trouble starting

[jaybeast]

hey all:

i have a 92 svx w/ 57k miles. took it for an oil change and car wash today, drove it to a store parking lot where it sat for about 20 minutes. I tried starting it and nothing - fully lit dash, battery is charged (tried a jump anyway, didn't work), but when i turn the key i get nothing. no clicking. nothing.

any ideas?

any help would be appreciated!

thanks,
jay

[Beav]

Did you try starting it in neutral?

[jaybeast]

hey beav,

i did. if it was the ignition switch would i encounter this same problem - getting power but no crank or sound?

what could have changed in the span of 15-20 minutes?

jay

[Hohopirates]

Is it possible that some water got somewhere it shouldn't have and when the car heated up it vaporized fouling a connection somewhere? I have had it happen on my old Buick before and it just took a good drying. Just a thought. Steve

[Beav]

Try having someone hold the key in 'start' position while wiggling the battery cables - keep your hands clear of anything that could move if/when the starter engages. If that doesn't work I would connect a small jumper wire to the small terminal on the starter, this is the wire that 'tells' the starter to engage. Touch the other end of this wire to the battery and see if that causes the starter to spin the engine.

And yes, the ignition switch could be the culprit. Basically, between the battery and starter is the ignition switch, the neutral start (inhibitor) switch and a starter-disable security relay.

The meter is in this pic (which has been in my locker for some time) depicts how to perform a voltage drop test on the positive battery cable. At this point it means little to you as the starter needs to function in order to perform the test. I just placed the image here for you to see the basic power flow of the starter system.

[jaybeast]

i'm beginning to think it has something to do with the security system. while it's been disabled for some time, reading the manual's instructions gives me the sneaking feeling that it became enabled.

i've tried the instruction on bypassing it, but it still won't start. the light for the security switch is also not coming on. is there a fuse i can check? i looked at the ignition fuse and it's fine. is there one for the security system? couldn't locate on inside the cabin and figure that's a crappy place for one anyway.

under the hood?

[Beav]

At this point you don't even know if the ignition switch is sending 12v to the starter solenoid. Buy a test light and check that before throwing rocks at everything - it will save you money if you check things in logical progression.