car is a 1600, when trying to start it with the key turned to activate the starter the engine will crank but the engine wont fire untill you let go of the key and it will fire in that split second where the engine is still turning but you have just turned the key back to ignition.

if i have the key on ignition with the reds on and i short the starter with screw driver the coil will spark.

would it just be the ignition switch or is there something in the wiring not right??

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When the sign says "don't feed the bears", man you better not feed the bears.

Depending on the way you do it, the switch can be turned too far to allow ignition to happen.
Are you using a key in the lock or a screw driver in the switch?
Might be the switch, however has it ever worked or is this the initial start up?

_________________
Regards, Graeme
Just trying to help...
http://nissanman.shutterfly.com/
graemes@internode.on.net

I dont know the 1600, but on the 130 and 230 cedrics, they have a 6v ignition coil with the ballast resistor to drop the 12v down to 6v.
when you turn the key to start, 12v is applied directly to the coil to give a fatter spark to start it, then back to 6v when you let go of the key.
you might have a problem with the start relay that does the 6v/12 switch thing

Sound like you have had a wire fall off the +ive side of the ignition coil.
You need 12 volts on the +ive side of the coil when cranking

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Circuit Race 1600 in the build

What wire would I be missing?
There is 12v at the coil while cranking if I have the key on ignition and engage the starter manually with a screwdriver on the solenoid, just no 12v while cranking with the ignition key turned to start.

_________________
When the sign says "don't feed the bears", man you better not feed the bears.

I'd say the Ignition switch is fried then.

_________________
Regards, Graeme
Just trying to help...
http://nissanman.shutterfly.com/
graemes@internode.on.net

I did clean up engine bay wiring a bit.
Going by this diagram.

If I removed the black/blue wire, Would I loose spark while cranking, or would the black/white still be connected when the key is on start.

I may have removed the black/blue wire.
(I'm not using a ballast resistor, I have s2 bluey electronic dizzy and coil)

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When the sign says "don't feed the bears", man you better not feed the bears.

The Black/Blue wire is the fellow that provides full 12V for starting when the Ignition Resistor is used.
With no ballast resistor you need a constant 12V for the coil.
Perhaps, to solver the problem, you could bridge terminals 2 and 5 on the Ignition Switch

_________________
Regards, Graeme
Just trying to help...
http://nissanman.shutterfly.com/
graemes@internode.on.net

Yeah that's what I was going to try. Hopefully that will fix it.
I'll see what happens.

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When the sign says "don't feed the bears", man you better not feed the bears.

I've revisited this again. Bridging those two connectors does nothing.
Something else I want to know, is the the wire from the ignition barrel to the starter triggered by power or earth.

Because if I touch the starter wire(the wire at the ignition switch) to ground it engages the starter, I thought I would have to touch the wire to power.?

Does this seem right or is the wiring stuffed up somewhere .

P.s
I'm using a starter relay, set up like this


I had 85 and 86 around the wrong way, and I thought this would have fixed my problem so I swapped them around and it's doing exactly the same thing.

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When the sign says "don't feed the bears", man you better not feed the bears.

Your starter relay setup looks correct.
See if you can find another start wire coming from the ignition switch. It's got to go to coil +, so you need to find our replace the wire from terminal 5 and join to the coil + or join it under the dash to terminal 2 of the ignition connector on that diagram above.

The solenoid should engage with +'ve power put onto the solenoid terminal via the Black/Yellow. Not earth...

Changing the polarity of terminal 85 and 86 does nothing.

Get a multimeter and check you have 12volts at the coil +'ve terminal with the ignition in both the 'ON' and 'Start' position...

Yeah I have power at the coil in on and start.
While the key is on start just past the on position, I still have power at the coil and reds are on, as I twist the key around further on the start position the ignition switch must break contact with "ignition"(power to coil and red lights), and earth out. This looses power to the coil and reds and triggers the starter.

So something's not right with my starter wiring, I have to figure out why it's triggering with earth not power.

I also have two other know good ignition switches of nissans that I have plugged in to test(they have the same wiring) , and they also don't work, the reds come on in the on position but won't trigger the starter while in the start position, obviously because the starter wire is getting triggered with earth not power.

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When the sign says "don't feed the bears", man you better not feed the bears.

I dont mean to sound rude at all but you seem to be contradicting yourself.
You say you have 12v at both the On and the Start positions but then go on to say that you are losing 12v to the coil when the starter powers up (this point should be the 'START' position on the ignition barrel).
You must be losing power to the coil at this point by what youre saying when the starter solenoid powers up...

Test this for me if you can please:
First, disconnect the solenoid terminal (Blk/Ylw wire) so the starter wont crank whilst testing, and then get someone to turn the ign key in your ignition switch clockwise fully all the way round to the point at which you say the starter works and hold it there while you test with a multimeter.
Do you then have 12v at both the coil +'ve (Blk/Grn wire) and the solenoid terminal (Blk/Ylw wire)?

You will need help with this as the Start position on the ignition barrel normally spring returns back to the ON position if let go.

Leave the multimeters black lead (-'ve) clipped onto the battery -'ve terminal (or body ground etc) and then test for voltage at the coil + terminal and the now disconnected solenoid terminal (blk/ylw wire) with the red probe lead of the multimeter.

If you have voltage on the solenoid wire but no voltage on the coil, move the multimeters red probe now to the ignition barrel and check power at terminals 2, 3 and 5 using the diagram above whilst still holding the key fully clockwise in the 'Start' position still.

Let me know what your voltage you have at all five test points with the key at 'Start'...

The bare essentials: -

_________________
Regards, Graeme
Just trying to help...
http://nissanman.shutterfly.com/
graemes@internode.on.net