LUVTruck.com

I aquired a 79 Chevy LUV in May 2002 and we are getting to know each other . About four days ago, without warning or indication, she refused to start.... at the fuel pump, of course. Part of the mystery for me is that the following parts have been replaced already: Battery, starter, regulator, regulator fuse, and the alternator/generator checks out fine. I have discovered that ignition switches are no longer manufactured (auto makers are only required to manufacture parts for 20 years after the model is released?), so I can't just replace that part as well. The only other thing that may have a hand in this, as far as I can tell, is a little black switch that gets depressed when the clutch pedal is released (a safety switch of some sort?).

Another oddness is that with the motor running, if the key is turned to the "Start" position, on accident because she idles so quietly , then there is only a "click".... not the grinding complaint sound that I've heard before when a starter attempts to start an already running engine.

ANY ideas or solutions would be very appreciated! I need a job thing soon and I need wheels to get to one.

Thank you to all and whomever!

I replaced my ignition switch with a generic one from Schucks. Good luck, Bryan

that little black button is your neutral safety switch, easy way to check it unplug the wires from the back of it (should be 2) and wire them together or clip a jumper wire to them. put the truck in neutral and try to start it.
mine went bad on my 80 so i just unhooked it completly

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All I need is my weed, women, and wine. -Edge City Outlaws

Okay... so I finally gave in and got a universal ignition switch and now I have a hopefully temporary problem: Universal ig switch has only 4 terminals and the ig switch I removed has 5. Any takers on this one?

Old switch had AM, R, ACC, ST and IG. New switch has only ST, BAT, ACC and IG. The three alike were no brainers and I can still push start it if I have the AM wire on the battery terminal. I am assuming ( and that is always dangerous!) that the R wire is in reference to the Regulator, but I'm not sure why that would be part of the ignition switch. The dozen + people that I have talked with today are clueless as to what the AM or the R wires might be for.

And the black safety switch? I tried what you mentioned too ( thank you) but it didn't change anything in either direction.

Thus... the mystery continues as to why its not starting AND now I need to know where to put either the AM and/or the R wire on this universal ignition switch.

I'm beginning to think I should just fork over imaginary money to somebody to attempt to fix this, but it can't be a big thing. Could just be the heat getting to me... in the 90*'s here today and I am NOT a heat person. blah

Thank you for your time and suggestions! .... and please keep sending them.

I would suggest looking at the wiring schematics in the information section. They are a tad bit hard to read so I looked into it for you. The diagram doesn't list the connections on the switch other than by number and wire color. According to the diagram, there are two Black/yellow wires that are actually connected together for the ignition circuit. Then you have a blue wire for your accesories, a black wire from the battery, and a black/white wire for the starter.

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If at first you don't succeed, try it like your wife told you to do it.

From looking at the diagram, the switch on the clutch pedal doesn't have any control over the starting. It appears to be part of the emission control.

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If at first you don't succeed, try it like your wife told you to do it.

I gave in and took her into an electrical shop. My faith in the local parts store chains has been tarnished! lol The starter that was just put on in June 2002 apparently is rattling like a baby's toy.... that *can't* be good. I am to get my Mikado back after the holiday weekend with a new starter AND the old starter body to return to auto parts store with. grrrr

The electrically inclined auto repair specialists also said that I wired up the universal ignition switch up correctly as well. yay! You are right on with the wiring colors, Ben. I mapped out the terminals from the switch I removed, labeled the connectors that I attached to the ends of the wires and after many dead-end phone inquiries, I did a bit of literal touch-and-go (scary) "trouble-shooting" and the wires ended up to the following sequence to work:

Original? wiring/terminals on old switch >> wire coloring >> universal switch terminals

AM >> black wire >> BAT

R >> black w/ yellow >> ACC

ACC >> blue wire >> ACC

ST >> black w/ white >> ST

IG >> black w/ yellow >> IG

I concluded that the "R" terminal must be for Regulator, but nobody over the phone had a clue. And I have people wanting me to call or email them when I find out what "AM" stands for! I don't know what it stands for, but it seems to want to be on the Battery terminal on the universal ignition switch, so it has to have something to do with being the power source. If this doesn't seem to work for somebody out in LUV land, I'll be glad to pull my dash apart and verify that the boys at the electrical shop didn't switch any wires around and give me the all-knowing pat-on-the-head and get back to you of the connections.

Thank you all for your help and support! Hope everybody has a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

~ Scooter

Man, don't you hate that? A friend of mine bought an alternator recently we couldn't get it to work. So we took it back down to Pep Boys and had them test it. Lo and behold, it was bad. So we had them test a new one before they gave it to us. They tested two more alternators (all that they had) and they were both bad too!

When you get your truck back, double check one wire. All the Black/Yellow wires should be going to "IG" only. If you put one of them on "ACC" your truck will still run fine, but the ignition will come on even if you turn the key only to the "accessory" position. If your new ignition switch has an "accessory" position to just turn on the radio and stuff like that without starting the truck, connecting a black/yellow wire to "acc" on the switch will make everything come on even in the "accessory" position rather than just the radio.

The schematic and the switch info in the manual shows that the purpose of having two black/yellow wires is to apply power to the ignition circuit in both the "run" and the "start" positions of switch. I think if you untaped the harness back a ways, you would find that both black/yellow wires are simply spliced together into one. In fact, with the new switch you really only need one of the wires connected since it internally applies power to the ignition in both the "run" and "start" positions.

My guess is that "R" stands for "run".

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If at first you don't succeed, try it like your wife told you to do it.

Thank you for the heads up, Ben! I'll be sure to check the wiring on the ignition switch when I get her back.

~ Scooter

I checked the wiring on the universal ignition switch like you suggested. When I put the "R" wire (black w/ yellow stripe) on the IG terminal (with the wire the same color ; IG wire), the truck wouldn't start. But, as you said, if the "R" wire is on the ACC terminal, the radio AND the blower motor for the fan both come on.... but I think the "R" wire is going to remain on the ACC terminal for now because having her actually start is sort of a priority for me. I may fiddle with it later to see what's going on, but for now.... this works.

Thanks for your help!

I was thinking about that "AM" on the switch and if it likes to be hooked up to the battery maybe it has something to do with an ammeter. On a 67 camaro i had it had an ammeter and it was hooked up staright to the battery but i dont know if any luvs came with ammeters of if it was just a switch that they used on luvs and other vehicles as well but luvs had no use for it.

Eh, well if it works then better leave it that way.

Maybe they changed something in the wiring between 76 and 79?

_________________
If at first you don't succeed, try it like your wife told you to do it.

Check the fuses. I had the same problem on my first luv ended up being a fuse. I fund that out after going through the entire electrical system.

I dont know if you've fixed your problem yet, but I have a 79 also, had the same problem. Check the points inside the distributor, check the gapping ( about the thickness of a cereal box) also you might just try replacing them, doesn't cost much.