no crank after new (refurbished steering column)

johnnunez29

Master Mechanic
May 9, 2022
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86 MCSS LS swap running the holley terminator x max (been giving me headache but thats another issue many of you have helped with). Car was turning over no problem until i swapped out the steering column for a used one(refurbished) from mikes montes, reason i bought one was that i sand blasted the inside of the car and had sand dust everywhere in the column (possibly the root of my cam sensor issues,idk) but when i would turn the key it sounded like a salt grinder. So decided rather than take this entire thing apart just buy a refurbished one. So after installation i went to crank car, holley turns on, fuel pump primes but when i complete the key turn NOTHING. no crank at all. wont turn over. tried all day to find the issue and nada. Im also not an electrician so that doesnt help.
 
Ignition switch has slots for the mounting screws. Might just need adjusting. you will want to pull it back towards the steering wheel to tighten it up.

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Ignition switch has slots for the mounting screws. Might just need adjusting. you will want to pull it back towards the steering wheel to tighten it up.

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y bad shoulda added that. theyre 2x 8mm bolts, i did that today. still didnt get crank. going to test purple wire tomorrow to see if it gets the voltage when i turn the key.
 
Ignition switch has slots for the mounting screws. Might just need adjusting. you will want to pull it back towards the steering wheel to tighten it up.

View attachment 242112
I did find this cable down there I’m not sure where it was . Yellow cable looks
Like it belongs in one of the ign ports in fuse box
 

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I did find this cable down there I’m not sure where it was . Yellow cable looks
Like it belongs in one of the ign ports in fuse box
could very well be given the proximity to the fuse panel, and the gauge of the wire but you should try to trace it first to the extent you can.

does this car have an aftermarket alarm system with a starter interrupt relay, or other cranking disablement? you may want to check there, otherwise the purple wire on the starter solenoid comes from the IGN switch and you should trouble shoot like a normal no crank by testing that PPL wire at starter and working backwards to IGN switch.
 
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could very well be given the proximity to the fuse panel, and the gauge of the wire but you should try to trace it first to the extent you can.

does this car have an aftermarket alarm system with a starter interrupt relay, or other cranking disablement? you may want to check there, otherwise the purple wire on the starter solenoid comes from the IGN switch and you should trouble shoot like a normal no crank by testing that PPL wire at starter and working backwards to IGN switch.
cars got nothing aftermarket inside or electricaly beside all the holley stuff. so you are saying instead of starting at ign switch i should start at starter. not sure what wire to go off of.
 
cars got nothing aftermarket inside or electricaly beside all the holley stuff. so you are saying instead of starting at ign switch i should start at starter. not sure what wire to go off of.
Well normally for a no crank issue you would start at the starter solenoid's wire from the IGN switch, and work your way backwards. However since you say you swapped the steering column and now you have an issue that would tend to point to a problem in that area, under the dash?

You should retrace your steps carefully, lower that steering column back down from it's mounts to get to the IGN switch and look for that 12ga PURPLE wire and test it there when cranking it should light the test light. If it does, time to work your way out from there to the Starter Solenoid. It's pretty much a straight run from IGN switch through the C100 connector (fuse block) and out under the hood to the starter.

If you find nothing on the PPL wire at the IGN switch, you should check that the heavy RED wires at the IGN switch have power. I assume they do if all your other IGN on stuff works? Dash lights, gauges, indicators, etc..?

Maybe that YELLOW wire is something someone rewired/repaired which replaced that PURPLE wire, and in the course of the column R&R you knocked it loose so definitely find out where it's going. It shouldn't be hard with the column dropped out of it's mounts so you access the harness under the dash.

HTH
 
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Another thing that might need checked is the neutral safety/back up switch. It'll need to be alined correctly as it's a mechanically operated by the position of the shifter tube. A sign this could be the issue is the back up lights won't work properly when putting the the column into reverse.
 
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Another thing that might need checked is the neutral safety/back up switch. It'll need to be alined correctly as it's a mechanically operated by the position of the shifter tube. A sign this could be the issue is the back up lights won't work properly when putting the the column into reverse.
Yeah, I was thinking NSS electrically earlier too but it's a mechanical lockout on these like you noted.

You shouldn't be able to rotate the Ignition lock cylinder to the CRANK position unless the switch is in the P or N position.

johnnunez29 is that what you're experiencing? You can't rotate the KEY to the CRANK position, or you can but just not triggering the Starter when you do?
 
Yeah, I was thinking NSS electrically earlier too but it's a mechanical lockout on these like you noted.

You shouldn't be able to rotate the Ignition lock cylinder to the CRANK position unless the switch is in the P or N position.

johnnunez29 is that what you're experiencing? You can't rotate the KEY to the CRANK position, or you can but just not triggering the Starter when you do?
I can turn key all the way. However the white piece at the bottom of the steering column nearest the fire wall did fall off. And it looks to have a plastic tab that goes into something. Not sure if that’s it. Besides that it was all working fine. Thanks for the help fellas
 

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