Starter Switch - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

EA1191 · 06-07-2004, 17:57

What are the symptoms of a faulty starter switch? Sometimes the starter does not engage until the switch has been turned off and on three times. Strange about the three, which seems constant. Most times it starts first time.
Could it be the ISC motor or idle switch with CFI?
I did have the starter switch apart some time ago and found that it was packed with grease which had hardened.
It is a rotary switch but there is one contact which is a pressure switch. What does that control?

Aussiblue · 06-08-2004, 05:35

Most likely the wires on the ignition switch are become loose or partially broken.

EA1191 · 06-08-2004, 17:11

The problem could be the solenoid or damaged ring gear teeth but am going to check the switch.
With these problems I wonder how difficult it is to convert a CFI to carburetor.
The switch is not easy to remove for anti theft reasons. The plug and socket is locked together by spring plastic tabs. The switch is held together by crimping the edges of the metal housing onto the plastic switch. The switch should be bound with thread before taking apart because it is spring loaded and parts could be lost. It can be a puzzle to reassemble and must be temporarily held together with pins through the housing into the plastic switch.

EA1191 · 06-09-2004, 16:57

The switch has a poor design for the starter switch. Took it apart and tried to fix it but although it now seems OK it will have to be adjusted again sometime. The starter relay contact is a leaf switch which is closed by a plastic projection on the switch rotor but is at the end of the rotation and barely has enough movement left to make a positive closure. This could explain why the relay closes sometimes but switch contact is lost and it drops out. The best repair would be a re-make or extra metal on top of the leaf switch to make it close further or to make the switch rotate a few degrees more.
There must be more wiring in the solenoid circuit and another switch to stop the engine being started when in gear, but the starter engagement is much more positive now and has fixed a big part of my problem.