1990 740 Intermittent Starting Failure

[Rocco_Boy]

For the past year my my wife's 740 has had starting problems on
occasion. Always at the worst time and always after a short trip.
Turning the key lights the indicator lights but it won't turn over.
Eventually it will start. Maybe after a few minutes. Maybe after an
hour -- you try again and it cranks and starts just fine. This never
happens in the morning or after work. It seems to occur when making a
stop after running for a while e.g. when coming out of the store. The
problem of course can't be reproduced for the mechanics so they are
having a rough time finding the problem. Last thing they tried was
replacing the park - neutral position switch. Anybody have any ideas.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Michael Pardee]

For the past year my my wife's 740 has had starting problems on
occasion. Always at the worst time and always after a short trip.
Turning the key lights the indicator lights but it won't turn over.
Eventually it will start. Maybe after a few minutes. Maybe after an
hour -- you try again and it cranks and starts just fine. This never
happens in the morning or after work. It seems to occur when making a
stop after running for a while e.g. when coming out of the store. The
problem of course can't be reproduced for the mechanics so they are
having a rough time finding the problem. Last thing they tried was
replacing the park - neutral position switch. Anybody have any ideas.
Thanks in advance.

Those aren't exactly the classic symptoms, but ignition switch trouble is
common in the 740s at this age. I replaced mine - in an '85 - four years
ago because the warning lights wouldn't come on (and the engine wouldn't
fire) for increasing periods of time on cold mornings. The part is under
$100 US from IPD www.ipdusa.com and is a fairly easy DIY job.

Starter problems are also not unheard of. The classic test is to whack the
starter judiciously with a hammer and try again. Some people use that method
to struggle along with a failing starter for months at a time. The starter
is easy to remove and reinstall, and if you DIY cleaning and relubing can
work wonders. Aftermarket starters have earned a bad reputation and OEM
starters are pricey.

Mike

 

[Mike F]

For the past year my my wife's 740 has had starting problems on
occasion. Always at the worst time and always after a short trip.
Turning the key lights the indicator lights but it won't turn over.
Eventually it will start. Maybe after a few minutes. Maybe after an
hour -- you try again and it cranks and starts just fine. This never
happens in the morning or after work. It seems to occur when making a
stop after running for a while e.g. when coming out of the store. The
problem of course can't be reproduced for the mechanics so they are
having a rough time finding the problem. Last thing they tried was
replacing the park - neutral position switch. Anybody have any ideas.
Thanks in advance.

Of course any fix for this problem is just going to be a guess, but I've
heard of starters failing this way. First make sure that the cables
from battery to starter and battery to engine block have clean tight
connections and are in good shape.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
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