electrical gremlin

[kartone]

Funny thing, every now & then my '80 GTV looses electrical power to the engine: engine dies and even at speed will not jump-start, battery light goes on and stays on  .
To fix the problem the ignition key needs to be cycled off and then on again, engines starts and battery light goes off .
Has anyone had this problem and what could be the source ?
Best wishes for 2011.

[Fetta GTV]

Hi kartone

my 79 GTV used to do the same thing you describe
I ended up fixing it by replacing the ignition switch
Not a cheap fix, I'm not sure if they can be pulled apart and the contacts cleaned

All the best sorting it

Cheers
David

[kartone]

Fetta, will wiggle the key and check the cable terminals tonight, hope for the best !

[Anthony Miller]

Check the big connector that connects the switch to the loom,the one halfway down the steering column, sometimes my 75 will refuse to start, not even a click of the relay because this bloody connector has worked itself loose.

[bt46]

If you do need to change the ignition switch its not to hard to do. You need to drill out a rivet that holds it into the column. You could buypass the ignition switch (hotwire) the car to see if it fixes the issue. Might be worth spraying wd40 and contact cleaner into the ignition switch but not sure if that will do anything. Second had ignition switches shouldnt be hard to find.