!978SC No crank, No juice, Need advice please

[KerryM]

My car has been starting right up and running well all summer. Yesterday when I tried to start it I got nothing...

When I insert and remove the key I feel/hear the click. When I turn the key a bit (to the first position) the instrument cluster dies not "light" and leaving it in that position the fuel pump relay does not whine. I also cannot roll up the windows, turn on the radio, etc. It's as if the key was not in the ignition.

Turning the key the rest of the way I feel the spring pressure on the key but the starter does not engage.

Battery is 12.2 volts. The horn and flashers work with or without the key in the ignition. I checked all the fuses and removed/reinserted the black and red relays.

This happened right after I washed off the car. Used very little water as I have the targa top off. I can't believe it is related, but the timing is suspect.

Does this sound like the ignition switch went bad? Is my next step to check voltage/continuity from the battery to the ignition switch and light switch?

Thank for your opinions and advice!!

[yelcab1]

It sounds like a bad ignition switch (the electrical portion). There is no fuse between the battery and the ignition switch for the starting circuit so ... nothing to check.

Crawl under the car, put a DVM on the starter solenoid, get back out from under the car, turn the key over to see if 12V is seen at the solenoid.

IF yes, starter is bad,
IF no, ignition switch is bad.

Be damn sure you are NOT under the car when the key is turned during the test.

[KerryM]

Thank you yelcab 1. So this morning it fired right up as I was going to check the ignition switch.

So perhaps I did get water somewhere yesterday. Where might the water have gone to cause the issue described in the first post?

[pmax]

Originally Posted by KerryM

...

I checked all the fuses and removed/reinserted the black and red relays.

...

I would do more of this before mucking with the ignition switch.

Remove the fuses, get the tips and contact points at the box nice and shiny.

[PeteKz]

If you had a bad ignition switch, it would most likely have given you warning for some days or weeks before this, sometimes working and sometimes not. If you can jiggle the key and it lights up, then it's the switch.

The symptoms instead indicate a high resistance connection to the battery cables or the ground strap. Remove the cables from the battery terminals, wire brush the terminals and clamps (there's a round wire brush for this purpose) or use sandpaper, then grease and reconnect. Same with the battery ground cable or strap. It will probably fire up. Then for good measure, remove and clean the ground strap from the transmission to the body under the car.

Report back here your results.

[911obgyn]

12.2 isa little low for a resting battery, if its under warrantee i would have it checked while you have it out cleaning grounds.

[nickelplated5s]

Gotta love that 911obgyn user name! If you're from around here the Eugene part makes it make sense. Kudos.

[theiceman]

tighten the battery posts

[KerryM]

Thank you all for your helpful advice! The car has started up just fine over multiple attempts in the past two days. So it appears that something got wet while washing and took a day to dry out.

I am still taking everyone's advice and cleaning/tightening fuses, relays, ground straps, battery terminals, etc. I see this as proper preventative maintenance even if it was not directly related to my most recent issue.