HELP! Ignition/Starter Issues Leaving Me Stranded!

No crank, no clicking, nothing. My truck has done this every now and then in the past but always started right up after a few key cycles. It was random and a very rare occurance. It started becoming more frequent, taking longer to finally start, and now it took 20 minutes last night, left me stranded at a gas station 40 miles from home until it finally started. This is the only vehicle I have that runs right now and I live out in the country, so I'm in a tight spot.

I removed the starter thinking that was my issue. I was going to hitch a ride into town to swap it out at the part store and be on my merry way. When I pulled the starter, I noticed one of the ring terminals on the wires just fell off the end of the wire. So I figured that was the issue I was having. I put a new ring terminal on, checked the others, made sure all the wires were good and reinstalled the starter. Same thing, no start. So I figured I better check the ignition switch.

I have a 3-position universal ignition switch with "BAT", "IGN", "ACC", and "ST" terminals on the back. In the "ON" position, I get 12 volts to the BAT, IGN, and ACC terminals, but no voltage at the ST terminal. When I turn the key to START, I still get nothing at the ST terminal, but same 12 volts to the oher 3 terminals. When I say nothing, I mean NOTHING, no volts whatsoever.

I can't find my wiring book, but I should be getting voltage to the ST terminal correct?

It's a Small Block Chevy, GM Color Coded Aftermarket Wiring Harness with 20 fuses (unsure of manufacturer) and the ignition switch is in the dash.

I made a little diagram showing exactly how my switch is wired, including the number/color/label of each wire. I couldn't read them all, but I wrote what I could see.

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

Looks to be a bad ing switch. Sould get voltage from S terminal when you turn key to start position. Did you try jumping the starter at the switch with a jumper wire to see if it will turn over that way?

 

When in doubt...change it out. Specially for a low cost part as that.

 

Ok, just got back in. I jumped the ST terminal off the IGN terminal and the truck fired right up. Looks like it's the switch. The parts stores around here only carry the $10 switches that last about a week, so I'll order a new one and keep the original switch dangling from under the dash and keep a screwdriver handy until the new one arrives. Thanks.