Question-------------------------
Followup To Dick: Please re-send your first response. I sent it to another e-mail address, and it was deleted, I want to print it out, and have it with me at the car.
Thanks,
Tony Vitale
Question -
Dick: I have contacted you several times, and am always grateful for your help.
I am experiencing an intermittent problem, starting my car.
I have replaced the neutral switch, and re-wired the tips that insert into it. I have also cleaned the battery posts, cable ends.
When I try to start the engine, I hear the ignition relay, click, but the engine does not start.
I was told to touch a wire to the battery, and then to the green wire going to the solenoid on the starter, but there is no reaction. my car is a positive ground, which post would activate the ignition relay, Red or Black?
Is there a way I can bypass the ignition relay, and determine if the relay is bad, or a way to test the ignition switch?
I was able to start the engine, once in the last two days, by moving the shift lever, in the neutral position, but this only works once in a while, could the new neutral switch be bad?
I realize this is a difficult problem, and would welcome any help you can offer.
Respectfully,
Anthony J. Vitale
Answer -
Yes, connecting the two wires from the NS switch together should allow the car to crank - when you operate the starter switch, but remember, it will now start in any gear.
If connecting the two wires together does not allow it to crank, you need to go through the steps I described to sort out whether it is the relay or the starter assembly that is in trouble.
I should also mention that if you hear a click when you try to start the car, but no cranking, this could be a poor connection at the battery cables. To sort this out, develop the habit of watching the dome light while you try to crank. If the light dims, you know the battery is delivering lots of current, so your connections are OK.
If the light stays on bright, your battery is not being loaded, so you have a problem in the area we have been discussing all along.
If the light goes totally out - you have a poor connection at the battery cable ends - probably at the battery itself.
I doubt this is your problem, but I should have mentioned it before.
Dick
AnswerOK, I'll do a cut and paste into this form - we'll see if it comes through. If it doesn't, send me your e-mail address and I'll attach it to a response.
Answer -
This must be very frustrating for you. You certainly do appear to have a
problem in either the neutral safety switch or the adjustment (of either
the shift linkage or the switch itself).
As a fall back measure, to get the car to start when all else fails, and
to perhaps narrow the choices of where the problem actually lies, keep a
heavy (12 gauge) wire with you that will reach from the hot terminal of
your battery (in your car, that would be the negative post of the battery)
to the solenoid connection of the starter. There will be a momentary
spark as you make and break connection, but this is not dangerous, just
startling!
Jumping (connecting electrically) these two points together should make
the starter crank, regardless of anything else at all. This means you
must be sure the car is not in gear, and that the key is on, before you do
this.
If jumping direct to the solenoid does NOT make the starter crank, there
must be a problem in either the starter or the solenoid, and in either
case they will have to be taken to an auto-electric technician to have
them checked out.
The starter relays on those cars are very tough, but they do wear out
sooner or later. I have one on my workbench right now from a 54 Imperial
that I am trying to repair for a friend and I'm about to give up on it, it
is just too far gone.
I can't advise you on colors of wires - for one thing, I'm color blind,
and for another, I am not that familiar with your year and model, but I
can tell you for sure that the wire which tells the solenoid to start
cranking needs only 6 volts on it to make the starter crank, if those
parts are OK.
The fact that jiggling the shift lever let it start once, seems to
indicate that the problem is in the neutral safety switch, or that the
starter relay is intermittant, and I don't know how to sort out between
those two things except to bypass the starter relay as I described above
in order to see if that makes it crank 100% of the time, thus eliminating
at least the solenoid/starter from blame.
Then, the next thing to try is to put the wire directly from the negative
post of the battery to the small wire that is supposed to operate the
starter relay (it comes from the NS switch). You should hear a healthy
click and then the starter should operate. If it does, 100% of the time,
you know the relay is OK. (Hooray!).
So then, you're back to suspecting the neutral safety switch. It is
possible that something in the transmission is so worn that it cannot
operate the NS switch reliably - if that is the case, you can just install
a hidden push button type switch (see Radio Shack or an auto parts store)
under the dash that momentarily connects the two wires from the neutral
safety switch to each other. That should get you started - but again,
you'll have to be careful that the car is not in gear!
I hope this helps you sort it out!
Dick.
