Go towards the light.... is it dead?

[saxmo]

My 69 panel truck pulled a weird one on me last night. I just got the thing running good, so I thought I would test the lights and blinkers, etc. The factory AM stereo rocks! (not) the dome light works, dash lights work. I tried the low beam/high beam floor switch (for the first time) and everything seemed kewl.... BUT.. now any time I turn on the lights it immediately KILLS the engine! BTW I have to start the thing by jumping across the solenoid at the starter (the solenoid is new). So, is it the switch (dead short)? what do some of you electrically inclined guys think?

[LONGHAIR]

Replace the dimmer switch first. Then we can go from there. It is probably shorted, they are known to cause problems.

[Longhorn Man]

check and see if the alt is charging.
If your ignition switch is messed up, it may not be charging properly...if at all.
Have you looked at the neutral safety switch?

[saxmo]

I notice that the dome light surges with the firing of the motor.. kinda makes me think the alt is weak. Reminds me of when I had 55 chevy with 6v system. I didn't know that the manual tranny had neutral safety switch? I have 3 speed manual.

[saxmo]

I do have an extra ignition switch in my other parts panel.. I KNOW it works cuz that's where I got the drivetrain for this one.. and it was working in the other, so I'll try to swap it out too.

[Longhorn Man]

Manual shift...never mind then. No neutral safety switch.

[saxmo]

My first car was a 1976 mercury comet that had a c4 auto tranny, and that sucker ALWAYS had neutral safety switch probs, so that is one of the first things I am conditioned to check...lol.. I hold the key forward and wiggle the shifter, out of habit.

[Longhorn Man]

Another quick and viable check,, unplug the harness on the back of the ignition switch, look for burned contacts and/or corrosion.
Then crawl under the dash and do the upside down under dash boogie...and look at the plug it's self on the back side of the switch...looking for the same thing.
This is a somewhat common problem.

[saxmo]

kewl..thanks for the info.. this is what's good about having a complete parts vehicle available (plus a few extra harnesses) I can just grab a part, and change it within minutes! Except that I work 16 hours/day SUN, Mon, Tue...lol

[Longhorn Man]

I feel your pain man...70 hr weeks here. 70 hrs with a wrench in your hand kinda makes you want to NOT work on your own stuff on your one day off.

[saxmo]

that is tough. My problem is that I gotta turn a project (69 panel) into a driver, cause my wife's truck blew a motor (1997 f150) and it is too costly to fix quickly.

[Longhorn Man]

A little off topic, you'll need to know if that is an early 97 or late 97...they actually sold the 97 for almost 2 years. A quick way to tell that may be in your head already is the tail pipe, the ones built in 96 have the tail pipe in front of the rear wheel, while the real 97's had it behind the wheel.

[saxmo]

I bought it new in Oct. of 96. The pipe exits in front of the tire. Really sux, because the exhaust makes the dirt, etc. stick to that rim more than the others... poor design idea.

[saxmo]

you wouldn't know of a good resource to get a 4.2L 6 banger for it would you? The old one died with 279,000 miles under its' belt.

[Longhorn Man]

we go to the dealer where I work...that or Jasper.
You could roll the dice with a junk yard unit...but thems expensive dice there.



Just get a 429 Cobra Jet and slap it in there with a C6 tranny...it'll be more manly that way.

[saxmo]

yeppers ... and lotsa work for da gamble.

[saxmo]

o.k. I swapped out the starter solenoid (new). New dimmer switch, new ignition switch, new light switch.. and yes, even new wiring harness.. and STILL no luck . this thing is driving me crazy. I was wondering if there could be a problem in the column? This is the only other place that I could figure would not allow the darn thing to start from the ignition key. oh, and it dies when I try to "start" it while it is running, or if I turn on the headlights. Any ideas.. at this point I'm even willing to wear a pink dress and do the underdash boogie.......

[saxmo]

anyone.....