I drove to the market for Thanksgiving shopping and parked outside. There was no sign of any problem before then. Upon leaving it would not start as the starter did not turn the engine over. It has the 5.7L engine. There was no noise at all from the starter, no clicking, just silence. I replaced the engine wiring harness last year and worried that I might have missed something. The starter is only a few years old. Is there a way to check the starter while on the truck to determine if that is the issue. Thanks.
CK5
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'91 Chev V2500 Suburban No Start
- Thread starter GaBnn3
- Start date
Since there is no noise, my 1st suspect would be start signal to the solenoid. We need to know what the battery voltage is, then start checking for the open.
Start signal is powered through the fuse links, through the bulk head connector, then to ignition switch, to the neutral safety switch, back to the bulk head connector, and to the starter "S" terminal.
I would do a quick check of the neutral safety switch with a volt meter or test light. two 12 ga purple wires (automatic) yellow and purple (standard) both sides should be hot while key is in crank position. 1 side only neutral safety switch bad or needs adjustment. no power, then back to ignition power.
Just a quick outline let us know what you find we can drill down
Start signal is powered through the fuse links, through the bulk head connector, then to ignition switch, to the neutral safety switch, back to the bulk head connector, and to the starter "S" terminal.
I would do a quick check of the neutral safety switch with a volt meter or test light. two 12 ga purple wires (automatic) yellow and purple (standard) both sides should be hot while key is in crank position. 1 side only neutral safety switch bad or needs adjustment. no power, then back to ignition power.
Just a quick outline let us know what you find we can drill down
Momentarily stumped. Besides this site, I rely heavily on youtube videos and parts store recommendations for the right part and application. Everyone shows two sets of connectors on the neutral safety switch; one set for the neutral safety and one set for the reverse lights. I intended to check the neutral safety switch by jumpering the neutral/safety contacts to see if it would start. However, the switch mounted on the top of the steering column at the firewall has only one set of contacts for the reverse lights. Where is the neutral safety switch on this model? Thanks.
gmbellew
Registered Member
looks like the issue will be in the starter solenoid (purple wire at starter), ignition switch (red wires at ignition switch), or the associated wires or fusible links.
If you can find the connector on the switch then it fell off, or someone has jumpered it already. It will be a flat 2 cavity connector with female spade 1/4" terminals. 12 ga purple wires in and out.
The connection at the neutral safety switch is above the column and can be gard to see.
The connection at the neutral safety switch is above the column and can be gard to see.
Something I have now had probs with 2wice before, and have happening AGAIN… issues with the actual battery positive cable, and the fat charging wire running from the alternator to the battery.
Assuming your battery is not discharged, My suggestion is wiggle and flex the hell out of the big wires around the battery connections and any areas that are not supported well where they may vibrate or bounce
Assuming your battery is not discharged, My suggestion is wiggle and flex the hell out of the big wires around the battery connections and any areas that are not supported well where they may vibrate or bounce
Kept me from chasing starter and neutral switches recently…
is a fast, cheap/free thing to check… and if you have corrosion or broken connections inside the wiring insulation, I’ve had this “fix” my problem enough to drive home or get me to a parts store to buy new cables
is a fast, cheap/free thing to check… and if you have corrosion or broken connections inside the wiring insulation, I’ve had this “fix” my problem enough to drive home or get me to a parts store to buy new cables
Thanks all for the input. I will consider all those things. But right now I'm stuck on ruling out the neutral safety switch as the problem. It looks like someone mucked with the dash wiring. There are those blue crimp connectors in a couple of places. I can say that there is no loose pigtail connector corresponding to the safety contacts on the neutral safety switch anywhere. So the leads may have been cut out. What I don't understand why someone would have removed the contacts from the switch itself, when the wires to those contacts could simply have been jumpered to bypass the switch. I tried to understand the issue by checking the wiring diagram. But that diagram does not even show the neutral safety switch. Now it seems worse than I thought.
gmbellew
Registered Member
I posted the troubleshooting guide from the GM manual. i'd start there and see where it takes you.
That diagram show a clutch switch is gor a manual trans.
I think I sometimes panic and assume the worst, but not in this case. I was led astray by the missing terminals on the neutral safety switch, which is still a mystery, though not the problem. I replaced the starter several years ago and never had an issue with it. However, in following the chart shared by gmbellows I came to the "check connections" part. In doing so I discovered that the purple solenoid wire was not tightened. As soon as I tightened it, it started right up. So, I'm back in business. That connections flows through the N/S switch and so the symptoms were the same as if a bad switch. My thanks once again to the helpful souls and wealth of knowledge here. Merry Christmas to all.
