I turn the key and nothing.....confussion......

[rusty15628]

Hey Guys,
My car is a 95 camry and its parked in my drive way........I get in turn the key and nothing happens. The dash lights turn on and I hear the radio antenna start to go up but I hear absolutely nothing going on in the engine bay or anything. Im nervous because Im in santa barbara for school and I need to drive home for chistmas break which is 7 hours away next weekend.....So any imput would be great lol.

I just have no clue where to look for. Is there a possibility that there is a sensor out? The car is an automatic and it sometimes acted up where it wouldnt start but all I had to do is jigle the shifter or go down to reverse back to park and it would usually start up. Im just confussed

Alright guys, Thanks for the imput

[the_professional]

Since your engine makes no sound, im not sure but I'm assuming your starter motor is the culprit.

[95PimpingCamry]

Maybe check your neutral safety switch (or whatever it's called for an auto).

[rusty15628]

How would I check either of those things......would it be better to just take it into a mechanic or a Toyota dealership?

.......damnit.....that means I need to get my car towed there........ugggghhhh

[rholzboog]

move your shifter back and up to p and try it it happens to me too

[rusty15628]

Yeah I was doing that for the the past three years......but now that little trick doesnt work anymore hahaha

[Jimnist]

This is from my Gen 2 Camry service manual, so i might help, it might not. I don't know.....

To adjust:
1)Raise the front of the vehilce and support on chassis stands.
2)Remove LHS splash shield from the vehicle.
3)Select 'netural' with the interoir selector lever
4)Remove the retaining nut and remove the transaxle selector.
5)Check that the selector shaft centre line, parallel to the machined flats, is aligned with the scribed index line on the neutral safety switch body. If necessary, loosen the mounting bolts and rotate the switch to achieve correct alignment.
6) Install the selector lever and the splash shield. Check operation of the neutral safety switch and reverse lamps.

I have a manual Camry, so i can't help any further.

[camry314]

I am not too sure if Camrys have them, but also think about an ignition switch. I know on my other geramn cars, they have a separate switch attached to the actual ignition that starts the show, maybe yours is worn out. I think though that it might be safe to say that its a neutral switch since you have been doing the "trick" for the last 3 years and now its a no go. I would say start there. Good luck with the trouble shoot and repair!

Oh, see if you car put the car in neutral and see if the car will start that way.

[87Camry5Speed]

Check the simple stuff too. This happened on my '95 and it turned out to be the (-) battery cable was loose. Tightened it up and the car started no problem.

[rusty15628]

Yeah I checked the battery and that was fine. Im guessing bring it to a dealership is going to cost some big time $$, so im a little hesitant about that part but if I order parts to fix it they most likely wont get here in time before I would have to go home for break.

[DFBonnett]

Originally Posted by rusty15628

Yeah I was doing that for the the past three years......but now that little trick doesnt work anymore hahaha

Sounds like the neutral safety switch is at fault. Make sure it isn't just loose or suffering from bad connections before you replace it.

[Mike Gerber]

Have you tried to jump start the car? If it starts, that tells you the problem is with the battery or the charging system.

If it doesn't start with a jump, I would do a test to determine if you have worn starter solenoid contacts. This is very common on older Camrys. Do a search for "starter contacts" and read up on the problem and it's cures. There is a simple test you can do to determine if the starter's solenoid contacts are the problem. Locate the starter under the hood of the car. It's forward of the engine and down low on the driver's side. The smaller cylinder shaped object on top of the starter is the starter's solenoid. Have someone inside the car hold the key in the start position, while you tap the solenoid with a small hammer or a wrench. Give it a good tap, but don't try to brake the thing. If the starter now turns, you have indentified the worn starter solenoid contacts problem. The reason I'm thinking of this issue is that the jostling of moving the selector can also shake the starter just a bit; maybe enough to cause the worn contacts to make contact. As they get even more worn, this isn't enough shaking to overcome the wear on them and allow the current to go through them and make the starter turn.

Mike

[rusty15628]

Alright, thanks guys! It was the safety neutral switch! I got the part from a toyota dealership and installed it myself and it worked perfectly! Thanks for all the input guys

[uuuuu]

Originally Posted by rusty15628

Alright, thanks guys! It was the safety neutral switch! I got the part from a toyota dealership and installed it myself and it worked perfectly! Thanks for all the input guys

How much did that end up costing you? I think I need to replace mine.

[BamZipPow]

Originally Posted by uuuuu

How much did that end up costing you? I think I need to replace mine.

Looks to be about $300...