Won't crank, solenoid and starter motor good

[luggage]

My eagle sat for a few weeks and now it won't crank (with the key).

- Battery has been charged and tested.
- It WILL crank if connect positive to the S terminal on the solenoid, just not with the key.
- I get no voltage on the S terminal with the key.

My theories are:

Fuse: The service manual makes it look like the fuse also covers power to the coil which  I DO get, so maybe not. If there is a second fuse for starting I haven't found it

Neutral Safety Switch: The service manual fails to provide any wiring digram for this but if my assumptions are correct the neutral safety switch is the ground wire on the bottom of the solenoid. If this is true then mine is probably good since I can short the solenoid and make it crank.

Thanks,
DJ

[Jurjen]

I think you will have to take a look at the ignition switch.

[IowaEagle]

  If you turn the key to the run position, and the car is in neutral and then shorting the solenoid, does it then start?

[luggage]

Jurjen: Yea.. It's a mess down there, too. Someone definitely fooled with the wiring in the past.

Iowa: It turns over, but I didn't start it all the way. There is voltage to the coil in the run position, though. It's usually dark when I leave work so I probably won't fool with it again until the weekend.

[IowaEagle]

..... and fusible links are used for the starting circuit.

[83Eagle!]

Mine was doing that and I replaced the ignition coil and the rotor on the distributor and it works now. 

[thereverendbill]

my best guess is the shifter linkage is a little off.  try starting the car in neutral and by pushing the shift lever forward while the car is in park and see what happens.  if they are both no gos then place the shifter inbetween reverse and neutral and see if it turns over with the key

[Jurjen]

The neutral safety seems to be OK, since he can get it crancking with a wire direct from the battery+ to the starter solenoid+.

[doneagle]

            HI I would check the start switch at the bottom of steering colom some a wire gets knocked off or a mouse has hes way with a wire .that's what i found after hours of looking..........Don

[demonicdragon]

sounds like your in the same boat as me. good luck

[luggage]

Fixed.

I finally got around to looking at it again since it wasn't raining or unbearably cold today. It turns out it was just some corroded connectors. I measured voltage at the solenoid but I didn't think that the wire connected to it just wasn't making a connection. That's all it was.

While looking into this I did remove a bunch or 'extra' wiring, though. It looks like it might have been a CB hooked up (sloppily) at some point in the car's past.

[IowaEagle]

That is good to hear.