[WildClay]

Originally Posted by FrozenCaveman

Hey guys,

I'm hoping somebody will be able to give me enough of a clue on a problem that's been bugging me all afternoon.

I spent the course of 3 months replacing the dash in my '70 Camaro. I got most all of the plastic back together and can't get the ignition to crank. It seems like it might be a neutral safety switch problem, but I'm not sure how to go about troubleshooting.

Symptoms:

1) dash lights all work except for high beam indicator - didn't work before I took the dash apart and I forgot to swap the (presumably) bad bulb. Headlights work, dimmer works, wipers work, turn signals work, accessory setting enables power to aftermarket radio, cig lighter works, blower works...
2) dome light works
3) console light does NOT work, though bulb looks good (and it did work prior to my disassembly of the dash and console - no power on either orange wire as near as I can tell with a test light.
4) when I turn the ignition to accessory, the generator light comes on; radio works if I have it on
5) when I turn the ignition one step towards cranking the engine, the generator and oil light come on; radio works if I have it on
6) when I turn the ignition all the way to crank it, the gen light, oil light, and temp light are all on; radio turns off if I have it on

I have my radio connected to both battery power and accessory power (cig lighter, I think). Since the radio doesn't seem to work with the car off, I'm not certain the battery wire is working properly. This is backed up by my test light not functioning on that wire.

The battery is fully charged, and the car ran fine before I took things apart. In fact, I have more dash lights functioning now than before (my ebrake indicator didn't work before I took things apart).

Any ideas?? I'm not sure the radio issue is related. There is a loose connector in the console (something like a 4 or 5 prong box connector - I thought maybe gauges? But did the 70 have console gauges as an option?)

I'm really frustrated with all the work that went into the dash replacement (never again!), and I was all excited to fire it up and drive it now.

Anyone know how to troubleshoot a neutral safety switch? I'm just leaning that way because except for the radio problem, the symptoms seem to coincide with that.

Thanks for condolences and any advice.

-John

I did not have your exact symptoms in my 2004 Grand Prix but sounds somewhat close. In my case it was a faulty ignition switch, it amazed me the eclectic commlection of things that go through the switch and things that don't.

In any event, it was a good place to troubleshoot from since you can easily see the power coming to the switch and then you just have to see if you have it on the otherside. I let GM change the swtich itself, thing was like a puzzle from the Da Vinci Code...