Is my ignition switch bad?

[BillZ260]

And if so how hard is it to remove, do I need to let the steering column drop?

 

This is continued from my post on getting my Z started for the first time about a month ago. The issue I was having was that ONLY the STARTER was getting 12V when the switch was in the START position. So what was happening is that it would crank and crank and never fire untill I let off the starter, which made for some tricky starts None of the poles are hot in the START and the ON positions. Jeff was helping me and he thinks my switch has gond bad so today I had some time to test and this is what I got...

 

Here are the post positions on the swith as if looking at the dash through the switch (Since they are on the back of the switch).

 

..........| --- 1.

4. ---| | --- 2.

5. ---| | --- 3.

 

SWITCH POSITION and POLES that are ACTIVE across each other

 

ACC POSITION #4 & #5 are active

ON POSITION #4 & #5 are active

START POSTIION #1, #2, #3, & #5 are active.

 

It seems to me that one of the poles needs to be hot when in START and ON positions. Obviously # 5 is my 12V supply.

 

Am I missing something? Your thoughts? Maybe someone has an exrtra switch laying around they can test? Jeff (Aguyandaredhead) said he has an extra, i'll pick it up if mine is bad, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong.

[VinhZXT]

It's very easy to verify your problem. There is something call hot wiring lol. Unplug the connector from the back of the ignition and hot wire them. If it starts then you just prove that your switch is bad.

[BillZ260]

That's an easy solution

 

But I don't really want my car to start right now. I'm leaving out for the UAE again this afternoon and don't really want my car to start again unless I can run it for a while, set the Idle, timing etc. I need to fix the issues i had from the first time we fired it up. Was hoping that someone could test or confirm the switch wiring / lay out for me.

 

I guess i could pull the starter solinoid wire off the starter and test the coild wire while I 'hotwire' it.

[BillZ260]

Bump...

 

Won't be back home till March. Any help would be appretiated.

[BillZ260]

OK, so to take the ign switch off i need to remove the top adn bottom clamp screws on the arm holding the switch on?

 

I guess I'll buy another one or a cheap generic switch and remount it somewhere else.

[naviathan]

The switch itself has two screws holding it to the back of the locking cylinder. it will require a small stubby phillips to remove them. You don't need to remove the whole assembly that connects to the steering column.

[Daeron]

You *could* just cut the wire going to the "start" terminal, then re route that wire to a relayed push button switch.. in other words, run the line that USED to receive power when you turned the key to "start" to the output of a relay, and run good fused constant power to that relay (you could use switched, but constant is better) Then run SWITCHED power to a pushbutton (it can be small, that why you are using the relay) and use that pushbutton to activate that relay.

 

It may sound a little complicated, but this is actually a VERY simple "band-aid" type fix that is very safe, very secure (you still cannot start your car without the key, and you have to know about the pushbutton to start it at all) AND if you are interested, I can tell you what kind of car to get the relay, relay plug, and wires out of to splice in. Send me a PM if you are interested...I could draw up a little sketch in paintbrush to show you waht I mean if my description isn't clear enough.

 

Drawings can go a million miles in explaining something like this

[BillZ260]

Daeron,

 

Thanks!! you have PM

[BillZ260]

OK, I guess I had my HUA in Feb

 

Took some time yesterday to re-analyze the situation with fresh eyes. (It's amazing what 8 months away from home will do for you! At points, I barely remembered I had a Z )

 

I think that basically, I had my wires connected to the wrong pins on the switch, I can't find my original notes, but I may have just simply just connected them up incorreclty 2 years ago...

 

For the painless kit this is how I ended up hooking everything up, based on the diagram above.

 

Pin 1 = No wires (This one is active against pins 2,3 and 5 when in the "START" position)

 

Pin 2 = Ignition and Coil wires (Orange and Pink)

 

Pin 3 = Starter solinoid (Purple)

 

Pin 4 = Accessory Power (Brown)

 

Pin 5 = 12V Supply (Red)

 

Hope this helps someone else.

 

OH! And I ran across a key, which I thought was an extra Z key so i stuck it in the ignition and it worked. I decided to check it against the Z Key i have been using and they are NOT the same. I think it's from my old 84 Trooper. I'll definitly need to wire in some security measures based on any 'ol key woking in the ignition.

[PUSHER]

Any chance the above is a typo? I'm reading brown as 'ign switch ign' and the orange wire as 'ignition switch acc'. Making:

 

Pin 2: pink and brown.

pin 4: orange.

 

Is this right?

[BillZ260]

Any chance the above is a typo? I'm reading brown as 'ign switch ign' and the orange wire as 'ignition switch acc'. Making:

 

Pin 2: pink and brown.

pin 4: orange.

 

Is this right?

 

The above is NOT CORRECT!!!

 

Sorry I didn't post my end solution. I'll have to double check the switch but I think there are only 3 wires on the ign switch currently.

 

I figured out my switch is bad and the contacts are badly worn. Especially the contacts for the starter circuit.

 

So I ended up NOT using the above wiring and added a pushbutton for the starter circuit. Sorry I didn't post my end solution.

 

Again, I appoligize for not following up on this. I have some other wires to check up on for Mikelly this weekend. I'll WRITE DOWN everything and post back up.