Hey guys and gals. I am hoping that you may be able to help me. I have searched the forums and can only find the answer to this question for newer trucks. My truck will not fire. I have had problems with the tranny being out due to rusting mounts and I am assuming that the problem is with the neutral safety switch. On three occassions I had trouble starting my truck. I turn the key and nothing. Now I can't get it to start again period. Heater, radio, lights etc all work.I tested my battery and lots of juice. I tested the ignition on fuse pannel with tester and no prob. I dropped the steering wheel and got to the neutral safety switch located on the column. Unfortunately I can't pull the plug apart from the relay. When I turn the ignition to on I have power to the pink and orange, but not the purple at the plug. Which wires do I jump or splice together to bypass the neutral safety switch? Thanks.

 

um ok no reply I see. Any ideas. I think the neutral safety switch also goes into the driver side of the tranny. I can see yellow wire and purple wire and I think there are two others. Can I try jumping here by running a wire from the purple to yellow connector? Or can I jump it at the relay on the column. I just don't want to fry anything.

 

I would say your problem is more likely a misaligned park/neutral switch on the column or a worn ignition cylinder. Does holding up on the gear shift lever help starting? Does moving the lever to neutral allow it to start if it does not start in park?

It is also possible that the ignition switch itself is out of adjustment. The ignition switch should be located on the driver side of the steering column under the dash. It is actuated by a rod connected to the ignition cylinder (where the key goes). The ignition switch itself should have slots in the holes which the mounting screws pass through. This will allow for some adjustment of the switch.

This is something I need to do on my '90 parts Suburban. As a temporary fix, I just tossed my needle nose vise grips onto the lock cylinder to get a little more torque to start it. Works like a charm for the mean time.

So if moving the shift lever doesn't work, try putting a set of pliers onto the ignition lock and see if that allows it to start.

 

I'll give your ideas a try tomorrow when I get off work tonight, unless I sleep. I have been searching all over the 4x4 boards including pirate4x4.com and google. I am also going to try running a paper clip from the neutral switch on the side of the tranny (jumping purple and yellow together) found it on another board and they stated they had tried this fix and it worked.