no power to the purple wire on starter

derick's gn

New Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2009
87 gn stock
trying to get it running after 2 years.

i have no power to the purple wire so it does not crank
battery checked at 12 volts - checked large wire on starter 12 volts also
where do i look next?
fuses??

yes i have read every single thread on no power at starter.
and i have looked at a lot of wiring schematics but it has to be something i am over looking
since all it was down for was timing chain and cracked header fix.
 
purple will only have 12v when the key is held in crank posistion
is the negative battery cable attached to passenger head
as for a fuse ithere are no fuses to the starter relay in the car or out of the car unless you have factory security which has fuses for the relays that cut off the purple wire ..do you have factory security?
closest there is to a fuse is the fuseable links at starter (same post as main bat cable) that feed the main dash harness
look for the purple under the dash and follow it till it goes to the ign switch on top of steering column
any breaks , switches relays before the ign switch ?

if you follow it back it goes behind the fuseblock through the fuse block connector at firewall whereit goes through the engine harness to the starter relay coil ,
any breaks ,switches in that end of wire ?
 
yeah what he said ^^
misadjusted lockout rod or maybe neutral start switch got bumped under the dash
 
Any chance your car has the factory security system? If so, there is a relay interrupting that starter feed. You should bypass the relay if equipped.
 
sorry guys my bad.
I had my 12 yr old turning the ing. switch and he wasn't turning it all the way.
i have 12v on purple wire when turned to crank position.
checked this last night.

BUT STILL DOES NOT CRANK.

no security system.
checked neutral safety switch not that.
no work has been done under the dash.
checked negative cable to block that's good (all new battery cables)
car has been up on a lift for 2 yrs.

all lights work and do not go out or dim when turned to crank position.
it is a brand new starter from Kirban's i have had it for 2 yrs and just put it in.
i did tap on it last night but still didn't work.
i will remove it tonight and have it tested.

could it be anything else?
i checked all the wiring connectors all seem to be good and in the right position.

thanks to everyone that has replied.

Tom
 
could be you connected the relay wire (purple) to the S terminal and not the relay terminal
it goes to the terminal closest to the block

...or you got a dud
 
One thing that needs mentioning, our cars do not have a P/N safety switch. There is not a P/N safety switch in our cars. The switch at the bottom of the column is for the backup lights and to send a P/N signal to the ECM. The ECM uses the P/N signal mostly for idle speed regulation.

There is no P/N safety switch in our cars.

The P/N safety is a mechanical interlock built into the column to prevent the key from being turned.

RemoveBeforeFlight
 
Concur^^^^^^^^^^^^

Pull the starter and go to one of the "auto part stores" and have it tested for free.
 
Seriously whack the starter with a hammer and try again. Starter that has sat a while can go bad. I carry a hammer and a piece of carpet and I have had to whack the starter on mine a few times. The other possibility is something got disturbed during the exhaust work. If the hammer don't do the trick take it out and bench test it. My guess is the solenoid took a dump.
 
That purple wire is attached to a connector on the steering column. If your linkage got out of adjustment for some reason, it may not be making contact in that connector. You may think it's going into park, but the linkage may not be getting far enough into park to close that switch on the column.
One thing to try, after you shift into park, grab the rotatable part of the steering column just in front of the dash cluster and twist it either counter clockwise or clockwise (I don't remember which) and see if it will crank.

This is the P/N safety switch that some believe doesn't exist.
 
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Maybe it is the neutral safety switch that is bad. Could it be that simple?

  • Neutral safety switch sends a signal to the on-board computer to allow the engine to start and to engage the transmission
  • When not replaced, vehicle may experience no start and/or transmission will not shift out of park
  • Designed to meet or exceed OE specifications in form, fit and function

http://www.autozone.com/electrical-...7/6-cylinders-7-3-8l-sfi-ohv-turbo/18755_0_0/
 
No it does not send a signal to the ecm other than just telling the ecm whether or not it's in P/N.


Sent from my iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk.
 
That purple wire is attached to a connector on the steering column. If your linkage got out of adjustment for some reason, it may not be making contact in that connector. You may think it's going into park, but the linkage may not be getting far enough into park to close that switch on the column.
One thing to try, after you shift into park, grab the rotatable part of the steering column just in front of the dash cluster and twist it either counter clockwise or clockwise (I don't remember which) and see if it will crank.

This is the P/N safety switch that some believe doesn't exist.

OK, where is this P/N safety switch? Got pictures?

RemoveBeforeFlight
 
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I'll see if I can find some time tomorrow to crawl under there try to get a shot.

Sent from my QMV7A tablet via Tapatalk.
 
OK, where is this P/N safety switch? Got pictures?

RemoveBeforeFlight

it's on the top of the column, up under the dash... in exactly the same place that it's been on almost every rwd GM car and truck from the time they put the ignition switch in the column ('69 model year in passenger cars, '73 model year in pickups) until around the year 2000 or so.. the only exceptions i can think of are the 82 and newer F bodies, the Monza/Vega H bodies of the 70's, and the Corvette: all of which are cars that never had a column shift, so they put the neutral safety switch on the shifter in them, but they still had an interlock to prevent shifting out of park without turning the key on or turning the key off without shifting into park..

on cars with the neutral safety switch on the column that had a floor shift, they used the same linkage in the engine bay that would be used for a column shift to turn the outer collar on the columns to tell the switch and key cylinder what gear it was in and only allow it to crank in park or neutral and only allow the key to go back to "off" if the trans was in park.. this same switch also turns on the backup lights when the car is put in reverse..

i'm not sure how they did it on the fwd cars in the 80's, but i think it was similar... if the car came standard with a column shift, then it was mounted on the column and the floor shift cars had a cable going to the column to "tell" it what gear it was in and have all the safety interlocks in place..

some older rwd cars with manual transmissions had a linkage that went up from the reverse linkage arm to the column to activate the reverse lights and allow the key to only be turned "off" with the car in reverse, but the neutral safety switch was wired thru the clutch pedal so it would only crank if the clutch pedal was pushed in..

if your car starts with the shifter in any position other than "park" or "neutral", then someone propbably bypassed the neutral safety switch for whatever reason... if your reverse lights also don't work and you can shift it out of park with the key off, then the linkage from the transmission up to the column has probably been removed because that's, like, complicated and stuff..
 
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it's on the top of the column, up under the dash... in exactly the same place that it's been on almost every rwd GM car and truck from the time they put the ignition switch in the column ('69 model year in passenger cars, '73 model year in pickups) until around the year 2000 or so.. the only exceptions i can think of are the 82 and newer F bodies, the Monza/Vega H bodies of the 70's, and the Corvette: all of which are cars that never had a column shift, so they put the neutral safety switch on the shifter in them, but they still had an interlock to prevent shifting out of park without turning the key on or turning the key off without shifting into park..

on cars with the neutral safety switch on the column that had a floor shift, they used the same linkage in the engine bay that would be used for a column shift to turn the outer collar on the columns to tell the switch and key cylinder what gear it was in and only allow it to crank in park or neutral and only allow the key to go back to "off" if the trans was in park.. this same switch also turns on the backup lights when the car is put in reverse..

i'm not sure how they did it on the fwd cars in the 80's, but i think it was similar... if the car came standard with a column shift, then it was mounted on the column and the floor shift cars had a cable going to the column to "tell" it what gear it was in and have all the safety interlocks in place..

some older rwd cars with manual transmissions had a linkage that went up from the reverse linkage arm to the column to activate the reverse lights and allow the key to only be turned "off" with the car in reverse, but the neutral safety switch was wired thru the clutch pedal so it would only crank if the clutch pedal was pushed in..

if your car starts with the shifter in any position other than "park" or "neutral", then someone propbably bypassed the neutral safety switch for whatever reason... if your reverse lights also don't work and you can shift it out of park with the key off, then the linkage from the transmission up to the column has probably been removed because that's, like, complicated and stuff..


Thank you sir!! Now, if I can find the time to photo it, or if I can even get under there to do it.
 
it's on the top of the column, up under the dash... in exactly the same place that it's been on almost every rwd GM car and truck from the time they put the ignition switch in the column ('69 model year in passenger cars, '73 model year in pickups) until around the year 2000 or so..

OK, picture of it with the heavy purple wires going to it? No can do because it isn't there. That switch, as I previously posted, it for the back up lights and P/N signal to the ECM.

From the FSM, see note to right of ignition switch:

Start_Alternator_0.jpg

And, where is the P/N safety switch in the above diagram?

RemoveBeforeFlight
 
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