Here is the situation: A few weeks ago, my '88 GTA quit starting on me out of the blue. There is no clicking, the battery is good. A friend and I checked the starter; it was good. Checked the starter solenoid. It was bad. I replaced the solenoid twice (I broke the new one the first time tightening a bolt), and still no go. I talked to a mechanic, he said that it sounded like either the NSS or the ignition switch.

The thing is, right after I changed the solenoid the second time, I turned the key to try to start it (needless to say, it still didn't start) and the key would not come back to the "Off" position; I had to wrestle it back over to take the key out.

If this is already answered somewhere else, sorry; I really did search for a couple days and didn't find anything...

 

Oh yeah, I forgot the important part: What do you all think? NSS or ignition switch (or something else that I haven't mentioned...)?

 

It is very likely that the source of the problem is the ignition cylinder. I had the same situation where I could not pull the key out, I had to stall the engine to shut it off. *rolleyes*

The ignition cylinder is not the most expensive part. The replacement keys with the resistor pellets are.

Before replacing the solenoids, did you check whether you get 12V on the purple wire at the starter? That's your starting wire. If it doesn't get voltage while you're trying to crank, it's not your solenoid.

Lou

 

I had not checked before I changed the solenoid... what we did was run a set of wires from the battery to the solenoid where the wire had been attached; there was a spark, but not a lot else. So, we changed the solenoid, and I promptly broke it tightening the bolt on the purple wire, and so I replaced it again, to no avail...

I really appreciate your help!

 

You should check the purple wire at the solenoid. If it's not getting 12V with the ignition key turned to Start, you can backtrack it. The ignition switch gets 12V in a red wire. From there, it is a yellow wire to the safety start switch (either on your clutch pedal or on the automatic gear selector). From there it should be purple all the way to the starter but some models use a green wire. All these wires are thick.

If you need diagrams, you can find them on our ATGO diagram page here: http://www.austinthirdgen.org/module...howpage&pid=22

Hope this helps.
Lou

 

See, about the ignition cylinder...

The car quit turning over before the key stopped turning. Would it be possible that the cylinder went out some, the car quit starting, and then the key would not turn? What I mean is, if the key would turn earlier and it still didn't start, would the cylinder still be involved?

 

Sure it is.
If you can't turn the key to start or even remove the key, the ignition cylinder is very likely to be the culprit. If not that, it could possibly be the ignition switch itself that's mounted on the steering column and actuated from the cylinder by a metal rod. I guess it would be cheaper to drop the steering colum some and test the ignition switch before you start disassemblihg the steering wheel to get to the cylinder.

Lou

 

Okay, I'll give it a shot and tell you what happens... Although I'm still not sure why it would be the cylinder if it was (or seemed, at least) good after the car quit starting. But I trust you, and it's a lot better than what I was thinking (specifically, "Ummm... Dang!").

 

Don't trust me, trust the outcome of your troubleshooting. It's better to make sure which part is actually at fault than start swapping parts. That's why I recommend to test the ignition switch itself before replacing the cylinder, although a lot of things point to the cylinder.

I had a problem once where all of a sudden I could not turn my car off. The key was stuck in Run and there was NO amount of force or wiggling I could develop to turn it off. I had to put it in gear and let the clutch out to stall the engine (I hate doing that). It was the ignition that was at fault. It happened just like that. So yes, things like that can happen all of a sudden and without a warning.

Let us know what you find!
Lou

 

When I said I trusted you, I meant that I trusted you that it COULD be the cylinder, not necessarily that it was... I would still check.

I'll let you know what goes down...

 

Well, there was a broken wire coming from the switch. Fixed that, and that fixed the not-starting problem.

However, the key will still not come out of the ignition without me having to wear out my arm... That stopping must have just been a coincidence. What did you say the solution was when that happened to you?

 

If you mean me, I had to replace the ignition cylinder and key, of course. Which was a pretty big financial hit (the keys cost more than the cylinder itself). Also, the repair was pretty involved.

Lou