97 electrical gremlins
 

HI All

First of all I'm glad I found you. Normally I have no problem fixing my Blazer but this kind of has me a little baffled.

I have a feeling that my problem lies with the ignition switch but thought I would post the problem and see if any of you agree that my hunch is right. A few years back I had someone tell me the 2nd gen Blazers were hard on ignition switches (long story) so knowing that is why I am suspicious of it.

Anyway here's the problem I am having. The last week or so my ABS light would stay on (I recently changed the front hubs) when I started the vehicle. I would shut it down and restart and that seemed to solve the light staying on.

Something that I found odd was when the light did stay on the power windows and defroster won't work. Or when the light is off if I try the windows or defroster it would trip the light.
Sounds like a short right? :icon_woot:

But wait, This is all when the key is in the on position & running, when I turn the key off and then to the acc. position everything works fine.
:icon_xsnatch:Can't be a short then right?
:icon_idea1: Unless the short is in the ignition switch.

I've checked all fuses and they look good. Now it's been raining the last couple of days and I gave thought to moisture being the culprit, but the whole switch position thing has me leaning heavily on the switch being the issue here.
Another reason I suspect the ignition switch is I don't think the ABS system shares the same circuit as the power windows or the AC/heater/defroster and each has it's own circuit. The only place I can think of where they may share is in the switch.

So what do any of you think? Am I on the right track with this?

I should also mention that the switch was replaced about 4 years ago, twice in the past 10 years.
Are they really that bad they need to be replaced so often?

I read other threads and see some have corrected their issue with a new switch while others did not. Me I'm convinced that is the issue, I checked grounds as some suggested and found no issues.
So calling around for another switch I was floored by the amount these parts stores want, one quoted me over $200 (I'm in Canada), ended up ordering one from Rock Auto for less than half.

I considered scrap yards but had no luck, was told the only other model year compatible was a 98. I thought I could interchange parts up to model year 2005.

So hopefully someone can tell me if this is true or what other GM models I could pull one from.

Resolved and everything works again.

Was it the ignition switch?