Part Identification Time: Would this be the problem?

[Surf Charger]

Evening gents. So I get everything put back together and go to fire up the charger....but nothing. Check the batter...its good. All grounds are good. Battery cables good...connection to starter good. No fuses blown, etc.

So I use a piece of wire to bypass this solenoid pictured below (i'm guessing its the solenoid..but I'm new to chargers so what do I know!). Either way, it cranked up fine if I bypass it with a piece of wire. Took my meter and checked voltage going through each wire...all connections are getting power...just not sure about the connection from the ignition switch to the solenoid. I turn the key and get nothing..not even a click. But if I jump a wire across this solenoid, it fires right up.

So the question lies there....where can I get another one of these?... and do you indeed think that is the problem?

[skip68]

Starter relay, Autozone has them for $12.   Check your ignition switch and make sure all the wires are hooked up.

[skip68]

Try moving the shifter around with the key in the start position.   Could be a neutral safety switch issue....   I've had that problem before. 

[Surf Charger]

Try moving the shifter around with the key in the start position.   Could be a neutral safety switch issue....   I've had that problem before. 

I originally tried this (moving the shifter). Gonna try again. Where is the neutral safety switch located exactly?

Starter relay, Autozone has them for $12.   Check your ignition switch and make sure all the wires are hooked up.

I will go ahead and pick one of these up just for safe measure.

[Carrnutt]

It is on the transmission, has 3 wires to it, on driver's side.

[Surf Charger]

It is on the transmission, has 3 wires to it, on driver's side.

Thank you!

[Kern Dog]

Tha Auto Zone relays DO work okay, but I'd rather spend a few more bucks on an Echlin part from Napa.

[djcarguy]

take apart and clean the wire blukhead connector there on your firewall and use deox electrical grease when going back together,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,check fuseable link to...good luck

[rick.d]

I agree with what was said already, especially the ignition switch. If you get a new switch, it should come with the harness that goes down through the steering column to a connector at the base of the column. I've replaced more than a few of them.

[Surf Charger]

take apart and clean the wire blukhead connector there on your firewall and use deox electrical grease when going back together,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,check fuseable link to...good luck

I did this. Cleaned all of the connection points and added electrical grease. Weird b/c the car cranked/turned over fine via the ignition before I parked it in the garage. I had to move the shifter a few times so I'm wondering if the true problem lies in the neutral safety switch issue?

Not sure how to determine if the fuseable link is bad as it is built inside the wire. I may just try to pick up a new one regardless.

Is a fuseable link something that can be purchased from napa/autozone?

Tha Auto Zone relays DO work okay, but I'd rather spend a few more bucks on an Echlin part from Napa.

I may run to Napa and pick up the part. I've had some bad luck with Autozone/Advanced Auto parts lately.

[404NOTFOUND]

Reach under the dash and push the electrical plug against the ignition key switch. It can come loose. Mine did twice.

[Surf Charger]

Reach under the dash and push the electrical plug against the ignition key switch. It can come loose. Mine did twice.

Thanks! I will try that as well!

best regards

[Surf Charger]

Thanks to everyone. Got her running. Not sure which one it was but after jiggling the back of the ignition inside the car and jiggling the neutral safety switch underneath, it cranks up fine now. Thanks again for all of the suggestions!

[Surf Charger]

Thanks to everyone. Got her running. Not sure which one it was but after jiggling the back of the ignition inside the car and jiggling the neutral safety switch underneath, it cranks up fine now. Thanks again for all of the suggestions!

Well..back to the drawing board. I am at a loss.  

After turning the key with no start, I jiggled the back of the ignition switch wiring as well as the neutral safety switch wiring and got it to crank. Turned the key and the car cranked up fine. Turned it off. Cranked it again just fine...and drove it down the street and back. Turned it off. Now I'm having the same issue and haven't been able to crank it since...turn the key to start the engine and and nothing happens...you only see the voltage needle flutuate.

Common sense would tell me the problem has got to be due to the ignition switch or the neutral safety switch.  

So without any luck after jiggling/re-connecting the wires some more, here's what I have done:

-Replaced the solenoid on the firewall (no luck)
-Replaced the neutral safety switch. I even re-wired the connections going to the neutral safety switch, as the previous owner did a hack job splicing the wires to the female connecters that slide over the pins. I even took pictures of how it was hooked up so I would not get them mixed up. Re-connected them the way they were (no luck)
-Unplugged all of the connections into the firewall, cleaned them up, used dielectric grease, plugged them back in. (no luck)
-All ground wires/wiring is secure and has a good connection.
-Removed the ignition switch from its harness, cleaned the connections, reconnected using dielectric grease. (no luck)
-Checked voltage going through the fuseable link....seems to be fine.
-Connections to starter are fine.


3 Questions:

1.) When I turn the ignition key to crank, nothing happens...but I see the volt gauge fluctuate...so i know it is drawing power. Could the problem be the ignition switch itself? Are there contacts inside the ignition cylinder that wear out? Do ignition switches start to go bad by acting up or once they fail..they just fail? My problem is intermittent....sometimes I turn the key and it will crank. Sometimes I turn the key and get nothing.

2.) Does the ignition switch go through the fusebox? Say if a fuse blew...would that cause it to not send power?

3.) Could something inside the tranny housing not be engaging the neutral safety switch?



Any help would be appreciated. This is so infuriating as I haven't even had a chance to truly drive the charger...just got it all back together and all of the sudden I'm having an electrical ignition issue that I never had prior.  

[Surf Charger]

Try moving the shifter around with the key in the start position.   Could be a neutral safety switch issue....   I've had that problem before. 

I replaced this all together this morning. No luck.

Could it be possible for the lever that engages/disengages the neutral safety switch to not be making contact with the switch internally?

[b5blue]

Yes and I had a "new ignition switch" fail at the cranking engine over "start position". (After about getting 60 days old.) Ground the terminal that the yellow wire runs to, (On the solenoid.) that defeats the neutral safety switch. YOU MUST BE CAREFUL AS IT WILL CRANK IN GEAR SO BE CERTAIN YOUR IN PARK OR NEUTRAL!!!
  This will allow you to verify if the switch or wiring to NSS is the problem.   

[Surf Charger]

Yes and I had a "new ignition switch" fail at the cranking engine over "start position". (After about getting 60 days old.) Ground the terminal that the yellow wire runs to, (On the solenoid.) that defeats the neutral safety switch. YOU MUST BE CAREFUL AS IT WILL CRANK IN GEAR SO BE CERTAIN YOUR IN PARK OR NEUTRAL!!!
  This will allow you to verify if the switch or wiring to NSS is the problem.   

Ok I just disconnected all three wires going into the neutral switch. pulled them up to the engine bay and did a test. connected two of them together and cranked the engine. So my ignition in the car is perfectly fine. The problem definitly is the neutral switch.....but not the switch itself..more of the transmission is not engaging the little button on the end of the switch.

So here's my question, I can run it fine without going through the neutral safety switch. However I'd like to resolve the problem eventually....

Will I need to rebuild my tranny to resolve this issue or is this something that possibly has a resolution with adjusting the levers underneath?

[b5blue]

Yes just be really careful.