Igintion gremlin

[tsk02]

Asked about this before.

73 tii

Starts intermittently.

will fire up 3,4,5 times in a row, then nothing.

ignition key switch seemed more sloppy than in the past, so I replaced it.

Starter is good, nothing loose to alt or battery.

possible short, starter relay?

thanks

Tim

[hpsenicka]

When you say not starting... do you mean the starter is not cranking? ...or do you mean that the engine is not firing due to an ignition fault of some kind?

[tsk02]

Car will somtimes crank right over, & start right up

other times nothing, no cranking over at all, like a dead battery.

My electrical skills are weak.

thanks

Tim

[hpsenicka]

Standard procedure in a case like this is to check, clean and tighten, both positive and negative battery cable connections before attempting any further troubleshooting.

Make sure you check both ends of each cable... not just the connection at the battery terminal.

Also, disconnect the negative cable from the battery terminal completey while playing with the positive cables.... you don't want to accidentally short the positive terminal to ground!

[tsk02]

Thanks,

first thing I did before I changed the ignition switch was clean the terminals and checked all the connections to the alt, starter, relays etc.

all are clean & tight. changed the ground strap just to be safe.

looking for other solutions.

thanks for the input

Tim

[ingraham]

Prolly not a short. Attach a voltmeter to the battery cable post on the starter and the starter frame. Read voltage with key in start position. Should be about 9-10 volts during normal cranking. If it's lower than that, you have a bad battery cable connection (positive or negative). If it's higher than that, the starter or start wire is bad.

Move the + meter lead from the battery cable post to terminal 50, the start wire. Repeat the test. The voltage should be as above. If so, the starter is bad. If it's low, the start wire or ignition switch is bad.

[tsk02]

Thanks Curt,

thats the input that I was hoping for.

I'll try those tests and report back.

Really appreciate the time you "FAQERS" give to help us less savvy 02ers.

Thanks again.

Tim

[Mike Self]

switch" on the ignition...but did you replace the actual electrical switch on the back side of the lock cylinder assy? It's black bakelite and is what the wires attach to. It unscrews from the lock assy and is replaceable individually. A worn or dirty switch can cause the symptoms you describe, as can a sticking starter relay (the squarish metal can on the pax side firewall)

happy troubleshooting

mike

[tsk02]

Right you are Mike,

after I did the old standard checks on terminals & such, I did replace the actual switch on the back of the ignition housing thinking the switch was just worn out.

Since my starter was replaced just over a year ago, and all terminals on the batter & alt were tight and clean, I was guessing relay, short, or??? I'll have to pull the starter to rule it out as the culprit, but it sure seemed like the ignition switch was the problem based on the fact that if I jiggled the key a bit, the car would crank over.

thanks

Tim