• Welcome to The Truck Stop! We see you haven't REGISTERED yet.

    Your truck knowledge is missing!
    • Registration is FREE , all we need is your birthday and email. (We don't share ANY data with ANYONE)
    • We have tons of knowledge here for your diesel truck!
    • Post your own topics and reply to existing threads to help others out!
    • NO ADS! The site is fully functional and ad free!
    CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

    Problems registering? Click here to contact us!

    Already registered, but need a PASSWORD RESET? CLICK HERE TO RESET YOUR PASSWORD!

help, husband wants to sell it if we can't fix it

Given the age of the truck a new OEM ignition switch would not be a bad idea. Unless somebody here knows of something better than an OEM.
I seem to have extended the life of one of my switches by spraying it with plastic safe electronics cleaner & electrical lube.

I edited post #60 to say what I meant to say. Apparently I left a few words out. This issue needs to be clarified one way or the other. On our burb the issue started the 2nd time after the installation of timing chain & gears. Must have bumped the plug or something in the process.
 
Last edited:
You are right, her wait to start light doesnt come on after it dies, but the interior lights and radio go out too and what not, so general lack of power to everything in the ignition ON position. Thats why I wonder if when you open the door does the lighting come on as it gets power from a different constant source there.
 
okay will check out to see if the lights work next time it quites. we cranked it and idoled it for a bit and it stalled but the wait to start light came right on and it cranked right away. Just to clarify, could the ignit. switch cut the vehicle off when driving? And the hood ground should all vehicles have them? We couldn't find one that looked like the picture (more of a web strap deal). Come on tax refund so we can buy the switch... will crank the truck this afternoon and see if it dies so I can check the lights and door combo
 
Imagine if you were driving down the road and the passenger turned the key from On to Off, you know it doesnt fully go back to off when in gear, but it does kill it. The truck still rolls through even if in gear as the tranny is intelligent enough to know not to lock itself up.

On another forum there is a well experienced guy that suggests the ignition switch as the first thing to check when he hears about stalling, save for the PMD in cases, in 95 and up apparantly they changed the ignition to something pretty mickey mouse.
 
The hood-strap ground is necessary if your radio is static-y - hinges metal-on-metal connection is usually sufficient

The IGN switch is a mechanically-operated relay-type unit with several contact sections - the main section supplys IGN power to the ESO, FSD, WTS, LP, etc - second section supplys power to INSTrument panel and lighting - third section to ACC - that's why some items function, some don't when the switch fails - the ones that don't: ESO, FSD, WTS, LP, are why engine dies\stalls, won't start, etc - because it is a relay-type switch, a bump or jar can interrupt electrical connection - cycling the switch RUN-OFF-START-RUN is, of course, how faulty connection is sometimes restored - have been cases where the switch was removed, disassembled, contactor bars swapped amongst the sections to recover operation for a while, as ACC and INST do not require as much current as IGN - however, a '95-'96-'97 truck is mighty long in the tooth, so even switch spring tension has lost it's snap, such that the contactor bars do not achieve sufficient force on the stationary contacts - does the term 'unreliable' ring any bells? - if all grounds and connections are pristine, IGN switch is next on the list - if you replace the switch B4 wiring system pristinicity, and engine continues to die\stall, sue the person you see in the mirror each morning, eh......................

FYI, we left illustrative info with pics on the other forum, tho possibly someone has migrated it over here - do a search for more..........................
 
Last edited:
Jprice didn't we diagnose this same result over a month ago? I hate to say this is economic times, but recommended time and time again to go AC-Delco on this switch.

FWIW i had to replace mine 3 years ago. Truck wouldn't start, all the lights weren't on some of the time, if I cycled it enough times I could get another run out of it, until it got towed one time.
 
yes yes, MB, I know but I actually think it was a few months ago, frustration levels and not even wanting to look at the beast won. Along with bad weather and long work hours. We will absolutly put an AC delco part in it. It will probably take a few more months to get it done but... that's life, Thank you all to the very details answers and descriptions and the pics on the other forum were great... I will update hopefully in the not to distant future...
 
My truck sat for 8 months with a no-start while I read a lot on a couple of these forums. So dont feel too bad. I even had to tow it to my new house when I moved to a new job. My Z28 became my daily driver as the fuel prices climbed and the camaro with all the mods and wide tires gets worse mileage than the truck even.

It took about one year between starts, and Ive driven it every day since and its nice to have it back.
 
sounds exactly like what my truck was doing awhile ago.... replaced with a delco part ordered from rockville auto online and fixed everything. Have to see if I can find those pics I took of it....
 
jprice said:
yes yes, MB, I know but I actually think it was a few months ago, frustration levels and not even wanting to look at the beast won. Along with bad weather and long work hours. We will absolutly put an AC delco part in it. It will probably take a few more months to get it done but... that's life, Thank you all to the very details answers and descriptions and the pics on the other forum were great... I will update hopefully in the not to distant future...
Click to expand...

The switch will be around $150. It will take an hour or two to install, even if you're slow like me.

-Rob :)
 
thank you we are counting down to the refund arrives! I hope this works, we even resorted to looking at buying a van, man I don't wnat to drive one of those... gmctd and buddy, thank youf or the indepth explanation about the switch. I can not tell you how many times it has stopped and we ahve said exactly "it was like some one reached over and turned the truck off..." PLEASE LET THIS WORK. Will update hopefully in the next two weeks...
 
Tookie youre a bit late to the party :)

If you analyzed all of the issues and did one diagnosis it is clear there are ignition issues, and the ignition powers the PCM which will kill the truck when the contacts are burnt or something is broken. Its a common problem with these trucks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top