First off, what a great site,...glad I found it. I have a 84 SE that is REAL GOOD condition except, for one thing.....it stopped running. Let me explain. It was running well, (I had just put a full tank of gas it it) and I shut it off to go into a store. Came back out, turned the key, NOTHING. I can hear the fuel pump, I have all power, it's just that when I turn the key, nothing happens. My first inclination was that is might be the starter. I replaced that....no change. Next, a couple of sites (not this one :-) ) indicated it might be the ign. coil,...replaced that too,...no change.

I re-did the ground off the positive post, and visually looked at the wire going to the new starter. Evidently, I'm missing something very obvious. Battery checked out good. I have heard that these cars are tempermental....does anyone have any solid suggestions?

I really like the car, and I'm hoping to get decent mpg's with it.

Thanks.

Welcome to the forum.Have you checked the battery cables for acid buildup on the contact sides?You may have a bad ground going from the battery,to the engine block.Only other thing I can think of would be a bad ignition switch (not the key switch).located,halfway down on the steering colum and the colum needs to be dropped (use a mirror to see the pan head screws).Try the easyiest fixes first.

Auto or Manual?

Auto: check to make sure its in park Couldn't hurt to move the selector out of park and back in a few times in case the switch that lets the starter get power is working.

Manual: Check the clutch switch to make sure when you push in the clutch its hitting the button and letting the starter get power.

We can move on from there. The coil, etc would not stop the starter from turning, so no worries there, save the old one for when the new one goes out

Brad

If it’s an automatic make sure the neutral safety switch is allowing power to the starter. Not sure on a 84 what the wire colors are going to the shift selector. Will be the two larger diameter wires. When in neutral or park you should have continuity between them.

Does the engine crank when you hit the switch, or is there just nothing? If so, it could be the ignition switch. I'm not talking about the key switch and lock, I'm talking about the actual ignition switch, which is located on top of the steering column under the dash, and is actuated by a rod that runs from the key switch. You have to drop the column to replace it....as far as checking it, I don't know how to test it. I had some starting problems with an 86 SE that my son had, and I replaced the ignition switch and that solved my problems.

Fusible link?

K. It looks like we need more information here

What happens when you turn the key on? Do the normal lights come on? The guages go through there test stuff?

You can hear the fuel pump which tells me the ignition is working.

I am betting its a switch not letting the starter turn over.

Brad

quote Originally posted by mike-ohio: If it’s an automatic make sure the neutral safety switch is allowing power to the starter. Not sure on a 84 what the wire colors are going to the shift selector. Will be the two larger diameter wires. When in neutral or park you should have continuity between them.

Still a good thing to check with a manual also. There is a plunger (don't know correct name, it's made of white plastic) that attaches to the clutch pedal. It goes through the arm of the pedal and is secured by a cotter pin. On mine the pin had backed out and the plunger had come free. So when I pressed the clutch pedal in, it did not disengage the nuetral safety switch. It is a PITA to replace that cotter pin. Very tight area under there and I had to lay on my back. The symptoms of this are exactly as you describe. Power to everything, radio, fuel pump, trunk release, and lights, but nothing when turning the ignition switch. Not even a click and the engine does not turn. If your engine is turning, then this is definitely not the problem. I'll try to get some pics. Good luck.

Jim

Tested the battery, it came out fine, Next, I replaced the starter cable, and re-did the ground to the block. Then I checked the voltage at the starter. I got 12 v at the starter when the key was turned, I 'm beginning to think that the rebuilt starter/solenoid is bad, I'm going to have that tested/replaced later today.

Ok, first off, I know absolutely nothing about the mechanical workings of cars, so if this has nothing to do with the problem, then sorry... however, having said that, (hubby is a diesel mechanic though so he knows plenty, but he's not here to ask) the first thing I would try would be to replace the ignition module.... if that goes out then the car won't start... and it will be running just fine prior to it, or it can just occasionally not start at any given time and start fine any other time, making it hard to diagnose, until it finally quits altogether.

Had a similar problem with that happening with my daughters car, ended up being the fuel pump instead of the ignition module, but it had symptoms of running rough and not idling prior to that, or would die while running... swore up and down it was the battery, replaced it twice, then replaced the alternator, it would start for a day and then just wouldn't start at all. Finally figure out it was the fuel pump... which was a good thing because we were able to track down a major issue with Max's ZR2 (running rough, wouldn't idle unless you kept your foot on the pedal, wouldn't shift well on acceleration... but it never just quit... injector cleaner would help for a little while... I was seriously trying to get Max to swap out the engine!! Glad he doesn't have to do that now... if he's doing any engine swapping, it will be for a faster engine...

Again, I apologize if this doesn't have anything to do with this particular problem, but maybe it might help someone else along the way...

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