ignition wiring problem? truck wont do anything when the key is turned over

[Donut]

First I gotta get a new starter(even though i think it's still good)...

If the bearings are bad, why would you think the starter is good? (I'm getting confused)

Quick check would be to give the starter a "bump" in all gears.  Safely of course.  Will the starter catch in R?  How about D?  Try wiggling the shifter, will it work now? (out of adjustment) Put the key in "run" position, set E-brake, put the truck in R (not running) Are the back-up lights on?  If the BU lights are on in all gears, the switch is bad.  (Or the switch is not in position.  There is a small tab that goes into a recess on the column.)

Mine left me stranded the first time.  There are 2 pr. of wires, one for the BU lights, and the other for the neutral start.  Just to get me home I used a jumper on the neutral safety.  CAUTION, the starter will crank in all gears by doing this.

I attributed mine going to the constant forward/reverse pushing snow.

[gold84gmc]

haha i went to adavanced auto parts and had them test my starter they said the bearings were bad,,,now i need help hooking the new one up, because as far as i remember i hooked it up the same way as the old one, and connected the neg batt. cable and the starter started sparking like crazy....what wires did i put on wrong?

[VileZambonie]

You shouldn't have any wires going to the starter that are ground. On the solenoid you should have The battery B+ cable going to the B+ terminal on the solenoid. You will probably have one or two smaller gauge wires on the same terminal (fusible links) and the smallest wire goes to the S terminal on the solenoid. The R terminal (if equipped is unused). Make sure none of the wires are touching anything other than the terminal stud they are mounted on.

[gold84gmc]

ok i fixed the starter and its on now, but when i turn the key to start the parking brake light still turns on, i tried adjusting it and nothing, if i can how do i change it?

[gold84gmc]

ok i just swapped my old neutral switch over and it still does the same thing...i have absolutely no clue whats causing the problem now

[douellette]

im thinking i might not be getting power to the starter from the ignition switch....does anyone know what wire on the ignition switch goes to the starter solenoid? so i can test to see if its getting power

[douellette]

this is my new name, my old one is the gold84gmc

[VileZambonie]

Why did you change your username? It's doing the same thing meaning what? Start over and tell us exactly what your problems are now.

[douellette]

cuz i tried changing my email and it never sent a verification email....ok so when i turn the key to run i get power to everything and it seems to be working properly, but when i turn it to start nothing happens, and the parking brake light turns on in the fuel guage. i dont hear a click or anything...i replaced the starter,ignition switch,steering column, and i put my old neutral safety backup switch on and it still doesnt work...i havent gotten it yet but i ordered a new backup switch so im going to try and put that on and see if it works....got any other ideas?

[douellette]

i tested to see if the wire that goes from the ignition switch to the starter is getting power and it isnt, so i gotta test it at the switch and maybe some other stuff

[VileZambonie]

Go to the S terminal with a test light to ground. Have an assistant crank it and see if it lights up.

[Irish_Alley]

you might have 2 small terminals on the starter to go with vile said one marked with a "s" the other not. your key wire should be plugged into the "s" the other if there is one should have nothing. while your testing the voltage there like vile said jump the solenoid the hot wire coming to from the battery to the "s" terminal and see what it does it should turn over but just test it

[douellette]

Go to the S terminal with a test light to ground. Have an assistant crank it and see if it lights up.

i did i put a test light on the s terminal and had my brother turn the key to start and i didnt get any power....is it common for the ignition switch to go bad or to buy a bad one? because i am getting power to the switch and then when i turn the key to start im not getting power coming out and going to the starter....i have 3 switches(one that came on my new(used) column,my original one, and the new one i bought) and they all do the same thing

[choptop]

It seem like you have a broke wire or blown fuse link somewhere. Start tracing the wire back from the starter and probe it every so often with the test light and see if you find power, especially before any fusable links. They can be blown, and look fine.

[Captkaos]

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