starting issues

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Raider L

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Posts
1,892
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994
Location
Shreveport, LA
First Name
William
Truck Year
1974
Truck Model
C10
Engine Size
355
The other day I was talking about a starting issue I had where I had replaced the starter, which was a waste of money, then replaced the ignition switch on the column, which was a waste of money and hard as hell to do. I've had to adjust that switch before and that was hard enough but I've also had to replace that switch a couple of times over the last forty years that I've owned this truck, which is what I elected to do this time as well, only because it's been in there for a long time and I figured it was time for it to go before it stranded me somewhere.

But all that was not the reason why my truck wouldn't start. The only thing left was the neutral safety switch. That's what I was talking about. Anyone run across that post? It was just the other night. I've looked in "electrical", "interior" and I can't find it. So if anyone has seen it please let me know where I put it. Any way the neutral switch may have been out of adjustment so I looked. I took it loose so I could look at where the tang was in relation to where the shift lever was. The shift lever was in park but I wanted to see where the tang was. The tang was not in park. It was not quite in neutral I don't think, but it didn't matter, it wasn't where it was supposed to be which is "Park".

So I slid it over to park and pulled on the ignition switch rod and the truck started!! YEEAA! Hell, I even put the battery on the charger last night just to make sure that all this time it wasn't a near dead battery that was the cause. But it charged right up so that wasn't it. I can't put the neutral safety switch back in due to the condition of my column. It's the one that's shown in the engine forum photos and looks like it was blown up and rigged back together with bolts, screws, and flat bar. It's all busted up and looks terrible. Well, I have another column and now I'm going to have to put it in. Because my column is in such bad shape now that it has mis-placed the neutral safety switch and the truck wouldn't start. I won't let myself get stranded because I'm to lazy or inconvinenced?

Some of what I was taking about the other night was if anyone knew about putting in either a keyed start switch like the older pickups, or a start button to get rid of that stupid ignition switch that if you drive your truck as much as I do, will wear out and you'll either have to get under there and adjust it or replace it at some time. Maybe that will ring a bell? I was also talking about not being an electrical kind of guy and such, which is why I spent all the time and money trying to figure out what was the reason why the truck wouldn't start.
Who among you could have deducted it was the neutral safety switch? If you answer "yes", what would you have looked for first? The first thing I did do was I hooked up a remote start switch and after turning the ignition switch to "on" it still didn't start. After doing that what would you have looked at first? Because, I could not figure it out and just started replacing parts until I found the problem. Yeah, yeah, I know....dummy. Hey, at least I didn't replace the neutral switch and put it right back in where it was out of position. Boy, that would have been dumb!
 

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