I have an 89 F-150 with the 351 and auto trans. The truck has only been able to start by turning the ignition switch on and then fiddling with the gear shift lever until it hits the sweet spot. Not really a big issue, but bothersome. So, I looked into aligning the neutral safety switch. Ford suggests to use a #43 drill bit (who would even have one of those??) and line up the 3 holes in the safety switch. I did that about 2 years ago and it worked ok for awhile. Now, I lined them up with a right size nail and though all 3 holes now line up, now nothing at all happens when I turn the ignition switch, even while fiddling with the gear shift.

I can start it by jumping the 2 bolts on the solonoid switch under the hood. Question is...does doing that bypass the safety switch? Do I need to replace the safety switch? The truck has about 102000 miles but probably lived a pretty hard life before I got it. Thanks!!

 

Jumping at the solenoid will start the truck(just make sure it is in PARK) every time. Have you tried putting it in NEUTRAL? It should also start at that position and may still?

Sounds like it needs a new switch.

 

do you feel a slight resistance in the key when turning to start position, and does it return to run when you let go?
what you are describing is usually a sign of a broken ignition actuator in the top of the column.