QuestionQUESTION: (Long e-mail alert)
Hello. I have a 68 Pontiac Firebird 400 with a TH400 automatic transmission. At some point, I began to have trouble starting it. It goes like this:
1. Battery would lose juice. I found out previous owner had disconnected two spade-tip connectors on the backside of alternator. I connected them, put a new battery and problem went away... for a while (about six months)
2. At some point (during the hellish AZ summer) the starter would crank *s l o w l y* and make a whining sound. It got worse, the starter would only *click* when the ignition was turned, having to turn a few times before it *cranked*. I replaced starter and used an asbestos diaper to protect it from the heat from the exhaust manifold. After I replaced starter, sometimes it would not even click at all, let alone crank. So...
3. Replaced ignition switch. Still, no dice. Not even a click sometimes. Installed a backup push-button switch under dash, wired straight to the starter poles, so I don´t have to crawl under the car to jump the solenoid with a screwdriver when the damn ignition switch decides not to work. Now, I don´t always have to use the pushbutton, only when the ignition switch does not work.
I have been seriously thinking on rewiring the whole damn thing, but I wanna know if you have any suggestions for things to try before I do. Somebody at the shop I work at suggested the neutral safety switch. Another suggested checking the ground to the starter.
So, after all this, my question is: What could cause a new ignition switch to not even click when turned, when you can start the car by jumping the solenoid with a pushbutton? Would this be possible with a bad neutral safety switch or bad ground?
Thanks.
M.
ANSWER: If the car starts when you press the starter button but will not start with the ignition switch the problem could very well be the neutral start switch, wiring, the ignition switch, or even a bad motor mount that does not keep the engine in alignment and changes the length of the shift lever making the neutral start switch then out of adjustment. Just one question before we go on to the next step. I presume that by jumping the solenoid you are sending a hot signal to the S terminal of the solenoid, is that right?
Brad
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Yes, that´s how I bypass it. That´s also the way I wired my backup switch, straight from the starter poles. This week I replaced the groud straps from the battery to the chassis and block, even throwing long cables from both battery poles to the starter assembly itself, just to make sure it was not an issue of bad ground to the starter, which did not fix the problem. So, bad ground is not it. The ignition switch is a new one, so that cannot be it either. I assume that leaves bad wiring behind the dash and neutral safety switch. Bad motor mounts... hadn´t thought of that. As always, Murphy´s Law states that the last thing I fix was the one causing the problem... so, I´ll just have to keep working :)
Thanks a bunch. Merry Xmas.
AnswerWell with the new bit of information that the back up lights are or were out, that points directly to the neutral starter switch either defective or out of adjustment or motor mounts. The back up lights and the starter circuit in the switch get their power from different sources eliminating wiring, other than the plug at the switch, grounds, and just about anything else.
Good luck.
Brad
