Ignition Switch issue

So I took the maverick out several times today. Came back and parked it in front of my garage to tune and time it a little better.

Went back out several hours later and went to start the car and no ignition. The first time I turned the key I the fuel pump came on but no starting. Then when I tried again nothing was working.

Voltage gauge inside the car reads nothing and battery shows 12.7 volts.
Tried jumping it with the same results.

Checked all the grounds, wiring, and fuses and everything appears to be fine.

I pulled the ignition switch plug and I'm only getting 3.something volts at the 1 large yellow wire. Is that normal voltage at the ignition switch?

Any ideas?

I'm going to order a new switch anyway but any troubleshooting tips would certainly help.

Thanks

 

Sounds like a bad bulkhead connection.

 

What's a bulkhead connection lol

 

It's a connection at the bulkhead.

It is where the wiring harness under the hood plugs into the wiring harness under the dash (orange thing in pic below). Remove the bolt in the center of the fusebox and pull the fusebox from the firewall and clean the connector pins.

While things are apart...make a bracket to mount your fusebox lower so you can see how to change the fuses.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

usually a bad ground, r we being silly here or what?

 

Um no lol. I checked voltage before and after the bulkhead as suggested and I've got 12 before and 4 after so I guess the bulkhead connection is spot on.

 

Jeff,
Can you tell us what you did to lower the fusebox?

 

well, i see you have all these high performance vehicles, your knowledge should be above me,,,,, if i get one more teenage lol,,,, i think i will loose it, u all have fun with ur site, by the way, i have been building fords, for over 35 yrs, many over 400 hp,, sooooo, good day eh, all the best,,,,

 

Post #28 http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=64243&page=3 and what was quoted on the last post on the last page is some more info. This wasn't a hard project...matter of fact, it was fun once I got the fusebox un-plugged. Don't forget to disconnect the battery before you begin.

 

Thanks Jeff! I never understood why they made it so hard to access.

 

Im having the same problem and not cranking i checked the switch and im getting 11 volts to the yellow wire could it be anything else also if i switch the wires on the solenoid and turn the key to the on position but not to were it cranks it cranks and keeps cranking

 

You can have a fault in the switch such that everything works, but it acts like there is no battery hooked up to the system. If you jump it, sometimes it will even excite the alternator enough to run the engine as long as you want, but still will act like there is no battery/a dead battery in the system.

 

I forgot to mention that the switch was replaced but i did not replace the key portion and i can start the car by a switch i had wired up and run it but i would like to use the key again

 

I ended up cleaning the bulkhead connector and adding another chassis ground and that solved my issue.