starting problems?

Question

the other day i went out to my truck(1994 chevy silverado with 350 tbi engine 5spd manual). after it had been sitting for a few hours and went to start it and it would not kick over. the battery is fine and all lights and other electronics work. But when i go to start it the starter wont kick over. I changed the starter, the starter relay, no loose grounds or plugs, checked fuses and everything is good. I took out the starter and bench tested it it works fine. I turned the engine with a breaker bar to see if for some wild reason it was seized up. no problems. Could it be my ignition switch? i am a little stumped at how after sitting for a few hours this happened. Any help would be greatly appreciated before i dive into my ignition.

before this issue it used to start without having to depress the clutch pedal or take it out of gear which is why i ruled that out. but still a possibility i guess..

Answer 1

First, I would not trust the battery until I got it load tested at your local auto parts store. Batteries have fooled me many times into believing they were good just because the lights and horn would work etc. I've measured batteries with a voltmeter that showed a fully charged battery that turned out to have a bad cell in it and could not crank the engine. If your battery's 4 or more years old, I'd replace it with a new battery anyways.
Once the battery is positively known good, then it's a simple matter of hooking a voltmeter to the 12 Volt DC solenoid connection fed by the ignition switch or a relay controlled by the ignition switch. If you don't have at least 10 Volts DC on the solenoid when you attempt to crank the engine, you've either got high resistance in the circuit path leading from either the ignition switch or relay to the starter solenoid or a failure of a safety starting circuit component of some sort that's keeping the 12VDC from getting to the ignition switch and starter solenoid.

Answer 2

I would check the ignition for sure. You should be able to use a meter(Volt/ohm) to trouble shoot it. I am not familiar with what readings you should get on that perticular ignition but you might be able to borrow a Chiltons from your local library or parts store. You might get luck and find it is just a loose wire in the ignition. I hope! Oh and by all means check the nuetral safety switch on the clutch!!

Answer 3

How about using a test lamp at the B+ side of the starter to see if it lights. How about testing the small solenoid energizer wire also when you roll the key to see if it lights your test lamp. Could be a voltage drop in the cable to the starter. If not then sell it, after all it is a Chevy!

Answer 4

There's a switch that is found on the clutch. A simple switch that is a safety device to ensure that the clutch is depressed before attempting to start the vehicle.

Follow your clutch pedal up, it should be easy to find.

Test this switch to be sure that it is registering that the clutch is being depressed. Otherwise this simple switch maybe preventing you from starting your vehicle. In automatics it's called a neutral safety start switch. Don't know if it goes by the same name in manuals.

Answer 5

in case you had to swap your complicated rigidity (IDE) and you replaced it with a Western digital the subject is possibly brought about by a jumper placing on the complicated rigidity. If the jumper is set to CS (cable go with) replace it to M (grasp) and with any luck this could desire to handle the subject. I had this exact same subject with my sisters Compaq notebook and it frickin drove me nuts for like 2 hours. i regulate the jumper placing and that did the trick. good success Hommie.

Answer 6

Did you check the alternator?

Answer 7

alternator?

Answer 8

Yeah, what hsueh001 said.