Bebop Man
Member
Yesterday I went out to drive to my next appointment after lunch. I turn the key, and nada. Zilch. Zippo.
No lights on the dash, and nothing was operating, like the radio or the fan. But, I could see lights on some of the devices I have plugged into the cigarette light, so I knew the battery was still ok.
I flip the key back and forth, from the off to accessory, then back again, then from off to run to start. Once in awhile, i was able to hear the radio kick on as I switched to the ACC, but it was intermittant.
I took off the shroud around the steering column and I could see the bar move from the lock cylinder to the ignition switch. I fiddled with the wiring harness, wiggled it around to see if it was loose or something. Then I left the key in the RUN position, and tried shorting the terminals of the starter solenoid, to see if I could get it to fire. It would crank, but not catch.
After about 15 minutes of wiggling and turning the key, it finally fired up. Ran fine for the rest of the day and this morning.
When I got home, I did a search here on the board, and found the ignition switch test post and printed it out. I pulled the switch, tested the pins against the switch position, and everything matched. No signs of broken cable, worn insulation, or anything.
Today, it wouldn't start again. But when I tried to short the started solenoid terminals (with the key in RUN), all the dash lights and such came on right away, and I was able to start it up.
A friend advised me to check the physical position of the switch, as there is some adjustment room, perhaps the switch had slipped down the column far enough that when the key was in the RUN position, the switch would still be in OFF. I checked that, matching the switch position against the extremes of the lock cylinder movement.
I have a new started solenoid, but I'm not sure this will solve the problem. The schematic from my Haynes book is most unhelpful.
Anyone have any ideas?
No lights on the dash, and nothing was operating, like the radio or the fan. But, I could see lights on some of the devices I have plugged into the cigarette light, so I knew the battery was still ok.
I flip the key back and forth, from the off to accessory, then back again, then from off to run to start. Once in awhile, i was able to hear the radio kick on as I switched to the ACC, but it was intermittant.
I took off the shroud around the steering column and I could see the bar move from the lock cylinder to the ignition switch. I fiddled with the wiring harness, wiggled it around to see if it was loose or something. Then I left the key in the RUN position, and tried shorting the terminals of the starter solenoid, to see if I could get it to fire. It would crank, but not catch.
After about 15 minutes of wiggling and turning the key, it finally fired up. Ran fine for the rest of the day and this morning.
When I got home, I did a search here on the board, and found the ignition switch test post and printed it out. I pulled the switch, tested the pins against the switch position, and everything matched. No signs of broken cable, worn insulation, or anything.
Today, it wouldn't start again. But when I tried to short the started solenoid terminals (with the key in RUN), all the dash lights and such came on right away, and I was able to start it up.
A friend advised me to check the physical position of the switch, as there is some adjustment room, perhaps the switch had slipped down the column far enough that when the key was in the RUN position, the switch would still be in OFF. I checked that, matching the switch position against the extremes of the lock cylinder movement.
I have a new started solenoid, but I'm not sure this will solve the problem. The schematic from my Haynes book is most unhelpful.
Anyone have any ideas?
