HELP! Is It My Ignition Switch?.............

I am having a weird problem with my 1996 Mustang GT.

Over the past year, I have installed a new battery, alternator, and starter (two of them), cleaned and lubricated the ignition lock cylinder, AND checked all of the related wiring in an attempt to solve the problem, but no success so far.

The problem is this: Every once in a while, when I turn the key to start the car, all I will get is a click. The car will not turn over. HOWEVER, if I keep turning the key, eventually the car does start again, as if nothing at all was wrong.

There is NO pattern to when this occurs. The car can go for weeks with NO problem at all, and then I might experience the problem twice in one day, only to have the car return to normal the next day.

It doesn't matter if the car is hot or cold. The problem has happened when the car is first started up in the morning, AND it has also happened in the middle of the day, when the car has been driven around and the engine is nice and hot.

It has happened in wet weather and in dry weather.

Could it be my ignition switch? I know that it obviously sounds like it might be the switch, but I am simply wondering if this has been a somewhat common problem with other Mustangs or Fords.

I am also hesitant to spend the money on a new switch if someone has a viable alternative. After all, I have already replaced other major links in the chain and gotten nowhere.

So, even though it might obviously be the ignition switch, I wanted to make this post just to get other opinions.

Thanks in advance for any help you folks could offer.....

Reply to
EADGBE
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Sounds like a loose connection somewhere. Check the battery connections and the ground to the engine. Check for loose connections on the solenoid wires.

Next time it happens, I'd try starting the engine by turning the ignition switch to the on position and shorting the connections on the solenoid (if you know which ones). I believe that would tell you if its the ignition switch or not. Hope that helps.

Byron

Reply to
jonezzzman

Reply to
.boB

Hey, Bob! DO NOT put a signature cut-line like that /above/ your text

- a proper newsreader drops everything below that cut-line!! I had to paste it back in by hand.

You put the dash-dash-return in the first line of the .sig file.

If you get a loud click from the starter, it's probably the starter solenoid mounted on the starter. If you have a test light and a voltmeter you can make sure you are getting a full 12V to the small control line, and to the large battery line. And that it is NOT switching on the large output lead to the starter motor.

(Old Ford starters with the wedge shaped cover on the side have a moving pole on the motor that acts as the solenoid, the motor windings pull it in. And a remote solenoid for power switching. Same idea, different design.)

If the battery cable is going bad the solenoid pulls in but you don't have +12V to the big leads on the solenoid - the "clamp-on" replacement battery terminals can go bad (high-resistance connection) from internal corrosion and still look fine.

The ignition switch contacts are less likely. If the +12V doesn't get to the small terminal on the starter when you turn the key to Start, you trace that back.

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

If it were my car, the problem would be that the battery posts were so corroded that the cables weren't drawing enough juice to start the car.

That reminds me... It's time to clean my connectors. I went to start CFrog the other day, and all I got was a click. A couple of taps with a hammer on the battery cable connectors created enough of a connection to start the car, though, so I just threw the hammer in the trunk and went off to work.

dwight

Reply to
dwight

Guitar Man,

If you are getting a click, then the ignition switch is almost certainly functioning properly. From what you describe, it is clear that there is a resistive voltage drop somewhere between the battery and the starter motor. The starter demands very high start up current and even the slightest resistance in this path will cause the symptom you describe (insufficient current delivered to the starter)

I'd check the battery connections, cables, starter relay (if there is one on that vehicle), starter solenoid (most likely culprit given the age assuming other stuff looks/tests out good), battery connection to the solenoid, power connection from solenoid to starter, and the engine ground (return path from the starter is through the metal starter case through the engine, back through the ground to the battery).

Good luck.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman

It would really, really help if you could elaborate on your "click" and the conditions at the time.

There is a mechanical click when the ig. switch crosses the boundary to fire the starter.

There is normally an electrical click when 12v current reaches the solenoid.

Did you hear only the one? Both?

Also, when you turned the ignition on, did any elec. components work (dash lights, horn, )? Was anything on the car powered?

My '94 Tbird LX V8 went totally dead for about 20 min. 2 years ago. I checked most of the stuff mentioned in this thread. Never did find the culprit.

P

"I Ain't Blind, I Just Don't Wanna See" - the title of a tune by Little Joe Blue, maybe 1966

Reply to
Puddin' Man

I had a Vega that showed the same symptoms, minus the click. It turned out to be a switch problem: shorting the starter started it every time.

I had a Dodge Dart with the same symptoms. The solenoid had a copper disk that was supposed to rotate and distribute wear around the circumference whenever it was brought into play, but most didn't, and eventually wore an edge off the disk so there was no 12v contact to pass current to the starter.

Reply to
Frank ess

The click I hear is located at the starter. I'm positive about this. I have replaced the starter -- twice -- and re-verified all of the connections at the starter and at the battery.

Reply to
EADGBE

The click I hear is located at the starter. I'm positive about this. I have replaced the starter -- twice -- and re-verified all of the connections at the starter and at the battery.

If you hear a click every time you twist the key, it's not the ignition switch.

Al

Reply to
Big Al

Based on what you have stated, the click you hear is probably the solenoid and if so would eliminate the ignition key cylinder switch and starter relay as possible causes. If the solenoid is mounted on the starter and it has already been replaced twice (I'm not familiar with if the Mustang has the solenoid mounted onto the starter like other makes/models I have worked on), then there is a problem somewhere in the feed from the battery to the solenoid or from the solenoid to the starter motor.

I say this since if the solenoid is being energized, but the starter does not turn over, then this means there is an open or resistive connection in that path between the battery and the starter. You can verify this by checking the DC voltage (to the chassis ground or the negative on the battery) on the large red cable going to the solenoid when the ignition key is turn on.

Check the obvious. Does the car start when you jump it from another vehicle? If so, likely cause is the battery. If not, then make sure the posts and connectors are clean and tight. Also make sure the cables themselves are still good. I've seen them get corroded inside/under the insulation and this is impossible to see. The only way you know is by measuring voltage drop between the battery positive terminal and the solenoid input when the starter is engaged so there is a good load. Also check the engine ground cable too since the return path for the several hundred amp current is through the starter frame bolts to the bell housing and from there to the ground cable and back to the negative side of the battery.

Good luck. Post what you find.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Shuman

Turn the headlights on before you start the car. If it doesn't start, did the headlights dim? If so it is a main power problem ( bad battery connection, bad battery, etc)(also possibly a bad ground) If not it is a starter , cable, or engine ground problem.(also POSSIBLY a switch, but if the click is the starter solenoid engaging, the switch is not AS likely to be the problem.

That said, Ford HAS had problems with connections overheating - and on the ignition switch on some models. This would cause intermittent problems - and it COULD cause the solenoid to click but not pull in far enough to start the engine.

I have a 1996 Mystique, and virtually every problem I have had with it has been traced down to a charred connection somewhaere in what Ford euphenistically calls a wiring harness.

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Reply to
clare at snyder dot ontario dot canada

I had this same type of problem with my 98 Cobra. It was very intermittent. The car was still under warranty. They replaced the starter THREE TIMES. The third one worked fine and I drove that car for 7 more years with no problems.

mort

Reply to
Mort Guffman

I think this is good advice.

I've heard of weak batteries giving really strange symptoms. A good, cheap, fast way to start diagnosing would be to have battery checked for cranking amps, etc.

If the solenoid and starter-motor circuits (and the battery) are all

100% while having the problem, the only other thing I can think of is a condition in which the apex of a starter-motor gear-tooth meshes against the apex of a flywheel tooth, or something (broken tooth?) get wedged between. But I've not heard of this happening on such beasties, so it seems unlikely.

Definitely get a jump-start when the problem occurs if practical.

P

"I Ain't Blind, I Just Don't Wanna See" - the title of a tune by Little Joe Blue, maybe 1966

Reply to
Puddin' Man

I would check the solenoid first, it's the most common problem with these symptoms. The copper contacts burn out over time, often in one spot. There is a disk that rotates, so that if you keep trying it will move to a good spot it will eventually start, if the contacts and washer are partly burned. Given more time, the solenoid will not make contact at all. It will still click though. This is also a normal failure on Harley Davidsons, which use an automotive style solenoid. A rebuild kit is available for Harleys, which reduces the cost. No such luck with cars.

Steve R.

Reply to
Steve R.

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