Don't know if painless harness is the same, but in the AAW harness, I think it tells you to splice the NSS wires together if you have a manual transmission. Should be stated in the instructions somewhere.

 

I believe in that 4 pin connector, there seems to be 2 wires that are looped already.

 

test to see if you are getting power to the starter motor itself- could be a bad solenoid. Otherwise as Dan said- find the NSS wires and either connect them to the trans switch, or bypass them together if you have a hand shaker. And I'm assuming you're planning on fixing the bare wire splices and loose bare wires I see in the pics??

 

Grab your handy test light. Attach the alligator clip to the big lug on the rearward side of the starter solenoid (see photo) and stick the probe into the gap between the negative (ground) post and terminal. Turn the key to "start". If the light comes on but the starter doesn't crank, investigate the connection at the solenoid (based on the photo it desperately needs cleaning), cable to the starter motor, the starter motor itself and the ground path to the starter motor.

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Hi Woodchuck, today I took my dremel with a wire wheel, cleaned up all the nuts and eyelids, especially on the negative terminal of the solenoid.
I can confirm the solenoid itself, and the circled terminal are both nicely grounded.

after the cleaning, I did what you said, put my alligator clip on the circled terminal, and wedged the probe in the negative battery post, no crank, no light on test light.
I also tried the same thing but instead put the alligator clip on the "S" post. this lit up the test light during crank, this tells us the ignition switch is indeed supplying power to the "S" post on the solenoid.

if its not a ground problem, and not an ignition problem, this brings me back to believing the neutral safety switch is the issue at hand.

 

Here's a way you can test your solenoid to make sure it's not the issue: First - make sure your transmission is in NEUTRAL and the ignition is off. Remove the wire from the small lug on the front of solenoid (towards the battery). Take a screwdriver and put the flat end against the large lug on the left side of the solenoid as your looking at it from the engine bay (where the POSITIVE cable from the battery is hooked up). Touch the shaft of the screwdriver to the small lug you removed the wire from. This should cause the starter to spin without starting the car. If it doesn't, check your cables and connections.

From looking at your pictures, I would first remove and clean all the connections on the solenoid. The cable ends, lugs, and nuts are all pretty corroded/dirty from what I can see. Also, with the neutral cable off the battery to prevent sparking, I would remove the solenoid from the fender apron and clean the area behind it and where the bolts are to make sure there is a good ground connection.

 

Here's a way you can test your solenoid to make sure it's not the issue: First - make sure your transmission is in NEUTRAL and the ignition is off. Remove the wire from the small lug on the front of solenoid (towards the battery). Take a screwdriver and put the flat end against the large lug on the left side of the solenoid as your looking at it from the engine bay (where the POSITIVE cable from the battery is hooked up). Touch the shaft of the screwdriver to the small lug you removed the wire from. This should cause the starter to spin without starting the car. If it doesn't, check your cables and connections.

From looking at your pictures, I would first remove and clean all the connections on the solenoid. The cable ends, lugs, and nuts are all pretty corroded/dirty from what I can see. Also, with the neutral cable off the battery to prevent sparking, I would remove the solenoid from the fender apron and clean the area behind it and where the bolts are to make sure there is a good ground connection.

Hello, I went ahead and cleaned all my connections with a wire wheel on a dremel. I can say with confidence that all the solenoid connections are well grounded. I did as you said, and used a screwdriver to jump the positive terminal on the solenoid, to the "S" post on the solenoid. aside from a very small spark, there was no spinning, no cranking, nothing. that tells us, the ignition switch is not the issue.
In addition, i put the alligator clip from my testlight on the "S" post, wedged the test light probe between the negative battery terminal and the terminal clamp, turned the key to the crank position, and it did light up when in the crank position. more evidence that the ignition switch is working, and all signs point to neutral safety switch, some other wiring mistake on the solenoid, or even a bad battery.

 

Grab your handy test light. Attach the alligator clip to the big lug on the rearward side of the starter solenoid (see photo) and stick the probe into the gap between the negative (ground) post and terminal. Turn the key to "start". If the light comes on but the starter doesn't crank, investigate the connection at the solenoid (based on the photo it desperately needs cleaning), cable to the starter motor, the starter motor itself and the ground path to the starter motor.

 

Even though everything worked before, never underestimate the possibility that sh*t happens. And the connections on the solenoid look iffy to me too. Do what Woodchuck said.

 

Before getting too deep, I would also test your battery. 12.4 volts is under 80% charge or 75% charge if AGM type. If an overnight charge only got you that far, you may have battery problems complicating the issues. I would verify. 12.0V is ±50% charge and iffy to start the engine.

 

UPDATE: wow i feel a little silly. turns out the battery was completely dead, and the battery charger that ive had for 10 years, does not work. used a different charger for 15 minutes, and its cranking! next step is to see if it starts, if not, ill be asking yall questions regarding the distributor wiring. Thanks!

 

Before getting too deep, I would also test your battery. 12.4 volts is under 80% charge or 75% charge if AGM type. If an overnight charge only got you that far, you may have battery problems complicating the issues. I would verify. 12.0V is ±50% charge and iffy to start the engine.

Don't forget the need to also compensate for electrolyte temperature....