Z06Electron

I replaced that burned out relay and she fired right up. Whew glad I was able to get the car started up. Thank you to all who offered support.

I would rather dump the car for $1000 than spend $600 replacing a wiring harness that is going to increase the resale value of a car like this by $0. Worst case scenario I will just wire in a momentary switch to start the car.

I also found the neutral safety switch which is a completely different set of colored wires. If I just use a jumper across those two wires and the system works then I know I have a bad switch correct? The switch looks to have quite a bit of surface rust on it but I'm not sure that means it isn't actually functioning. I plan on purchasing a new one just in case I need it and going from there. One way or another I need this car running today so I can move it.

Looks like a relay to me. Definitely inline with the starter. Was this added by someone else or was it factory? Next question is how I even know this is the correct relay. After all something caused it to overheat and melt everything.

Nope starter wire is still dead. I did find this though. The starter wire hooks directly into it. The middle section that looks melted is the one the starter wire hooks to. Two of the wires hooking to it had the shielding melted together. I am wondering if they finally touched and that blew the relay. I am replacing both the relay and the connectors.

So I decided to trace the linkage back from the tranny figuring eventually I would find the neutral safety switch. I found a frayed wire coming off a two wire plastic connector right next to the shift linkage. The wire was orange. The other end appeared to be shielded with the same material as the cable that hooks to the starter. So I pull up the starter wire. It branches off in two cables. One looks like the main power wire and the other is the orange shielded wire which is now not connected to anything (I think this is the neutral safety wire). I can't believe this issue was likely cause by a bad wire. What are the odds it would start and then die 30 feet away from a broken cable? Anyway I'm going to repair the wire, re-install the starter and I'll report back, but I'm pretty confident this was the issue. Thank you for all the help.

Where is the neutral start switch? I found the ignition switch here.

OK I will check this tomorrow. The previous owner said he was having issues with the ignition switch before and had it replaced, but he had a new key put in the column. My guess is he replaced the wrong part possibly or it went bad again. Are these readily available at auto parts stores?

Definitely getting voltage to the ignition switch, because everything in the whole car works when it is switched to run. The only thing not working is the cranking during "start".

I have already been trying to start it in neutral and park while moving the entire column around it is completely dead no matter where the shifter is. Also since I was able to get it started and moved before it finally died, I'm guessing it isn't due to a poor wiring job. I am convinced the wiring is in need of a makeover, but I think it is more likely something failed suddenly that is causing the problem. Other than the ignition switch, what else is involved in sending electrical signals to the starter? Are there any relays or boxes I could check first? It is my plan to trace the starter wire back to see where it is coming from. Anyone know offhand how much a new ignition switch is? How hard is it to install? It looks to me like the steering wheel and column don't really come apart and that the whole column would have to be pulled to get access to anything. Is that correct?

12 o'clock is hot all the time no surprise there. 3 o'clock has a wire hooked to it that is never hot whether it is in run position or start position. I figured this meant the starter was good but decided to have it tested just to be sure and it tested good. Where do we go from here? Also nothing hooked up to the 9 o'clock position.

Where are both of those? I put a meter on the starter and the only thing with 12 volts is the main power wire.

I found the ign wire into the fuse block but didn't see an actual fuse. Is it in another location? I'm not going to replace anything else since I'm selling it, I just need to figure out why it would have started and then just went dead for good. I have been cleaning stuff and now the brake and temp lights don't go out when the key turns. the temp light now comes on solid when in start position, but still no cranking.

Been sitting for a while and we were having some front yard work done. Took the battery down to be charged and they said it was bad. Tried my battery out of our suburban and it tried to start. Then wouldnt, then finally tried again and started. The problem is the starter is not engaging and the previous owner told me occasionally he had issues with the key switch but i'm wondering if that was really the issue. He jimmy rigged the whole electrical and it is a nightmare mess under the dash. The car wont even turn over but the interior lights will come on. When I go to start it the lights all go out which i'm guessing is normal. I hear a clicking and found a relay under the dash. I figure there are relays, an ignition switch, the car's park indicator linkage, the battery, and the starter at very minimum that could be wrong with it. The irony is the damn thing started to move itself out into the street before finally going dead once and for all. I had planned on selling the car, but of course now it won't even start. Where should I start looking for the problem? At this point all I hear is a click which tells me I think it is at least going to a relay.

Been sitting for a while and we were having some front yard work done. Took the battery down to be charged and they said it was bad. Tried my battery out of our suburban and it tried to start. Then wouldnt, then finally tried again and started. The problem is the starter is not engaging and the previous owner told me occasionally he had issues with the key switch but i'm wondering if that was really the issue. He jimmy rigged the whole electrical and it is a nightmare mess under the dash. The car wont even turn over but the interior lights will come on. When I go to start it the lights all go out which i'm guessing is normal. I hear a clicking and found a relay under the dash. I figure there are relays, an ignition switch, the car's park indicator linkage, the battery, and the starter at very minimum that could be wrong with it. The irony is the damn thing started to move itself out into the street before finally going dead once and for all. I had planned on selling the car, but of course now it won't even start. Where should I start looking for the problem?