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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Interior & Equipment => Steering Columns => Topic started by: gold84gmc on September 15, 2009, 07:48:01 pm
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ok i was on my way home from work tonight...i left before it was warmed up all the way and went not even half a mile down the road and looked at my gauges...the temp gauge was all the way to the right, my tach gauge was all the way around and my amp gauge was also all the way to the right...(i have an electric fan, so i turned it on when i saw the temp gauge and noticed that it was running faster than normal) so i pulled over and turned the truck off...tried to start it again and now it doesnt do anything when i turn the key, usually a light in the fuel gauge turns on when the key is turned to on, now it doesnt turn on and the engine doesnt crank over...i noticed that it smelt like hot wire inside the cab, but didnt see anything wrong, my dad said the alternator mightve went bad, i think theres something wrong with the ignition wiring in the steering column. does anyone know what might be wrong?
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It almost sounds like the ignition switch hung in the crank position. Id replace it and test the starter before I started into the wiring unless you see any obvious problems.
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how do i test the starter?...i thought you test it while cranking the engine
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Check your fusible links and then the wires near the passenger side manifold and rear valve cover area for chafing.
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how do i test the starter?...i thought you test it while cranking the engine
Everyone has different opinions a circumstances for this answer. It take about a half hour for me to get to town from my house. Id pull the starter and take it with me when I went to town to get the ignition switch. They can test the starter there, and the battery unless you have a load tester, and when I return home I'll have three of the possible problems isolated. It beats going to town for a switch just to have to go back and have the starter tested, or battery for that matter. Also, if the starter did hang in, youll know pretty quick upon inspection of the flywheel, and starter gear. I can drop a starter on any of my trucks in ablout five minutes, but like I said, circumstances differ for some. Definately check the fusible links and the other wiring for obvious problems like Vile said, you may find something else you need to pick up as well.
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its not my battery because the dome light turns on and isnt dimmer than normal, and i dont know if the brake light switch is bad now too or what because when i hit the brake pedal the lights dont turn on...but when i turn the parking lights on the tail lights turn on
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i changed the ignition switch and now when i move the key to the different positions it doesnt feel right and when i turn it to start that also doenst feel right
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the brake light switch doesn't controll the start up just the neutral safety switch would cone troll that does it work now??? when you say don't feel right you mean hard to turn compaired to the old one ???
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i havent tried starting it yet because it doesnt feel right...no it doesnt stop in the different positions(lock,accessory,on) it just turns smooth, and when i turn it to start it doesnt have the spring tension, or whatever you wanna call it, that it had before
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Did you hook the rod back into the switch?
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yes..i looked at it better today and when i turn the key it is moving the switch into the different positions i guess it just does it smoother than the old one...but now i have 2 more problems, the turn signal/headlight dimmer/wiper control, has a rod that goes down to a switch for the high/low beams and now its eather broken or disconnected at the turn signal/headlight dimmer/wiper control, so how do i take that out or how can i look to seem whats wrong with it. my second problem is that it wont shift out of park now....i turn the key out of the lock position and push the brake and i cant move the shifter out of park
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i think your problem is the highbeam switch rod is broken or out of place as you said but its also jamming the shifter causing it not to shift.
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ok, how do i get to it...do i have to take the steering wheel off?
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ok i fixed the dimmer switch problem and the shifter problem, but now i have the original problem again....when i turn the key i get no power and nothing happens...do i need a new key switch maybe??
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ok you have no power to anything? if you do have power to everything but the starter then look at your starter wires see if they are getting power one of the fat ones should be getting power 24/7 it goes strait to the bat. the other fat one(goes to the starter) only gets power when the little one ( it goes to your ignition switch) gets power. if you have no power to anything with they key then check your pig tail on the steering column for power you will have like 8 or so wires i think its the black one that will be hot 24/7 but check them all. another thing to check is the single red wire going to the distributor with they key on it should be 12 v
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i have power to everything except what has to do with the key(ignition,radio,accessory,etc)....ill check the pigtail, is it possible for you to put a pic of the pigtail on here so i know which one your talking about?
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i don't have a pic but if you look at the column follow it down till you get pass the panel you take off then look on the right side of it it will be about 4 or so inches long and flat it will be mounted to the shaft its self
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so i brought my truck to the local garage so he could find out what the problem was, and im lucky my truck didnt catch on fire, because my alternator was charging at 26 volts, and i guess there's gears inside the steering column for the key switch, and theyre missing a bunch of teeth causing them to slip and thats why i was getting power and why i couldnt shift it out of park, so i have to get a new alternator and a steering column
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i dont even want my truck anymore im tired of it, i just replaced the steering column and it still doesnt start
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now when i try to start it i get power but as soon as i turn the key to start the parking brake light in the guage turns on and it doesnt turn over or anything
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Sound like the neutral safety switch might be giving you fits. Will the starter "bump" in neutral? (or in gear)
Just a quick "bump", don't want it to catch in gear.
Switch might be out of adjustment, or gone. Hard saying what it is, but I'd rule that out. Especially where you just swapped out columns.
FWIW, I've been through 3 since my truck went back on the road last fall, I now carry a spare in the glovebox.
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You just needed to replace the rack mechanism, not the whole column.
(http://www.americanclassic.com/images/HRN-102NOS.jpg)
I agree check the park neutral switch A) that it's even connected and B) that it's properly adjusted.
It's at the base of the column.
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how do i adjust it?...and im going to replace it anyways but you dont think it could be my starter and/or solernoid thats bad?, because i get power to everything in the cab when i turn the key to on, but when i turn it to start the engine doesnt do anything
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If it's not broke, don't replace it. As far as your brake light on the dash, that's what happens when you try to start it in gear.
When the switch goes bad you can't start it in any gear, or ALL gears.
On mine, it's just a pair of screws and a pr of electrical plugs. Loosen the screws and you should be able to rack it to the left or right. (this is assuming your shift linkage is adjusted)
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ok ill look at it tomorrow, do i just keep moving it left or right until it starts?
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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.
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First I gotta get a new starter(even though i think it's still good)once I get the new one on I'll do what you just said to do with the switch
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First I gotta get a new starter(even though i think it's still good)once I get the new one on I'll do what you just said to do with the switch
It almost sounds like the ignition switch hung in the crank position. Id replace it and test the starter before I started into the wiring unless you see any obvious problems.
And you thought I was crazy,lol. Just messin with ya.
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First I gotta get a new starter(even though i think it's still good)once I get the new one on I'll do what you just said to do with the switch
Why? ??? Check the switch, if it's bad, order a new one (just a phone call to your favorite parts house) Rule out something before you run to get a new starter. 20.00 in gas to get a 10.00 part, (after you spend 50.00 for something that might not be bad) doesn't seem cost effective in time or $
Maybe it's just me, living 15 mi (and 30 min) away from parts. I've learned to try to consolidate my trips a little. That's why I've got a spare switch, after 3 or 4 you realize a 7.00 part isn't worth the downtime.
Rule out the switch, then look someplace else (if it's good), next trip to the parts house, then you can get your starter tested.
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how do i test the switch, i know i can adjust it, and with my starter the bearings are bad so im gonna replace it
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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?
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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
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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
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this is my new name, my old one is the gold84gmc
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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.
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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?
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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
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Go to the S terminal with a test light to ground. Have an assistant crank it and see if it lights up.
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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
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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
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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.
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you changed your email to an AOL account which is not allowed here because they block the email.
If you ever have problems with your account email us before registering with multiple accounts.
Your new account will be deleted and the email associated with it will be added to the old account.
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Douellette have you tried adjusting the ignition switch yet.
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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?
You won't get power to the starter if the neutral start switch is blocking it. (brake light that comes on when you turn the key) It would act like your trying to start it in gear. Quick look for the obvious (burnt wire, wrong connections, etc) then start ruling out 1 thing at a time. You've already changed out so much, I can't keep track. Don't forget, new doesn't mean good.
I had an intermittent starting problem on my truck, it turned out to be a bad contact in the wiring pigtail on the column. Only found by ruling out one thing at a time.
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im getting power to the ignition switch but when i turn the key to start im not getting power...i tried using a jumper wire on the connector for the back up switch and it didnt change anything
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i just went to the parts store and got a new neutral safety backup switch, and the one they gave me is different than my old ones, the old ones just snapped into place(didnt have any screws) and they only have one spot for a connector to plug on....the new one uses screws to mount and has 4 different spots for connectors, and it doesnt fit my column
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i feel like the biggest idiot now....i hooked up one of the other ignition switches but didnt mount it to the column and used a pick to move it to the different positions and moved it to start and it turned over....so i mounted it to the column and it didnt work again, thats when i remembered that it can be adjusted and i moved it closer to the steering wheel and it works now ;D ;D ;D thanks for all the help and info
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Glad to hear you got it. We all have chased ourselves at one time or another, so dont feel bad.
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Glad you got it. ;D
I've chased myself more times than I can count, usually 1 thing at a time works, and then it turns into a DUH moment as the problem is usually right in front of my face. ::)
If you hadn't gotten it by the end of the week, you were gonna get a PM to see if a fresh set of eyes could help.
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haha ya just like when im looking for something and cant find it, then go back some other time and find it and it ended up being right out in the open, hate when that happens