Ghost In The Machine

[macr0w]

Hey guys, I just thought I'd post this for fun.
3 weeks ago my son called me and said the truck won't start.
I said "what's it doing?" He said nothing at all. No click no turn no nothing.
Radio and lights and everything else seems to power up no problem.
So I went over and sure enough, nothing.
I opened the hood and looked the starter hiding behind the header and thought "damnit!!!"
The battery was showing 12.6 volts.
It was cold and rainy so I put off crawling under the truck.
A couple days later I went over.
I decided to pull the ignition switch and test it out.
Pulled half the dash apart pulled the switch and tested it with a battery and a multimeter.
It works.
At least it is sending 12.6 volts to the solenoid pin when pushed to the start position.
Okay, ignition switch is good.
Put it back in.
It was the holidays and I really didn't feel like messing with it so I put it off for a few days.
So then I went out there took my jack and jack stands and got her up in the air to look at the starter.
Keep in mind that I have no pavement and no garage. It was cold and wet and miserable.
And the headers keep you from having any easy access to the starter wiring especially.
I pulled the starter and put it on the ground and hit it with some jumper cables and it spins no problem.
So I tested the wires. The wire from the switch shows 12.6 volts when you turn the key. 
I thought WTH?
So I decided to put the starter back on and put all wires back in place.
So during this whole process you can imagine that there was some cursing and a few busted knuckles and stress. I also got a big glob of crusty debris in my eye while laying on my back in the cold mud. That prompted an angry slide out from under the truck and a freezing cold spray in the face with a garden hose while my son put his finger in my eye. Good times. 
So after much cursing I had it all back together.
Turn the key for a test and what happens?
It started right up.
No parts were changed. No different connections or configurations.
Just take it apart. Curse a lot, smash your knuckles and get shoot in your eye, waste time, get muddy, get wet and cold and put it all back together for nothing.
I think it just wanted me to pay it some attention.
I still have to put the dash back together.
WTH? 

[Shifty]

Poor Square was just lonely, and wanted a hug.

[Chvyntl]

Buddy, I felt your pain! Surely some innocent piece of metal would have to be bent in retaliation. Or rocks thrown. Hopefully there was a calm voice nearby to ease the suffering.

Your story vividly brought me back to a similar one of my own. I was 16 at the time with the oppressive responsibility of a drivers license. I had dropped my date off at her house. It was raining but I was just going to make it home by curfew. (My dad was a “lifer” military man. Ran everything by the book) Climbed in the car and nothing! Like yours the radio worked, dome light, everything seemed fine. Just would not crank.

I instantly went into panic mode. Dad will NOT appreciate this. After what seemed like forever I worked up the guts to call home. My mother answered, of course, because my dad always went to bed early because he had to be at the base before sunrise. My mother woke him up and I explained to him what had happened and where I was. He said he’d be there shortly.

Shortly was long enough to sweat out the terror that was coming in my mind. He showed up eventually. It was still raining. We got in the car. He turned the key. No crank. He honked the horn. Plenty loud horn. Turned on and off the headlights. Plenty bright lights. Grabbed the shift lever and put it in park... vrooom.

I can’t remember if he said anything. He got out the car and got in his and we went back home. No more was said about the subject but some valuable lessons were learned that night.

Thank you for reminding me of that story.

[VileZambonie]

Well, it sounds like you gave yourself some practice anyway. For future reference, you could have done a simple test with a test light or hammer that would have taken you all of about 3 minutes. 

Chvyntl, are you saying you forgot to put it in park?

[JohnnyPopper]

Vile's right again, I would have smacked it with a hammer, or used a screwdriver to short the solenoid terminal to the B+ lug. Watch for sparks... Don't have anything flammable nearby or you will have a different problem

[Chvyntl]

Forgot implies that I knew. 16 years old and low on experience. But, yes, the shift lever did not find its way entirely into the Park position. ‘62 Bel Airs did not require the shifter to be seated in park to shut the motor off and remove the key. So the neutral safety switch was unknown to me. One of the lessons leaned that night. Along with the fact that my dad wasn’t as intolerant as I might have thought.

[TexasRed]

Sometimes a wire or something has a small break in the steering column. It can be really intermittent on not letting the vehicle start.