Car Won't Start! Neutral Safety Switch?

[Michael M.]

Does a '65 with manual transmission have a Neutral Safety Switch?

Suddenly car won't crank......nothing!

Voltage to starter but solenoid doesn't engage.

Replaced solenoid; no change.

Brought starter with new solenoid to auto-parts store and starter tested OK.

Placed it back into the car and NO change! No crank, click.......nothing!

Any thoughts?

[Joe L.]

Re: Car Won't Start! Neutral Safety Switch?

Does a '65 with manual transmission have a Neutral Safety Switch?

Suddenly car won't crank......nothing!

Voltage to starter but solenoid doesn't engage.

Replaced solenoid; no change.

Brought starter with new solenoid to auto-parts store and starter tested OK.

Placed it back into the car and NO change! No crank, click.......nothing!

Any thoughts?

Michael-----


As far as I know, there is no neutral safety start switch used on any C2 Corvette with manual transmission.

With the ignition switch turned to start, check to see if there is voltage at the starter solenoid "S" terminal (the one to which a purple wire is connected). If not (as I suspect you'll find), there is a problem with the ignition switch or the wiring/connectors from the switch to the solenoid.

[Dan B.]

Re: Car Won't Start! Neutral Safety Switch?

Have you checked your ground (neg) battery cable??

[Edward B.]

Re: Car Won't Start! Neutral Safety Switch?

As far as I know, there is no neutral safety start switch used on any C2 Corvette with manual transmission.

Never having owned any Corvette newer than a '61, I have no first hand experience. Did the later Corvette models incorporate the "depress the clutch to start" safety feature in common with the rest of the Chevrolet products?

[Richard M.]

Re: Car Won't Start! Neutral Safety Switch?

Never having owned any Corvette newer than a '61, I have no first hand experience. Did the later Corvette models incorporate the "depress the clutch to start" safety feature in common with the rest of the Chevrolet products?

Edward, No, manuals didn't have a safety, only the automatic Powerglides.


Michael, we need more information. Does the car have power to the gauges with key to ON?

A common problem is the bulkhead connector in the engine bay which is the source of power to the car. It sounds like you might have lost the power path to the ignition switch. Disconnect the battery and pull the 2 plugs behind the fuse panel(in the engine bay), and check for corrosion on the one where the 12 gauge Red wire is(I forget which plug).

If that's okay, here's a guide which may help figure it out.......Rich
p.s. unfortunately my Tabs to separate the flowchart get munged up when it gets submitted.


Below troubleshooting guide assumes as you said the "solenoid is getting power", to me meaning the battery cable is connected to the main distribution stud.

With key to ON before crank, is there power to the main electrical system(gauges, acc, etc)?

NO-
Check battery connections and verify engine is grounded.

YES-
Turn key to crank and check purple wire at ignition switch for 12v.
No- Check for 12v at ignition switch Red wire.
''''''Yes- Bad ignition switch internal contact for solenoid path.
''''''No- Disconnect ground battery cable. Pull bulkhead connector in engine bay and verify connections on #12 gauge Red terminals. Common problem.

Yes- When crank, check for 12v at solenoid "S" terminal stud, using clean engine ground as ground reference.
''''''Yes- Bad solenoid coil
''''''No- a) Ground path to engine open. Check Neg cable at battery and engine connections. Battery disconnect?
''''''''''''''''b) Open in Purple wire path or Purple wire 2 terminal wire connectors in harness above Wiper Motor in engine bay disconnected.
''''''''''''''''''''''Should be mated. Only used for Neutral Safety Switch on Powerglide Auto trans cars. Manual has no neutral safety switch.

[Ara G.]

Re: Car Won't Start! Neutral Safety Switch?

Mike, I definitely agree to check the red wire at the bulkhead connector, HOWEVER BE VERY GENTLE with the opaque connector tabs that hold this connection to the firewall/mating side of the connection. These tabs often become brittle and weak so you do NOT want to break them. I bet you will find corrosion on just that one red wire (I know this from experience). Clean the corrosion off and I bet you will good to go. take your time, and good luck. ARA

[Joe L.]

Re: Car Won't Start! Neutral Safety Switch?

Never having owned any Corvette newer than a '61, I have no first hand experience. Did the later Corvette models incorporate the "depress the clutch to start" safety feature in common with the rest of the Chevrolet products?

Edward------


Starting in 1969, Corvettes with manual transmission had the neutral safety start switch.

[Michael M.]

Re: Car Won't Start! Neutral Safety Switch?

I want to truly thank all who replied! That's the great thing about this group.

With that said, she is back running but I have NO idea as to why!!

I pulled the starter and replaced the solenoid, no change. Having power to the starter/solenoid, I disconnected the cable connection at the firewall found NO corrosion at the big Red however I did at the very bottom which I cleaned up. Still no change.

Then I retraced my wiring from the solenoid back up the "Purple" wire, disc. it at the connection above the wiper motor, with tester I had power. Re-connected the coupling...... and it started!

Tried it 4-5 times and it always started.

So, like I said, I have no real evidence as to what fixed it, I only know I can go show her tomorrow morning at the VFW car show!

[John H.]

Re: Car Won't Start! Neutral Safety Switch?

I want to truly thank all who replied! That's the great thing about this group.

With that said, she is back running but I have NO idea as to why!!


Then I retraced my wiring from the solenoid back up the "Purple" wire, disc. it at the connection above the wiper motor, with tester I had power. Re-connected the coupling...... and it started!

Tried it 4-5 times and it always started.

So, like I said, I have no real evidence as to what fixed it, I only know I can go show her tomorrow morning at the VFW car show!

Mike -

That's the in-line connector I suggested you check this morning on the "other" forum - glad you're up and running again!

[Richard M.]

Re: Car Won't Start! Neutral Safety Switch?

Yes that inline connector got me on our PG '63 when we first got the car. The PO(bubba) installed a makeshift neutral safety using a big black horn button mounted in front of the shift lever under the boot. He had it mounted so that when in Park, you had to push the shifter a bit more forward to close the contacts to allow Crank. I wasn't aware of this until a interesting thing happened one day.........

He routed the wires under the dash above the E-brake, and one of them got caught in the teeth of the pull rod when I had it engaged. When I went to start the car after some work I was doing on the engine. I tried to crank it up and nothing, and the ammeter pegged negative to the max. You could hear the ammeter smack the meter-stop. As you can imagine my reaction. WTH! (replace H with more intense explative). He soldered wires at the ends of inline connector going to the switch but the inline connector wasn't separated. It was actually connected together to bypass the switch. I never noticed this menagerie as it was taped and tucked under the cowl above the wiper motor. That horn switch was broken so he bypassed it. I later found a NOS NSS for megabucks and finally installed the proper equipment.

Ever since then I've been up close and personal with those inline connectors.

Mike, You best keep an eye on that connector. It was the culprit of your no-start issue. When you pulled it apart and reconnected to check, you probably fixed a poor connection by default. You may want to pull those terminals out and give them a good cleaning to prevent more trouble in the future. Too bad you didn't check it when John mentioned it. It could have saved you some stress and running around.

Rich