1994 850 Won't start when I turn the key

Post by **luketrash** » 25 Oct 2008, 14:29

I haven't driven my 850 for a couple of weeks and at the moment, my car won't turn over when I start the key.

Foot on the brake, car in park, shift lock solenoid clicks. But when I turn the key to start, I get nothing. The starter doesn't run.

The headlamps turn off, but the dash lights don't dim, so I don't think it's an electrical short to the starter system. It's just like nothing is happening.

What can I check?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 25 Oct 2008, 15:06

Hey Luke...nice to see you back!

What you describe is a weak battery...it's got enough juice to turn lights on but not enough to crank at all...try a trickle charge on it and see if it comes back to life.

Post by **luketrash** » 25 Oct 2008, 15:12

One annoying problem with my 850 has been the PNP switch which acts up majorly in weather this cold or colder.

I went back out and purposely held the shifter between Park and Neutral and wiggled it back and forth and the car cranked over. The problem is that the battery seems really weak. This is odd, since it's a new battery from last winter and is rather 'juicy' so to speak. Perhaps the battery is a dud though. I'm not sure why it'd go dead since there wasn't a dome light left on or anything. We shall see.

It's on my trickle charger now and looking like it's wanting to get a total recharge.

Perhaps the car is made so that it won't even try to crank over if the battery isn't strong enough??

Maybe I was doing something weird to force it to start (bypassing some sort of protection circuit) by moving the shifter between P and N?

I'll try it again in a few hours

I haven't been around much because I purchased my 240 wagon in April. We've been trying to sell the 850 on Craigslist to no avail. Nobody wants to pay more than 500 dollars for a car at the moment.

Wingman45 · Post by **Wingman45** » 28 Oct 2008, 00:21

I had the same problem with my '94... it's that switch in the TRANS that senses when it's in park and allows it to crank over. My work around was to hold the key in the crank position (all the way on) w/ my left hand, and wiggle the shifter with my right. I usually just put it in neutral and wiggled it a bit. Starts every time. Didn't figure that out 'till hours of troubleshooting starter/switches/selonoids etc. It's a bit awkward and a pain, but cheap!! Good luck! Let me know if that works for you though...would be interesting. Good luck!