Recent no start issue
 

Here are the symptoms.
It happens only if the car is cold.
If I drive it every day(starting it cold twice a day), it may happen 2 or 3 times during the week.

To start it, it may take up to 5 mins of cranking.

It happened today and I noticed something interesting..
When I turn the key to the start position, the tack needle bumps. Then, when I crank it, the tach needle stays at 0.
Today, same thing happened, was cranking it off and on for about 4 mins, then cranked it again, and the tach needle started jumping rapidly (like 0 to 800rpm mark), and then it started. Never noticed this before, so dont know if that usually or should happen before it starts.

Anyways, can anyone point me in the right direction? Trying to figure out why it sometimes won't start.

The tach should bounce when you are attempting to start, and it gets it's signal from the trailing coil pack...

It sounds like an intermittent electrical issue to me. I'm not the best at diagnosing those but if it were my car i would:

- Make sure the coils are torqued down as they ground from the plates/pedestals they rest on and make sure the pedestals are tight as well.
- Make sure your Main Relay is engaging. When the car cranks and the tach DOESN'T bounce, check to see if you hear a loud "click" when you turn the key to "on", that's your Main Relay engaging.
-Make sure your ignition switch is seeing proper voltage in and out per the FSM.
-Make sure the main fuse box / fuses are connected snugly.
-Sacrifice some knuckle skin to the rotary gods and pray that someone more knowledgeable steps in, bump for you.

Check the Water Thermosensor.

Now the ignition switch isnt working. I guess it may b the root of the prob.

Check the Main fuse for starters and if that is okay then look at the wire coming from the Main fuse (side closest to the trailing coil) and this wire drops down about a foot or so below the engine fusebox and is connected to another Black wire which runs to the Ignition Switch. Make sure this connection is a solid one. If the wipers or turn signals work w/key to on then the switch is receiving voltage from the Main fuse.

FREQ: check your email on those Bracket pics.

and BUMP .

Wipers work w/key to on.
I added a starter button wired directly to the starter so that I could start the car.

Do the ignition switches in these cars go bad?

Yes, they can go bad but your problem could be cacophony of things.

Cacaphony???
is that an Iphone SIX?...Siri-Usly?

It's never good when a term like 'cacophony' is used when diagnosing an issue.
Guess I'll start researching :(
Tx, Satch.

The Ignition Switch should be rather easy to test as when the key is turned to start the Main Relay receives voltage on the B/W wire found in its two wire plug and the starter turns over. Both of these things must occur w/key to start.