No start...:(

[patrick66]

My Coronet ran fine yesterday. Started fine, ran fine. Last night as I pulled into my shop and shut the car off, I heard a faint "pop" under the hood, but not a pop through the carb. I popped the hood and saw and smelled nothing, so I closed the garage and left the car for the night. This morning, I went to start the car. The "oil" light comes on as it's supposed to, turn the key, and nothing. Not so much as a click. Trying to start in Park or Neutral yielded the same result. Here's the weird part - the dome lights and the oil light didn't dim as I turned the key, not even a little bit. So, now I'm thinking one of two things going back to that "pop" I heard. Either the starter solenoid shorted inside and is keeping the circuit from allowing current to the starter, or the neutral safety switch crapped out. Everything electrical is working, otherwise.

I had the same situation with my old '79 Dodge B250 custom van a couple of years back. Turn the key and nothing. All electrical worked, otherwise. Later on, I could go and start it right up. Turned out to be a bad neutral safety switch. Never had a "pop" with that, of course.

Ideas?

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Check your heater resistor.. And or the fused links near the bulkhead connector.

 

[multimopes]

Did you try jumping across the terminals on the starter? Check connections at the solenoid and relay. Check connections at the bulkhead connector also, both sides. Hopefully it's not a problem in the key switch. You could have a dead spot on the starter that just reared it's ugly head. It has happened to me over the years. Good luck!

 

[Car Nut]

Sounds like it could be the fusible link that popped, if so check to see what caused it.

 

[patrick66]

I thought about the fusible link this afternoon, as that is about the only thing that might make a "pop" sound. I need to go out in the shop tomorrow and see first if it will start by jumping the starter solenoid, and then check for the blown link, if the solenoid is fine.

 

[patrick66]

Sounds like it could be the fusible link that popped, if so check to see what caused it.

I thought about that this afternoon. I need to go out and check that, along with the solenoid and then the neutral safety switch, if I haven't found the issue by that point. It is a 52-year-old original harness, so it might be old age.

 

[mopar 3 B]

does the radio work?

 

[patrick66]

It powers up, but no noise other than the "boop" when I turn it on. Why ask about the radio? Curious.

 

[beanhead]

Another theory here...make sure the connectors are FIRMLY crimped/bolted on the (+)cable. If you have someone that can turn the key for you, wiggle connections at the battery/solenoid/starter and see if it tries to engage. I had this problem and it would 'pop' and spark when the loose connection was moved around. The pop you heard could very well have been the connection getting loose. Still keeps enough contact to power domelight etc but can't withstand big current draw of starter...re-crimped mine and was good to go

 

[mopar 3 B]

It powers up, but no noise other than the "boop" when I turn it on. Why ask about the radio? Curious.

it feeds off the ignition switch. no juice to the switch no radio. turn the switch to aux with the radio on a see what happens.

 

[patrick66]

Dig this! I went out to my shop a few minutes ago, fully expecting the same thing from the car. I turned the key, expecting nothing, and the damn thing started right up! I touched nothing under the hood beforehand. No noises or anything that didn't belong. I let the car run for five minutes, at anywhere from idle to 2K RPM. So, the burning question is - what was the source of the no-start condition? I'll take beanhead's suggestion of a possible bad connection at the battery. Thing is, nothing dimmed or anything when I tried to start the car before. Odd deal, but probably that simple.

 

[beanhead]

Welp...could be halloween gremlins! Wiggle testing is free & easy, if you don't have someone to crank the key just jump the solenoid terminals at the firewall while you check all the connection points..good luck!

 

[mopar 3 B]

The old sitting in the seat wrong affect

 

[threewood]

Must be possessed. Is the car jealous of another woman? Does it rebuild itself? Did you buy it from a crazy old guy with backbrace after your friend tried to talk you out of it?

I would check adjustment on the transmission shift rod. A slight misalignment will cause the no start issue. Or, next time you get a no start, ground the NSS terminal and try it again.

 

[Glenwood]

Faulty relays can be quirky like this.

 

[Shorthorse]

I really hate intermittent problems. You're better off if if nothing works at all and of course it's broke at home. It didn't fix itself and chances are it will act up somewhere completely inconvenient. I agree with everybody about a bad connection somewhere, but where? I like the wiggle test idea.
Lots of good ideas, good luck and let us know.