Dies right after releasing key from starting position SOLVED
Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 4:19 pm
I've been without my truck for almost 6 months. Late in the fall I started to have some electrical problems with rear turn signals and brake lights (another post will cover this). Hand signals worked for a while but rain in Seattle makes that miserable. 
Anyway, then it would fire, but die right after releasing the key from the starting position. I did a tune up, checked timing, checked ballast resistor, and on and on and everything I could think of that was engine or electrical. Nothing fixed it. Randomly, it would start, e.g. one in 50 turns of the key.
My Pop was in town for one of my kid's birthdays and we decided to set aside some time to work through the starting the lights issues. After battling with all of it for a day, we decided to close up shop and put everything away. Now this entire time, I was sitting in the driver's and my Dad was under the hood checking spark, linkages, spraying ether, etc. Anyway, I wanted to look at the ballast voltage drop and he went into the cab to turn the key. Somehow, he realized by the 'feel' of the key that he could hold it just inside of start from run where the starter wouldn't run, but the truck would. He relayed some crusty old story about his tractor ignition switches wear out and I should replace it.
Too simple, I thought, but for $12 from Rockauto, I figured WTH. Guess what... That was it. Started up on the first turn of the key. Six months of chasing starting issues only to have it boil down to a simple ~50 year old ignition switch contact. The only wee problem is that Rockauto sent me a box with the right part number on it, but the part in the box is slightly different from the one pictured on the site and the original: it isn't threaded on the cylinder end to receive the dash collar. I'm working through that with them, but I thought I would relay this story to maybe save someone else some misery.
Anyway, then it would fire, but die right after releasing the key from the starting position. I did a tune up, checked timing, checked ballast resistor, and on and on and everything I could think of that was engine or electrical. Nothing fixed it. Randomly, it would start, e.g. one in 50 turns of the key.
My Pop was in town for one of my kid's birthdays and we decided to set aside some time to work through the starting the lights issues. After battling with all of it for a day, we decided to close up shop and put everything away. Now this entire time, I was sitting in the driver's and my Dad was under the hood checking spark, linkages, spraying ether, etc. Anyway, I wanted to look at the ballast voltage drop and he went into the cab to turn the key. Somehow, he realized by the 'feel' of the key that he could hold it just inside of start from run where the starter wouldn't run, but the truck would. He relayed some crusty old story about his tractor ignition switches wear out and I should replace it.
Too simple, I thought, but for $12 from Rockauto, I figured WTH. Guess what... That was it. Started up on the first turn of the key. Six months of chasing starting issues only to have it boil down to a simple ~50 year old ignition switch contact. The only wee problem is that Rockauto sent me a box with the right part number on it, but the part in the box is slightly different from the one pictured on the site and the original: it isn't threaded on the cylinder end to receive the dash collar. I'm working through that with them, but I thought I would relay this story to maybe save someone else some misery.
