spacecowboy7777
Active member
When I turn my key all the way to start, nothing happens. The car is "on" and all the accessory lights are on, but the starter is not turning over to start the engine. Symptom is almost like a dead starter. This happened one time a few weeks ago, but I was able to get it to start by turning the key to off then trying again. This morning, however, that didn't work no matter how many times I tried.
Because I have a battery voltage meter in my cab, my check to see if the starter was getting power was to attempt to start the car while looking at the gauge. If the voltage dropped, then I would think voltage is going to the starter but it was dead and not turning. Another way to test this, is to turn on the headlights and see if the lights dim a little when attempting to start. Another way, of course, is to climb under the car with a multimeter and have your wife turn the key.
When I turn my key, the voltage didn't change at all, not even a flicker. Even when I roll down the window with the engine off I can see the voltage drop, so I figured no voltage was getting sent to the starter when I saw no voltage drop.
No voltage getting sent to starter could be a few things. Easiest for me to check was the ignition switch. First, I pulled off the covers under the steering wheel and around the steering column. This can be accomplished with a normal Philips screw driver. I think the steering column had 3 screws and the cover below the column where the hood and gas latches are was 4 screws.
With those covers removed, I can see the ignition tumbler where the key goes in and on the back of that, the ignition switch. However, I still don't have access to the screws on the switch to remove it. To remove the switch, I removed the two bolts holding the steering column up. This allows the steering column to drop down low enough where the screws to the switch are accessible.
Pull these two screws out and unplug the switch.
On the bench, remove the plastic cover from the switch. On mine, the contact points are burnt and corroded just enough to not make contact.
I cleaned the old grease off and filed the contacts where they were burnt to reveal fresh metal.
Then reassemble and reinstall and check.
If you're lucky, this was the problem and the car starts right up. If not, you could need a new switch or your problem could be something else completely. This problem happened to me on this 2002 gen 3 this morning and 5 years ago on my 1994 gen 2. Both switches looked exactly the same and disassembly was similar. Also, when testing, don't forget that our key's have chips in them. So when you pull that switch off, you can turn it with a flat head screw driver, but the car wont start unless your key is in the ignition where the sensor is. Good luck!
I'll be buying a new switch even though I got mine working. The corrosion and pitting was pretty bad and I don't want to get stranded somewhere if it gets worse and sanding/filing doesn't fix it.
Because I have a battery voltage meter in my cab, my check to see if the starter was getting power was to attempt to start the car while looking at the gauge. If the voltage dropped, then I would think voltage is going to the starter but it was dead and not turning. Another way to test this, is to turn on the headlights and see if the lights dim a little when attempting to start. Another way, of course, is to climb under the car with a multimeter and have your wife turn the key.
When I turn my key, the voltage didn't change at all, not even a flicker. Even when I roll down the window with the engine off I can see the voltage drop, so I figured no voltage was getting sent to the starter when I saw no voltage drop.
No voltage getting sent to starter could be a few things. Easiest for me to check was the ignition switch. First, I pulled off the covers under the steering wheel and around the steering column. This can be accomplished with a normal Philips screw driver. I think the steering column had 3 screws and the cover below the column where the hood and gas latches are was 4 screws.
With those covers removed, I can see the ignition tumbler where the key goes in and on the back of that, the ignition switch. However, I still don't have access to the screws on the switch to remove it. To remove the switch, I removed the two bolts holding the steering column up. This allows the steering column to drop down low enough where the screws to the switch are accessible.
Pull these two screws out and unplug the switch.
On the bench, remove the plastic cover from the switch. On mine, the contact points are burnt and corroded just enough to not make contact.
I cleaned the old grease off and filed the contacts where they were burnt to reveal fresh metal.
Then reassemble and reinstall and check.
If you're lucky, this was the problem and the car starts right up. If not, you could need a new switch or your problem could be something else completely. This problem happened to me on this 2002 gen 3 this morning and 5 years ago on my 1994 gen 2. Both switches looked exactly the same and disassembly was similar. Also, when testing, don't forget that our key's have chips in them. So when you pull that switch off, you can turn it with a flat head screw driver, but the car wont start unless your key is in the ignition where the sensor is. Good luck!
I'll be buying a new switch even though I got mine working. The corrosion and pitting was pretty bad and I don't want to get stranded somewhere if it gets worse and sanding/filing doesn't fix it.
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