my 88 turbo a/t full time 4wd wagon , just would not start, my wife said i put the key in and nothing ,all dash lights came on ,but no start, sooooooo i came home picked her up ,went where the car was and it started right up , things that are new, timing belts, tension pullies , idle, water pump, plugs, wires, cap/ rotor, fuel filter, radiator , temp sensor, , any suggestions ? my wife said it sat about 1 hour

cas/distributor

so you think it is a dist going bad

That happened once when my XT had dirty battery connectors. Or it could be from possible loose battery cables. Long shot but you might want to check it anyway.

Check the fusible links for a bad connection. Clean the battery cables whether they look good or not.

Sounds most likely a loose connection to me. My XT6 did it right after I put on to battery terminal clamps. I didn't have the wire going to the starter in good enough, and so it would do the same thing.

Is it turning over and not firing, or just not turning over at all?

battery clamps tight and clean, fuseable links are clean and good, when she turned the key nothing , like when you have it in drive and try to start it , no grinding, , all the dash light come on , , it started right up after sitting 1 hour , also started right up this morning ??,is there some kind of safety switch that may be going out , even if the shifter is in park ,causing it not to start ?thanks

Yes, there is a inhibit switch for the shifter and it could be that. You could try moving the lever around while in park to see if that changes things or try the neutral position. The switch is under the console area near the shifter.

 

The problem may also be with the starter solenoid or the ignition switch wiring.

Could be that the shifter was not fully in park, or the neutral safety switch could be too dirty. A worn key will also cause the ignition switch to stop turning before the solenoid circuit is completed. If you have a factory key with the number on it, a locksmith can cut a new key using a web service they have.

ok, thanks

Started after sitting.. That leads me to lean more toward whomever suggested the CAS. Been there.. Thats sucked.

 

2 weeks to diagnose. Ten minutes to replace the distributor:)

Jim, you said that you cleaned the battery terminals... how about where they mount to the starter, both power and ground? I have been burned by this problem more than once; typically, the ground connection at the tranny/starter is the trouble maker, and it looks perfectly fine until you clean up the connector and the mount point. Worth doing anyways as PM, even if it doesn't help/relate to current problem.

-pat

The neutral/park switch thingy on my wagon is going and ive gotta give the shifter a couple of whacks before the car will turn over. If not i would go with checking the starter connections, or maybe a sticking solenoid?

 

KELTIK

is has started up every time now , just the 1 time ,and my wife got a ride to work , ,but sunday i will clean the starter side of the cable,thanks again

is has started up every time now , just the 1 time

 

I have had the no start - click only - problem a few times. Once due to a loosend contact in the wiring harness. The other 2 major origins have been:

 

1. One of the contacts inside the starter erodes from the arcing at each start until the disc on the solenoid doesn't touch.

 

2. The disc gets dirty from the arcing.

 

Either of these failures begins as an intermittant no crank, or turn the key and a split second later crank. As time goes by, it gets more and more frequent.

 

I have a few starters that I made new contacts for, still working. Recently had to clean a couple. Actually, thinking about it, the starters are pretty darned reliable. In my 15+ years with these cars, I have never bought a starter. Only made a few contacts and cleaned the disc.