SJKPDX

Thanks for the suggestions so far, people. Some good ones in here. We'll investigate and check back. Thanks again.

Our car, a 1986 GL Wagon, has an aggravating problem, having to do with starting. The car will start fine for any random number of times, then, with no warning or advance symptoms, it will refuse to start. After sitting for anywhere from 1 to 3 days, it will start back up again for an indeterminate amount of time, after which the no-start problem will show up again. During the times it doesn't start, when the key is turned fully into the start postion, we observe the following: No dash lights No map light (front overhead dome light) No head lights Radio does get power Overhead lights and 4-ways work The horn works There is no response from the starter at all, not even a click Today we had the car towed across town. It had sat, unwilling to start, exhibiting the symptoms above, for three straight days. We tested the car before the tow … no start, no joy (the last time this happened, the problem resolved itself overnight). The car was towed, and dropped at the mechanic. When we attempted to start the car after the car was dropped, to demonstrate for the mechanic … it started normally and ran normally. After thoroughly reviewing the status of all the fuses (including the ones under the hood), It's now back in our driveway and the hard part is we paid for a tow to no end, at least for now. Does anyone have any ideas here? Our mechanic … and us … are absolutely bewildered. Even some ideas as to diagnostic paths to explore would be welcome. Our inspirations run, so far, mostly to the ignition switch, maybe it needs replaced. After that, we're in the woods on this. Thanks in advance for any advice, friends. Sam.