Electric problems with my 1997 chevy blazer.... ignition switch?

nmotter · 03-25-2006, 06:10 PM

hello, I have started a new thread cause the one I bumped into is now closed. it's link is http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...ad.php?t=67530

I had the same problems happening with my p.o.s. 97 chevy blazer. My car would just shut off while driving it, or have a delay to being able to start it up while it was sitting. When I would stick the key into the ignition and turn it to the on position the dash cluster would sometimes not turn on and I wouldn't get the bell chime that you usually get. Then you wait about five seconds and the chime would go off and the lights would come on and then you could start the car.

Well now I have a new problem.

*The lights in my dash like "check engine light" etc. will not come on at all.

* My daytime running lamps are not coming on

* When driving the car and turning on the regular headlights the chime goes off and does the same constant beep that it does when you have left your lights on with the car in the off position ( I think the car thinks it is not on and running, something is causing this stuff to not get power, a switch or harness somewhere. idk )

* My battery is now not getting a charge.

* My speedometer is now at 110 m.p.h. and is stuck there

* All gauges in the car are not working... fuel battery etc.

All of these symtoms happened all together at the same time. I was driving down the freeway and the chime went off... the car runs fine it just seems that it doens't know that it is on. I have now replaced the ignition switch and the keylock cylinder.. if anybody knows what else I should do PLEASE PLEASE reply to this thread.. thank you. I am now totally lost.

mike2004tct · 03-25-2006, 06:43 PM

Did you by any chance disconnect your ECM while the engine was running?

I've had both the Ignition switch and the ECM go on my '97, and the symptoms are very similar. My ECM got toasted because one of the connectors was loose.

MT-2500 · 03-25-2006, 06:48 PM

Grab a test light and a good repair manual with the wiring on power feeds and grounds start at the battery cables both positive and ground and work back to the ign switch.
Check all fuses to. You are losing power or ground someplace.
MT

nmotter · 03-25-2006, 07:39 PM

Hey guys. OK so here is the dealio. I checked through everything and now with the new ignition switch and key lock cylinder those parts seem to be working correctly. But I still didn't have my gauges up.. So I was stumped. My sisters Ukrainian boyfriend starting looking around while my father and I were looking at the wires coming from the battery. He started looking at the fuzse panel and found the "guages" fuse was blown. I think this gauge was blown due to the faulty ignition switch but am not sure. Now that we replased the broken fuse all of my gaues are working properly. I am also getting my daytime running lamps and all other elecric things that I lost. Yes I know this is freakin rediculous.......... I checked over the fuses but I blew it big time. sometimes it really helps to have another set of eyes on the job you get stumped on. So.... in my defense I do know that the ignition switch need to be changed cause the car would stall while driving and do all of the exact same symptoms on that other thread that I mentioned in the first post above..... It seems that my problem is OK NOW. hope it stays that way. and thanks for posting guys, I appreciate the fast response.

a bit of relief......

garylee · 03-26-2006, 10:24 PM

This happaned to me a couple of times a day for the last week. my buddy and I narrowed it down to the ignition switch or the wiring harnress attached underneath it. If you take the cap off the underside of that black harness, you will see a bunch of different colored wires. When we poked a trouble light to the PINK one and jiggled it a little (with the key in the on position of coarse), the dash lights and the trouble light came on. wiggled some more, off, wiggled some more, on, etc. I don't know if the wire, or the tumbler in the switch is bad. I havn't figured out where those wires end up, so i will probably replace the switch 1st.

BlazerLT · 03-26-2006, 10:57 PM

Whoa, hold on, did you replace the ignition switch or not?

You don't have the equipment to test an ignition switch properly.

garylee · 03-27-2006, 10:18 PM

Just use a trouble light. In my case, I could trick the key to make the power fail, by slowly turning the key back and forth within the on position. It wouldn't come back on at all (not like in 10 seconds like it used to in the beginning), until we fooled around with the Pink wire. So I don't know if it's actually the wire or the switch (tumbler). I didn't replace anything yet, just cleaned and scraped whatever corosion we could. It hasn't stalled or failed to start in 3 days. Oh by the way, by going through the wires with the light I found out how easy it is to hotwire the thing.

mike2004tct · 03-28-2006, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garylee

Just use a trouble light. In my case, I could trick the key to make the power fail, by slowly turning the key back and forth within the on position. It wouldn't come back on at all (not like in 10 seconds like it used to in the beginning), until we fooled around with the Pink wire. So I don't know if it's actually the wire or the switch (tumbler). I didn't replace anything yet, just cleaned and scraped whatever corosion we could. It hasn't stalled or failed to start in 3 days. Oh by the way, by going through the wires with the light I found out how easy it is to hotwire the thing.

If you search on the Ignition switch, you'll see many threads about the pink wire failure. It's part of the Ignition Switch wire harness, and the tumblers and springs inside the switch are the culprit. Eventually your switch will fail completely. This part is <$100.00 at Autozone, and it's the same part GM sells for $130.00. You can also search for Ignition switch replacement to find a step by step R&R procedure.

garylee · 03-28-2006, 10:20 PM

Is it easy to replace the wire harness if you had too? When the wires leave the harness, where do they lead too?

BlazerLT · 03-29-2006, 01:21 AM

Just replace the switch or stop wasting our time.

mike2004tct · 03-29-2006, 06:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garylee

Is it easy to replace the wire harness if you had too? When the wires leave the harness, where do they lead too?

There's a connector block under the steering column the harness connects to.
It took me about an hour to do the job.
Here's a link on how to do it.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...CH+REPLACEMENT

greeneyes102479 · 08-25-2013, 06:13 PM

BlazerLT, im hoping you may be able to help. i have a 1997 blazer LT AWD 4.3 and im lost as to what the issue may be. im hoping you can help so here it goes. starter motor spins but the bendix wont kick out,it was tested advance auto and it checked out. we put it on jumper cables and it kicked out but when in it only spins. the flywheel is fine from what im told,we have tried shims and all that too. it was catching the first couple times but made a nasty noise. this truck is being a pain in the rear end but i love her and just want her fixed. never had a problem with her until i had the intake manifold gasket (however its said lol) done. now the key wont come out unless i hit the button on the column,not shifting properly (maybe the torque converter?) there are a combination of things sorry for rambling so i guess getting her to start would be a great start. thank you

greeneyes102479 · 08-25-2013, 06:17 PM

i apologize, anyone who may be able to help or even point us in the right direction would be great and very much appreciated......thank you

MT-2500 · 08-26-2013, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greeneyes102479

i apologize, anyone who may be able to help or even point us in the right direction would be great and very much appreciated......thank you

If starter spins and does not turn over engine the starter drive is bad or teeth on flywheel are bad.
Have a look at flywheel all the way around.
If good replace starter drive or starter.

On your problem it would be best to start a new Thread.

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