I recently purchased a 1995 Chevy Silverado Short Bed with a 305 and 4l80e. The previous owner ran a hot wire from the fuse box to a toggle switch on the dash and the other side of the switch goes to the coil to heat it up. If you turn the key without the switch on, as you might guess the engine turns but doesn't start.

Yesterday I pressed in new upper control arm bushings and the upper ball joint in the driver side. (I put them in the passenger side the day before and test drove the truck after.) After installing the driver side, I climbed in, flipped the toggle switch and turned the key. Nothing happened.

I can't say nothing happened. The headlights light up (actually the right bright light and the left headlight). The right blinker on the dash also lit up.

I have no idea where or what to look for. I can rebuild a motor, obviously I can do suspension work, but when it comes to wiring, I am lost as to what to do next or where to start looking.

I have an ohm meter, but I have no clue where to start with something like this.

Here is what I know:

I know the switch or at least the tumbler is not the original, as the key that fits the column does not work in the doors or glove compartment.

I know the battery is at 12 volts and stays at 12 volts when you turn the key.

I know the windows go up and down at the right speed when the key is on, until you turn the "backyard" toggle switch on, then they become very slow.

I suspect maybe I bumped something when putting the upper control arm back in, but I really can't see anything that looks bumped or broken or grounded.

I could sure use some help tracking down what could be causing my no start problem.

 

I was wrong about the windows. They now roll up very slow with the key on and the toggle switch off.

 

Check the coil to see if you have 12 volts to it from the switch. If not run another wire from a 12 volt source to the coil and make sure the the truck starts. If you want to put the coil back to original find where the added switch wire connects to the coil and you'll probably find the wire he cut to make the new connection. The coil wire is pink as per the Chilton manual, there is two pick wires to the coil with the second one going to the distributor. The lights seem to be odd. The headlights get power from the high low beam switch and the turn signal from the turn signal switch which is the same lever and is part of the steering column. I don't have complete wiring diagrams. Maybe check the wires coming out of the column under the dash to see if anything is amiss.