I have a neighbor that had an issue with there ignition switch. I changed it and no more buzzing but now I can't get it started. The odometer shows the light on for P and D and no lights are flashing. I figure something is wrong so I tried to pull codes but it has no codes stored. I also put it in neutral and it still does not start. I'm leaning towards the neutral safety switch. I'm getting power all the way to the starter, the switch I think would be the next viable solution.

I'm pretty sure my neighbor is not telling me the whole story. Supposedly the wife drove it to work and then it would not start. There are a lot of things wrong with this car and I'm just trying to walk everything out. My first priority is to get the car started then I can fix all the other things that are wrong. The problem started with a burned fuse box in the engine bay which they had someone do a hack job on it.

Let me know what you think

 

Does the starter crank or not? If you're looking at power to the starter I guess it doesn't.

You're getting power all the way to the starter? On which wire(s)? The neutral safety switch interrupts power to the small "starter-signal" wire on the starter. The large power wire will still be hot.

Otherwise of course, if it DOES crank then you don't need to look at the starter wires. Then it might be flaky wiring anywhere with suspicion centered around the hack-job in the fusebox.

 

You are correct I'm not getting power to the small wire so no crank and I am going to change out the fuse box today to correct that. Im hoping that is the root of the issue but if not I'm leaning toward the safety switch because it makes the most since I have not tested it yet just trying to see how I'm going to tackle the issue if the box is not the fix.

All fuses and relays are good by the way

 

You could always remove the cover, and jump the safety switch for testing. If it then starts, you will have found your problem. But, at the same time, it could tell you if the root of the problem lies in the "hacked in" fuse box replacement.

 

Thanks Toecutter. I will do just that when I get to it today before changing the box. I didn't have time to actually troubleshoot the issue after fixing the ignition switch so I'm just trying to get ideas before going back there today after work. I appreciate the input from you two.

 

Update. I went back to the car yesterday and I put the key on the on position. The "D" light was green then it cut off after about 3 seconds ( last time it stayed on). At the same time I could here a click from the relays. Now I'm getting a click from the starter indicating the safety switch is good. The guy got the wrong fuse box (I don't know how that happened) so I had him order the right one.

My first question is why is the "D" green for 3 seconds? I don't know this to be normal.

Secondly, now that the stater is clicking I'm assuming the safety switch is intermittently having issues.

Lastly, now I'm getting the clicking at the starter that too can be an issue. I'm planning to remove the manifold and tap the starter to see if I can get it to start. Battery checks out good.

I do not want to proceed until I get a good fuse box in. This car has a lot of issues from being neglected but I do want to start fixing stuff until I can get it started. He really can't tell me the whole story but his wife was driving it the day it started not cranking. I just can't believe that the starter, safety switch and ignition switch went out all at once.

Any thoughts

 

Installing the correct fuse box is definitely step one. Then chase down the circuits that are giving you problems.

 

Since the transmission uses the "D" lamp as it's error lamp, does it light up normally as a bulb-check the same way the check-engine light does? That also shuts off at the same time as the relay clicks. I just don't remember whether the D lamp does the same thing since I've mostly had 3-pedal cars.

 

That is a good question. It seems as if it's a check light but I don't drive automatics and never payed attention to it when working on others. I will have to get with a friend to have them see.

 

It DOES serve as the "check-transmission" lamp for auto-trans cars, and it flashes the transmission error codes when you jumper the SCS connector... but I don't know whether it normally does a bulb-check when you first turn on the key.