QuestionQUESTION: Hello and thanks so much for taking my question!
This problem actually raisies more than one question, so hopefully you can answer it all in one swoop! :)
I had a bad "Park Neutral Safety Switch" according to the error codes when I couldn't start my 93 caddy deville (4.9 L). I didn't have enough $$$ to get a new switch at the time, so I bypassed it by splicing the 10-guage solid yellow wire comig from the ignition and going into the switch directly to the purple/white 10-guage wire that goes directly to the starter solenoid.
This worked, allowing the car to start and run about 4-5 times, but then it went dead again. Battery and all other connections are fine, I checked all known fuses and they're fine.
My quandry is this ...
I know now that I definitely need to go ahead and install a new switch, but will that take care of everything???
Because the car did start and run a few times before dying again, I am suspecting that maybe I burned out a relay doing the bypass (I checked out all the fuses, including MaxiFuses, and they're all OK).
I wanted to check and see if I had burned a relay doing the bypass and I found the relays, but none of them are labeled!!!
So, the second question is, if I need to replace a relay too, which relay do I need to look for and which one is it specifically (which one is it among the bank of other relays)?
My wife also suggested that maybe it isn't a relay, maybe it just took the car's computer a few times to figure out something was wrong and interrupt the process. Could it be that I just need to put the wires back together and replace the switch to take care of it all???
Thanx alot!
-----------Russ
ANSWER: Replace the switch and put the wires back where they belong and see what happens and let me know.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I replaced the switch today and the car started right up after re-charging the battery (went dead while sitting, don't know why). The switch fit perfectly and did not appear to need any adjustment.
However, it repeated its' earlier pattern ... it started an ran 3 times ( I ran it around town a bit to charge up battery some more and run a few errands), but when I got in it after the last errand and tried to start it, there was one single "click" and then it wouldn't start again just as before.
Battery tested 13-14 volts, everything comes on in the car, including dashboard, so I can't imagine it being the battery. The Caddy does come with a factory alarm, but no alarms came on at any time during the process.
Any ideas would be very appreciated.
Thanx alot!
------------russ
AnswerIt is highly probable that the starter solenoid is intermittently faulty. You need to access the PURPLE wire at the stater and see if you are getting battery voltage to this single PURPLE wire all by itself on the starter solenoid. If you do get battery voltage, The first thing you need to do is make sure that your charging system is working and that the battery is fully charged and not being drained flat due to a short somewhere in the electrical system.
The maximum amperage draw of the battery when you are parking the car for the night is approx 1/2 amp. Check it and let me know. If you have no excessive battery drain and the battery tests OK, then I would suspect a faulty starter solenoid.
