88 SS motor will not turn over

[kdude]

I have lights and power but the motor will not turn over. It will start sometimes but I can turn it off and try it again, nothing happens. Doesn't matter if it is hot or cold (motor). Tried to start it last night and nothing, did not touch anything else except for removing keys and shutting door, this morning, opened door put keys in ignition and it started. Turned it off immediately and tried again and nothing. All lights and gauges are working. I have changed starter and solenoid, neutral switch (had reverse light problems but that fixed that), ignition switch located on steering column under the dash and my battery is brand new and posts are clean. I am sure it is electrical but not sure where to start. Any help would be greatly appreciated for I have no hair left,lol. Thanks and great forum.

[kdude]

Today I rewired the starter and solenoid wires from the wiring harness and still nothing. I was wondering if I could have put the neutral safety switch in wrong. It would start sometimes before I replaced this and now I have nothing. I made sure it was in the column they way I thought it should be and my reverse lights work now. Is there a procedure for putting this in that would cause the problem to be worse. Thanks

[montecarlossfan]

hmm maybe the neutral saftey switch is out of adjustment...u can jump the wires and try it i know u replaced the actual swithc under the column, is the rod pushing the switch far enough

[kdude]

I have thought about jumping it at the solenoid on the starter and trying to get it to a garage but I would rather do it myself because this thing is not going to defeat me,lol. I bought 2 more saftey switches today (since they are only 9 bucks) and tried another but same thing. I never thought about it not going far enough but I have tried it in neutral but if the linkage is out of whack it may be going to far past neutral and thinking it is in drive. Since replacing the key switch my shifter is locking up in park. Is there something in around the key switch part that would cause this or would it be something else? I hate to bother anyone with these problems but I have put about 500 in this thing this week and my bro has been helping and he is a ford man and all I hear is gm junk and cussing,lol. I am really wanting this problem and him off my back,lol. He has a 4 cyl mustang that hasn't moved in about a year and he cusses gm,lol. Thanks for the time responding and it is greatly appreciated beyond comprehension. At least gm guys stick together,lol. I took auto mech in high school about 23 years ago and man have things changed,lol.

[montecarlossfan]

Ya electrical problems are a pain , u can try to jump the solenoid the promer way , using the smaller wire that needs a positive feed to activate it , try that this way u will know the solenoid is good if it turns over and its elsewhere, who knows maybe this time u have gotten a bad solenoid/starter... its going to end up being something very stupid in the end like you said an out of adjust ment tranny linkage..keep me updated, i know the old montes inside and out lol...even the new ones i know inside and out already lol..well the only thing that would cause this is if the rod that moves the starter switch farther down the column doesnt move

[kdude]

The rod going to the starter switch was the ticket!!! It had sliped out and was not pushing far enough to start the engine. Thanks for the help. Time to ride with pride,haha.

[kdude]

Well not so fast,hee hee. I now have a very high idle. I tuned it up all but the spark plugs and cleaned the carb with cleaner and now it idles extremely high. I have checked for vacuum leaks and all looks fine. Anyone know what the problem could be now? Thanks for all the help.

[montecarlossfan]

sounds like the fast idle cam is sticking...try knocking it off of fast idle by hand

[kdude]

Is the fast idle cam the big plunger looking thing the linkage from the carb is hooked to? I looked up the part but it does not exist by that name. It has been parked for about 6 months and I was hoping something was stuck. Thanks again for the help.

[kdude]

I found the fast idle cam in my repair book and I have pushed this forward but it goes back to the same position. When I push it forward it idles normal but when I release it, it goes back to the high idle again. I sprayed the linkage lightly with WD40 but it does not go back to normal. Is there a way of adjusting this? Thanks

[montecarlossfan]

usually the car must run for a while..is your element gettign voltage..thae wire that goes to the choke coil if it is, you may have other problems... such as the coil being burnt orn not getting a good connection, ground...take a look at that and see