tmorales

Have a '87 4000S that suddenly doesn't do anything when turning the ignition. No clicking or cranking at all. All the lights, buzzers, and radio work and I even put a new battery in, just in case, and cleaned the contacts at the battery. If I let the car sit a day or two SOMETIMES it will start without the problem and it runs perfectly once it starts. On one occasion I saw a puff of smoke come out from around the steering wheel as I tried again and again to get it to start.

My thought are that either the starter switch is bad or there is some sort of bad contact somewhere.

Is there an easy way to bypass the ignition switch? Are there any ground cables I should check? I did try to bypass the battery ground by jumping the car with the negative cable attached directly to the engine block.

Thanks for any help you can provide. I'm trying to avoid towing it again since the first shop I towed it to got the car to start on the first try and didn't check anything else.

AudiSport4000

Either one of those are probably the culprit. An easy test to see if you are getting power to the starter is to disconnect the wire on the starter that gets its feed from the ignition switch, and test it for voltage when you are trying to start the car. No voltage = probably a bad ignition switch. If you get voltage, then you are getting power to the starter, which is good, and the starter may be roasted.

PxTx

Lift up on key while cranking for a temp fix

Whitjr

This is really a ghetto fix, akin in quality to using a coat hanger to wire up the muffler. Put a push-button starter in. I have on my 84. Works well, easy to install, cheap part to buy. Actually 'way cheaper than a new ingition switch. You can't steal the car either, as you still have to put a key in the thing and turn it as if the original switch actually worked. It's the way I have it wired up that makes it work that way. I kind of like it that way, you may not.

Or you can peruse Ebay, as there is usually a ingnition switch there, If you do that, then buy new, not used.

Good luck!

tmorales

What's the easiest way to access the wires I need to connect to the starter button? I assume this would be easier than removing the steering wheel to replace the starter switch itself. Thanks!

tmorales

Tried that, but didn't work.

tmorales

So I looked at all the connections to and from the battery and found one cable that was running from the positive terminal down the inside of the passenger fender. I found part of the black insulation was melted so I took the insulation off and found the wire was in pretty bad shape. I spliced it with wire of similar gauge (it was pretty thick) and the car started right up!

Whitjr

Should be a couple of screws.

Look at the ignition switch, should be a larger red wire coming off it, and a nice sized black one. I only had to use a bit more wire to connect the new push button from the hot side. It's been at least two years since I did that.

I used the hole in the lower panel where the heated seats controll should've been -if my car had had them... it didn't. anyway, there was already a hole, and the new push button fit nicely in it. Had to take an couple additional screws out of this panel to get the wiring done.

If your car has heated seats that still work, I wouldn't disrupt that. You could drill a hole near the collum and install it.

Whitjr

That is very good!

AudiSport4000

You MAY get a no-start issue again very soon. Id inspect the ignition switch anyways to make sure its not faulty. Letting the car sit for a while may cause it to start again once but not start many times after. BTDT with the starter AND ignition switch.