Hi I have a 1990 Oldsmobile Delta 88. Whenever I try to crank the car the only thing it does is click a relay behind the glove box. The battery is good and fully charged. I remove the starter from the car and jumped the solenoid off of a battery and the starter works as it should. I put the starter in the car again and the problem is still there. Engine is not locked up.

What should I do?

Matt

 

Anyone?

 

There are lots of things that would cause your car not to crank. Some things that come to mind.

-VATS issue (does your key have the "pellet" in it?)
-Neutral safety switch (bad, out of adjustment, wiring problem going to it), try bypassing it
-Ignition switch down around the column.

There is still a chance the starter is the problem. It might bench test ok, but might not be strong enough to turn the engine. If I were you, the next thing I would do is attempt to jump the starter installed on the engine. You could use a remote starter switch. If it cranks, you have an issue causing power not to reach the solenoid from the key.

 

Henryk8398,

-My key does not have a pellet in it, I must have the "Passlock" system in my car. I have never seen a security light even blink on that car whatsoever.

-What wires do I put a paper clip on to jump out the NS switch?

-What should I check for on the ignition switch down around the column?

I jumped the starter solenoid and the car cranked.

I have attached a video that I made of my car and the problem I am having, hopefully that helps.


Thanks for your help so far,

Matt

 

I'm so sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. How is your diagnosing going?

If you jumped the starter solenoid, you've eliminated a number of issues. That means you have a good batter, started, and likely battery cables.

If you want to eliminate the NS switch (I'm going to call it NSS) as a problem, you will need to locate a wiring diagram to be sure what wires you'd need to jump. Typically, it's a 2-wire plug and I'm pretty sure one of those wires is purple. GM long used a purple wire to from the starter switch (which is on the steering column, actuated by the rod from the lock cylinder) to the "S" terminal. One you find the right plug, just jump the leads together. If it still doesn't crank, you may have an issue with the starter switch. Sometimes the rod doesn't move far enough to get the starter switch in the right position to crank the engine. Some of them are adjustable. If you can drop the column and remove it, you can play around with and see if that's the problem. I would still check around the dash to see of your lock cylinder has two fine wires coming from it. Those are what plug into the security system. You may not have the pellet in the key, but that could be because someone bypassed it with a resistor. That resistor could be loose, which will disable your starter via a relay. I would strongly recommend getting a factory service manual and go through the diagnosis for a "no crank" condition.

 

GM eliminated the electrical NSS in the late 1970s. From that point on, there was a mechanical blocking plate in the steering column that prevented the key from being turned to the START position unless the shifter was in PARK or NEUTRAL. There IS a switch at the base of the steering column, but it only provides the backup light function and the PARK/NEUTRAL signal to the ECU. It is not wired into the starter circuit in any way.