Starting Problems 1997 Expedition

[Sean Edmunds]

Hi all, first post here and I am hoping someone here can shed some light on my problem. As I said '97 Expedition, the problem is that probably 60-70% of the time my rig won't start in Park. If I turn the key to the on position shift to Neutral and turn the key to start MOST of the time it will fire right up. Sometimes this sequence needs to be repeated a couple times before it will start. Occasionally during this sequence the doors will "unlock" (I say "unlock" because they aren't locked yet) and then lock.

So, does anyone have a cure. The vehicle has 127k on it, I live in New England and for an almost 14 year old vehicle the interior and exterior are really clean. I am not sure what the wiring underneath looks like though.

Also, (I forgot to add sometimes you can hear the solenoid click but it doesn't turn over so you repeat the sequence and it will start. Sometimes you don't hear the solenoid) The battery is a month and a half old. I bought it 2 days after I bought the rig.

And another problem I am starting to see, may or may not be related but the last couple of days I have noticed that on my way to work at night my dash lights flicker, dash panel, radio, climate control, all of it. Is this related? Is this a separate problem?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Sean

[Franco2112]

Sounds to me that your ignition switch has gone bad.
Franco

[Davescort97]

Welcome to AF!

The neutral safety switch which is supposed to allow a start only in park or neutral could need to be adjusted. Sounds like the park posiltion is out of alignment. Franco's solution is a valid one, also.

[Sean Edmunds]

Update: I had a friend who is a mechanic take a look, he said the neutral safety switch may need to be replaced but that there is also something wrong with my starter itself. I am not sure exactly what, I have not had a chance to talk to him my girlfriend to the Expedition to him while I was coaching baseball. I will hopefully talk to him soon and update further for those interested.