Ah shit. It won't start.


#1

The e28 DD has owned the back garage over the last couple weeks. Rain was getting into the passenger floor-board and back garage is the only place that work gets done on the cars. So if something needs work, and problem of the DD leaking inside during afternoon thunderstorms was a big priority, you have to be in the back garage. As a result, the SpecE30 was out front in the driveway under a cover, feeling unloved. This weekend is Road Atlanta so it was time to put the SpecE30 into the back garage and get some things done on it before the race weekend.

But, Ah shit, it won’t start.

I seemed to have normal key-off power but the ignition switch wasn’t making wires hot.

I read thru the recent thread on ignition switch delete but the guidance seemed equal parts wrong or ambiguous. For example it discussed doing something with a green wire, and I was looking at 3 green wires. I also checked out Bentley’d diagram but it still wasn’t clear to me what was going on with the 3 green wires.

I did have a spare ignition switch wiring harness, so I went up to the attic spares depot and found it. Then, as a temp solution, I connected the spare harness under the dash and turned the switch with a screwdriver. The car fired right up so I drove around the block, into the alley and into the back garage.

I was out of time and had to whip up something for the kids out of available left-overs.

After chow I pulled the steering wheel off so I could remove the plastic shrouding console parts off the steering shaft. The ignition switch harness contains the actual switch. That switch fastens to the rear of the key cylinder, held in place with a couple plastic tangs. The tangs on mine were busted so the switch had come free from the rear of the key cylinder. A couple zip ties fastened the switch tightly against the lock cylinder.

It’s all back together now. I guess I’ll find out Saturday just how off-center the steering wheel went back on.

A typical evening as a SpecE30 racer.

The kids were quite disappointed in me that I couldn’t hot-wire the car in 10secs like they do on TV.


#2

The quick hot wire for the car would have been to jump power to the coil positive…