tested and reinstalled the alternator. Everything under the dash is the same except the donor harness, ignition switch. This ignition switch is exactly like the original except it has an extra terminal that says GRD that the original didn't have. But I have 3 extra originals and I tried them all it doesn't help. I did disconnect the wire at the GRD terminal on the starter relay which is the NSS wire and I jumped a wire from there to the exhaust manifold bold to act as a ground. Nothing changed. Doesn't that rule out the NSS and it's wire? I even tried in all gears with it like that. My last option was to totally pull the dash harness out and re-check ever single wire. Although I don't know if I'll find anything. I could have a wire hooked up wrong somewhere. I know the horn relay is stuck too because the horn switch is broken and I disconnected it so I don't know if that causes problems.   

[WH23G3G]

I can't figure this problem out on this 65 Valiant. Here is what I again tested today. The starter relay stud where the positive cable goes does in fact have 12+ all the time. Here is what I tested with the ignition key turn as if I were trying to start the car. I used a test light. The yellow wire from the ignition switch to the bulkhead connector does have power. Then I checked outside under the hood at the bulkhead connector yellow w/black tracer to relay does have power when the key is turned to start. The Brown NSS wire from the GRD connector on the starter relay to the NSS does have power when the key is turned to start. I don't know if it has power at the NSS itself or if it even should. This NSS is a single stud threaded one. The wire from the GRD terminal of the starter relay to the NSS is kinda ratty and has been spliced in the middle. I did not put both red and black terminals on one stud of the ammeter like was suggessted from a mechanic. Because when I probed the studs on the ammeter they showed power both with the key in the ON position and when the key was turned to RUN. The red side showed 12 volts and the black side showed 10.51 volts. This was done just with the key on. The voltmeter black hooked to a ground and I probed with the red lead. I also checked that the small gauge brown wire from the small stud on the starter to the SOL terminal on the relay did have power when I crossed the two terminals with a screwdriver. What could possibly be going on? It's beginning to aggravate me.