1986 ignition relay

Quote:

Originally Posted by discojools

I have a power problem in my 83 RRC. Just sometimes I go to start the car and there is no power at all. I then try again and all is good. Is there a relay that could be causing the problem and if so where would I find it? I think once or twice I have also lost power when driving and switching the wipers on too.

Much more likely to be the ignition switch itself. The copper contacts in the actual switch hanging off the end of the lock barrel wear with age and this displays a variety of (sometimes weird and intermittent) symptoms.

A whole new unit (barrel, keys and switch) is only about $100.

cheers, DL

I have a new ignition switch so will try that at some point. Had wondered if that's what the problem is. It is the original ignition switch fro 83.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sppigot

Resurrecting an old thread but I am having the same problem with my 86 Rangie. Been over the wiring trying to find it but nothing stands out in terms of old connectors etc and cleaned up everything I can see just in case so would be interested in what you found to fix this.

Not sure how to test it as the problem seems to be that the ignition switch just cuts all the power and it happens intermittently. Looking through the manual I can see that the 86 doesn't use an ignition load relay ie. everything goes through the ignition switch (if there is a relay it isn't in the drivers footwell or on the passengers side of the firewall and it isn't in the wiring diagrams I have access to) tho of course some things have their own relays eg. heated rear window etc I'm wondering whether the gas solenoids plus everything else that doesn't have its own relay are/have been pulling too much load through the ignition switch and have damaged it as the gas tank and cut off solenoids click rapidly sometimes before the power is cut?

Presumably a fix/test would be to install a relay to take the load off the ignition switch using the existing link from the ignition switch as the trigger for the relay (ie. terminal 86) and prolly buy a new ignition switch. But before that am interested in your experience.

Thanks, Simon

My ignition switch has been replaced less than 5 years ago so although I was suspicious of it (since the symptoms were the same then) and thought about replacing it in the above I wanted to check elsewhere. So I bit the bullet and stripped the sheathing I had put on the wires to the coil some years ago to find that the wires themselves were in very poor shape. The insulation on these very thin wires was dry and crumbly and perhaps melted in places (why are they so thin and weedy?) so much so that the positive, negative and earth wires could actually touch in places and short out the ignition, causing complete loss of ignition etc. Curiously the damage was all downstream of a connector about 20cm from the coil. Anyway have replaced the wires and removed the negative one which actually wasn't connected in my implementation and all is ok after an extended drive and a few days so hopefully the problem is fixed.

So yes: suspect the worn out/original ignition switch but check the wires to the coil for age and damage as well.

Also be careful of how you setup your tests: I installed a relay to check all this wiring by getting power direct to the coil +ve but I triggered the relay from an ignition wire (doh!) so that of course when the short took out the ignition, the trigger for the relay disappeared as well - didn't think that one through quite enough..... :( should have gone direct to the battery.

All of the above kind of begs the question as to why the insulation on these wires appears to have melted in places but that could have been due to the deterioration of the insulation and this short or anything in the cars previous life (though I don't remember the wires being in poor condition when I sheathed them some years ago!). Most importantly the new wiring does not get hot.

Good luck and hope the above helps!
Simon