Okay fellas, I am back with another question.

Just in the past few days I have had it happen twice where I didnt think my 68 was gonna start up. Both times came after the car had been driven around shortly before and I am not sure if that is just a coincidence.

Basically what happened is that I tried to turn the ignition and got nothing, no sound. No "turning over, grinding sound" or anything. The lights & blower come on but no sound from the ignition at all. Try again, made sure the car is in "park" (Auto c4 here)... and still nothing. Try it again a couple times and then out of the blue, it turns over and fires up and everything is golden after that.

Is this my starter going bad? If that is the likely culprit, or even if not, how should I go about diagnosing the problem?

Thanks in advance, all.

 

It shouldn't start in drive. is that what you meant to say? not park?

 

oops, my bad. thanks for catching that nineteen66...
Any ideas?

 

Possibly the starter solenoid.
I had my wife hold the key in the start position & I whacked the solenoid a couple of times with awrench (percussion analysis). On the second whack it started cranking. Replaced it & had no more problems.

 

could be alot of things...next time try it in nuetral and see if it'll crank over....possible misadjusted prndl switch or contacts going bad...possible starter selonoid and or ign switch and or starter motor

 

The problem is most certainly associated with the big wires and stuff they hook to... OK,, so I know I am being Captain Obvious here!

But check all of the connections of the big wires first, including the grounds.. If in doubt, disconnect clean and re-attach. Pay particular attention to any "universal ends" that may in use.

If all of this checks out, change the solenoid. Granted the solenoid might not be the issue, but they are cheap, and if this does not fix the issue you will have a spare that you will need sooner or later providing you don't sell your car.

Heat will make a failing solenoid stick sometimes. I have a hunch that this is your problem. <<Now that I think about it, the no-clicking thing says solenoid all the way>>

If this does not fix your issue, by virtue of elimination, the problem must almost certainly be with the starter, it might have a "dead spot". Fortunately these are cheap, cheap, cheap as well!! <<Edit,,, probably not the starter,,, I forgot you said no clicking or anything...>>

<<Also, remember to check both ends of every large cable... one bad connection is all it takes>>

 

sounds like the nuetral safety switch. Usually even if it is the starter solenoid you still hear a click when you try to crank the car. the nuetral safety switch if faulty or if it thought that the car wasnt in park or nuetral just wont send any power in that direction, thats why you dont hear anything. Thats just my opinion, i could be wrong.
Matt

 

id say starter solenoid. $12 fix.

 

Wow, you guys are good.

Thanks for all the info, this is really good stuff. I am going to go out and clean all those wires and make sure the connections are solid. I am pretty sure its not the neutral safety switch because I replaced that just a couple months ago. (Its a B&M Hammer Shifter) But if its the starter solenoid, its good to know that its an easy, cheap fix. That is exactly what I like to hear!

Thanks again, all.

Oh and in case you didnt realize... Tomorrow is Friday, I know I am ready for the weekend!

 

i'm with all the others here. to isolate this when it's not woirking you can bypass circuits with a jumplead.
only one lead of the two cables is needed.

1. connect the jumplead from battery+ to the starter contact on starter relais. it should be a fat red cable going from starter relais to starter. if that doesn't help the issue is starter or starter selonoid (on top of starter). try treating the selonoid with hammer
if that works, then
2. connect the jumplead from battery+ to the small contact on starter relais. it should be marked with an 'S' for starting. disconnect the cable that's hooked up there for the test
if that works then the issue is: bad contacts or neutral safety switch or ignition switch

hope that makes sense

Kalli