Hit or miss starting, No Noise at all

[No.11]

It's a hit or miss thing. Sometimes, randomly it seems, my car just won't start. The fuel pump will prime, gauges will be lit and working, but when I turn the key the car just won't start. It makes no noise at all! No clicking, or turning over...nothing! I had the starter replaced but that did not do it. I also replaced the battery since the one I had before was too tall and was interfering with the hood. Could either the starter solenoid or the ignition switch be my problem here? Any help would be appreciated!

 

[HISSIN50]

Put a test light on the slide-on terminal on top of the solenoid. Keep trying to start the car. If you can get it to not crank but the test light illuminates, that suggests you're ok up to the soleneoid.

There's a decent chance the ignition switch (a known issue on these cars) is the problem, but long runs of S-circuit wiring (as done for kill switches in alarms) can also cause an issue. Battery cables, battery connections, motor grounding, etc etc can all be the cause.

Good luck.

 

[No.11]

Put a test light on the slide-on terminal on top of the solenoid. Keep trying to start the car. If you can get it to not crank but the test light illuminates, that suggests you're ok up to the solenoid.

There's a decent chance the ignition switch (a known issue on these cars) is the problem, but long runs of S-circuit wiring (as done for kill switches in alarms) can also cause an issue. Battery cables, battery connections, motor grounding, etc etc can all be the cause.

Good luck.

Can we rule any of those options out considering everything turns on including the headlights? Windows work as well even while the car won't start.

 

[HISSIN50]

Can we rule any of those options out considering everything turns on including the headlights? Windows work as well even while the car won't start.

No you can't. I already omitted a lot of things based upon the assumption that your battery and starter function properly.

For purposes here, you can kind of think of the starter circuit as separate from the rest of the electrical system in the car. You have power everywhere but it doesn't always crank. You need to see if it's an issue in the trigger circuit or the load-side of the circuit. That's what the above test helps decide.