It's been about 10 days since I did the fix as detailed by Ted on this forum and not one starting issue. As I've mentioned before, this starting problem happened daily. This is the most helpful forum I've encountered yet... thanks again all!

 

Well chit. Everything was working until today. Went to get a new inspection and the car wont start!
i take off the panels and jiggle the sensor under the steering column until it starts and the car throws p0355 (crank position sensor).

I drove the car the long way home and it pulls hard, no more CEL's. I get it home and intermittently try to start it over the next 30 minutes. starting is very rough (the car cranks for a long time and barely starts, rpm's overshoot-almost stall-overshoot-almost stall-settle at idle)

It now appears like the crank sensor is ACTUALLY the issue, any other thoughts based on that description? too much traffic to drive for a long time, i put about 8 miles on it on the way home and no further CEL's then or while starting it in the garage.

 

If the starter cranks over when you turn the key, this discussion won't help you.

Meanwhile, if you're getting a fault at the crank sensor, I suggest you be prepared to change the sensor and inspect its wiring ASAP.

 

wow, quick reply thanks Ted B. much respect for helping the community solve this issue.

its 50/50 if the car cranks or not these days. if it cranks, it will fire though. today when it wouldnt start, i twisted the switch on the steering column clockwise by pushing up on the back side where the connectors are. I cant tell if i got lucky and timed it right or if that's still the issue. ive adjusted that switch as far clockwise as i can get it and the issue is better but not 100% solved (today was the first time since i fixed it that it came back). after that, i turned the car on/off several times. this is when the cranks got longer.

today was the first time i got the crank sensor CEL. the car has over 100k miles, so im sure its about that time. I'll check the grounds and wires and read your walk through again. this issue has stumped me.

 

I had similar issues a year or so ago and had the ignition switch replaced. Expensive but did the job.

 

Just tried to replace this and while the switch seems to make the car crank instantly, the connector with the green arrow burned up and almost started a fire and now my car won't fire up.

It cranks, but it won't fire up.

Joy.

 

I think this might be the issue with my car I will check this out this weekend. I was getting a no anything first turn of the key but it would almost always start with the second turn. Hope this is it. Thanks

 

I just posted a thread on the same issue and just now found this one. Ill be sure to verify this and if it has been the issue ill post a reply. Thanks for the info and the picture!

 

This wasnt the issue for me unfortunately. My car still ha the same symptoms even though ive taken out the starter switch and tried turning it over. Im going to disconnect the clutch switch and see if that is the issue. Ive disconnected my turbo timer to see if that was the problem but no luck either.

 

check the signal wire on the starter as well. its the little wire in the plastic housing clipped onto the starter. mine wiggles around and loses connection so every now and then i have to pop the hood and push it back down again.

 

After returning home from a 2 week work trip i was greeted by this every issue. Thanks to you guys and this forum the car should be good now. In my case one of the wires going into the sensor(which would wiggle as well) was slightly corroded due to a wire being soldered on a few years ago from the alarm install. I cleaned that up and added a little of dielectric grease and i ziptied the harness to help secure it. I also ziptied the sensor/switch to help keep it from moving. We'll see how long that last.

 

Hey Ted-

Ever look to see what your battery drops down to when you engage the starter?

 

I hadn't measured that when I was dealing with starting issues, but with the solenoid not engaging the starter, it shouldn't be a concern on account that the integrity of the wiring and connections between battery and starter were checked and were sound. When the starter was manually actuated, it engaged every time, which restricted the issue to the solenoid circuit, not the starter.

 

Understood- I had run into issues before, similar to the intermittent issues that you described, and it ended up being a dead cell in the battery, causing the voltage to drop just low enough to where the starter would or wouldn't engage depending on how it felt at that point in time. The battery will still test 'okay', which is sometimes misleading, but the car would always start with a jump.

Just food for thought for anyone who's problem doesn't lie in the ignition switch.

 

With 1 dead cell, the battery could test "OK" if the test is being done by a dumb place like O'Reilly's or some equivalent store that doesn't want to honor their warranty where you live. But if you test each cell with a hydrometer (measure the acid density) a dead cell sticks right out. If your battery is totally sealed though (no removable caps) you won't be able to get in there with a hydrometer.