no start with key

[Crazeedude1974]

I cannot start my 86 amc eagle
With the key ...I have to disconnect the green wire on the
Solenoid. And start it there with a screw driver....I replaced
The starter,pickup coil,solenoid,coil ,and ignition switch,wires plugs.....no spark with key
Someone please help I'm at a loss

[captspillane]

I have the same problem with more than one of mine. I ran a momentary switch (It has a spring so it must be held down to be on) from the forward big post where the positive battery cable is to the switch and then back to the forward small post. The key has to be in the run position for it to stay running but just putting 12V to that forward small post on top will kick the starter.

Eagles are notorious for solenoid issues. Automatic transmissions have a neutral safety switch that provides a weak ground to the post at the bottom of the solenoid. During troubleshooting that post should have an alligator clip directly to the negative battery post to eliminate weak ground as a factor.

The manual transmission solenoids are even worse for ground issues because the two rusty mounting screws are the only ground for the solenoid. I drill a big hole between them and bolt a battery cable from there over to the battery cable on the side of the engine. That also doubles as insurance against damage if your body strap breaks, which caused a fire on one of my Eagles.

The first thing I do to all of my Eagles is to replace the solenoid with a manual transmission version with that hole drilled in the base. When the Eagle eventually stalls, as they all do eventually, I am able to start the car immediately without shifting into neutral. There is no harm to the drivetrain if you start the car while in drive. I consider that a bigger safety advantage than the disadvantage of the risk of the car lurching forward. I haven't yet forgotten to put the car into park and I park all my manual transmission cars in gear, which has the same risk. Other people have strong opinions against eliminating the NSS. My opinion is strongly for bypassing it permanently.

[Crazeedude1974]

We are going to do the switch thing as a last resort....I,really want to fix it properly......but will follow,your advise as a last resort thank u!!!

[captspillane]

To know conclusively if your ignition is working you should turn the key to the run position, see the dash lights light up, then turn to the run position and see a change as the accessories are turned off. At the same time the wire at the solenoid should be measured to see a change of state up to 12V. If both those things are true then you've eliminated all the possible problems up to there.

If 12 volts gets where it needs to when it needs to then focus on the 0Volts getting there too. It is very common to have the Park position out of whack. Try starting it in Neutral instead. That is a different detent on the switch and more reliable.

 If you don't see a change of state from open circuit to 12Volt when the key is in the Start position, then good luck. I will say that it sometimes comes down to a recent upgrade from tilt to nontilt steering columns. Those have the same plugs but mirror image pin locations. That has befuddled many people, especially my brother way back when.

[Crazeedude1974]

It starts with the key fine when it sits for a few days
Nothing such as radio or wipers act strange when using the key....it's the weirdest thing lol

[carnuck]

The 12 volt pickup in the solenoid is worn off and the ignition resistor wire is dropping voltage too much to make spark.

[Crazeedude1974]

It's the 4th solenoid we put on the car

[carnuck]

If there is a short in the wire to the I terminal, it will melt off pretty much instantly.

[Crazeedude1974]

Nothing melted just. Sometimes it has spark using the key and other times it doesn't