Ignition question, Wally ?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 122
Likes: 0
From: Columbia, SC
Ignition question, Wally ?
I still have an ignition problem that requires me to occasionally jump the starter relay terminal #30 and #87 to get the starter to kick over. I changed the ignition switch yesterday and put in a new relay to boot. With the car always starting by jumpering the relay it tells me the wiring from the relay to the starter is good. The starter is new and the car has the Ford solenoid modification to correct a hot start problem.Where else should I look ? I have a good battery , all the grounds on the car are clean. Should I just install a push button in lieu of the relay so I can have a Mercedes/BMW type starter switch? Does the neutral/park switch on the transmission have anything to do with this? If so, how would I check it? TIA
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 122
Likes: 0
From: Columbia, SC
It really doesn't seem to have a discernable pattern. Morning cold, stop to get gas hot, it just does not seem to matter. Funny thing is that the cruise control will only seem to work first thing in the morning when the car is cold. It will always start with the relay pulled and the terminals jumpered
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Site Sponsor
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 6,469
Likes: 13
From: Ball Ground, GA
It is interesting that the wiring diagrams show NO neutral safety switch for the earlier cars - and yet there is one.
The starter relay is energized by a lead from the ignition switch to terminal 86, which is one side of the operating coil of the relay.
Terminal 85, the ground terminal for the operating coil for the relay, is shown as running thru a brown/yellow wire, then a brown wire, to chassis ground - but this chassis ground is on the right rear wheel arch! Quite a long way to run a ground wire, right?
The brown/yellow wire from terminal 85 of the start relay actually runs to the neutral safety switch on the side of the transmission.
If you have the Factory Workshop Manuals, look at page 37-15 for an illustration of the switch, and info on how to adjust it.
It would seem that your problem might be either:
Bad or Misadjusted Neutral Safety Switch. Put the shifter in Neutral. Find the Neutral Safety Switch - it is around the shaft for the shift lever on the side of the transmission case. Loosen the adjusting screw that holds the switch to the case. Stick a 4 mm pin through the hole in the bottom driving dog of the shift lever into the switch case, adjusting the case as required. Tighten the screw and remove the pin. Check to see if the starter works only in Park and Neutral positions.
Bad wire connection on the brown/yellow wire tot he switch, or the brown ground wire from the switch to the chassis ground.
A check for this would be to remove the start relay, and check for a good ground on terminal 85 when the shift lever is in Neutral and Park. If there is no ground, start by adjusting the Neutral Safety Switch and checking the wiring to the switch and the ground.
The starter relay is energized by a lead from the ignition switch to terminal 86, which is one side of the operating coil of the relay.
Terminal 85, the ground terminal for the operating coil for the relay, is shown as running thru a brown/yellow wire, then a brown wire, to chassis ground - but this chassis ground is on the right rear wheel arch! Quite a long way to run a ground wire, right?
The brown/yellow wire from terminal 85 of the start relay actually runs to the neutral safety switch on the side of the transmission.
If you have the Factory Workshop Manuals, look at page 37-15 for an illustration of the switch, and info on how to adjust it.
It would seem that your problem might be either:
Bad or Misadjusted Neutral Safety Switch. Put the shifter in Neutral. Find the Neutral Safety Switch - it is around the shaft for the shift lever on the side of the transmission case. Loosen the adjusting screw that holds the switch to the case. Stick a 4 mm pin through the hole in the bottom driving dog of the shift lever into the switch case, adjusting the case as required. Tighten the screw and remove the pin. Check to see if the starter works only in Park and Neutral positions.
Bad wire connection on the brown/yellow wire tot he switch, or the brown ground wire from the switch to the chassis ground.
A check for this would be to remove the start relay, and check for a good ground on terminal 85 when the shift lever is in Neutral and Park. If there is no ground, start by adjusting the Neutral Safety Switch and checking the wiring to the switch and the ground.
