Won't Start?
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Won't Start?
I just purchased a 89 Bronco XLT with 5.8l automatic trans. When I turn the ignition key nothing happens but if I turn on the headlights it starts right up??? Is there a short in the coluum, how are the headlights tied in with the ignition switch?
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From: Loveland, CO.
Bad ignition switches (the actual switch, not the key part) can cause all sorts of strange electrical problems. They are cheap and fairly easy to replace. Being that your symptom is _extra_ strange and could be hard to troubleshoot, it may be worth just replacing the ignition switch first because there is a very good chance that it will fix the problem.
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Has it done this the whole time you've owned it? If so, it may be a security feature. There are relays that are installed after-market that will prevent starting unless something (i.e. turning the headlights on, pressing the brake pedal) is done before turning the key. Just a suggestion.
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From: Loveland, CO.
I never knew that. Does that mean that the headlights have to be on at all times when the truck is driven?
Maybe it's an added safety feature (instead of security) to make the driver have the headlights on when driving. Like some father doing that for his daughter's truck, something like that.
Or maybe the previous owner was a drunk and wanted to prevent himself from driving around at night with his lights off and getting pulled over? I once knew a guy who actually did that to his Cadillac because he was a drunk and would always forget to put his headlights on at night, except he did it a little differently. He made it so that the lights came on automatically when the car was started. I eventually bought that car and so my headlights were on all the time.
Or maybe it is a bad ignition switch after all. Strange one, this is.
Maybe it's an added safety feature (instead of security) to make the driver have the headlights on when driving. Like some father doing that for his daughter's truck, something like that.
Or maybe the previous owner was a drunk and wanted to prevent himself from driving around at night with his lights off and getting pulled over? I once knew a guy who actually did that to his Cadillac because he was a drunk and would always forget to put his headlights on at night, except he did it a little differently. He made it so that the lights came on automatically when the car was started. I eventually bought that car and so my headlights were on all the time.
Or maybe it is a bad ignition switch after all. Strange one, this is.
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The headlights wouldn't have to stay on because the START part of the ignition switch is a different part of the circuit from the RUN part. Adding the security feature simply means that something else has to be done to complete the START circuit.
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From: san angelo tx
i did a version of that, i put a button under my drivers seat, you can turn the key all you want and nothing will happen, but if you turn the key to the run position and hit the button it will start.
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thanks I'll try the ignition switch, I don't think its a secutrity thing, as soon as the engine starts I can turn the lights off and it will stay running. I didn't do this when I purchased it, I thought it had something to do with tilt steering, but.........
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From: Loveland, CO.
Originally Posted by tcb89
I didn't do this when I purchased it
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I had an 86 and never had a single electrical problem, now this 89 seems to have a few electrical glitches, I also has the fuel guage stuck past full so I'm sure there is an open short in the sending unit, but this Bronco looks like it just can off the showroom floor so the work is worth it!!!
My thoughts exactly....
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