Hey guys;
new member here. Im stumped and im hoping some of you can help.

I have the extended version of the B250 work van. its the 3/4 ton version with the 5.2L 318 motor. automatic transmission. power steering, brakes. manual everything else and no A/C.

Issue is this. I used the van daily for 3 years and things were fine. Had an occasional issue of it not starting, but a bump on the shift lever to make sure it was fully in park always did the trick.
Fast forward to the current. the van has been sitting since may. had been occasionally started over the spring/early summer to move it to mow the grass. but no road driving. So basically just sitting there. Went out to start it to check it for proper operation to list in auto trader to sell it since i no longer have a need for it, and it wont start. battery is good. when you turn key over thru accessory and so forth, all dash lights that normally light up continue to do so. the buzzer buzzes, the radio works, and all seems normal but when key is turned fully forward to engage starter and start the van, nothing happens.
Thought it could be the neutral safety switch due to the bumping of the shift lever mentioned above. so i went thru that whole ordeal and replaced the neutral safety switch and performed all visual inspections and steps mentioned in the manual and all seems as described in the process in the manual. Went to attempt to start it after replacing that NSS and it still wont start. No crank, no nothing. just dash lights, radio and so forth mentioned previously.
So need ideas as to what to check next in some sort of pecking order.
keyed ignition switch?
coil?
starter?
fusible links? if so where would i start? there seems to be a bazillion of them.

I dont want to have to sink a ton of money into this van to sell it if i go and just start replacing each part or so until i hit the right 1.

So id appreciate any input any of you may have. Im reasonably mechanically inclined, but this appears to be an electrical issue of some sort. And once i get some sort of direction to go, i can do fairly well at trouble shooting, but its just sorting thru all the electrical possibilities that tend to overwhelm me.

Thanks for reading. sorry for the lengthy post, but was trying to be as detailed as i can to help sort this whole drama out.

Thanks in advance.
Tom

 

First thing to do is connect a meter down at the starter. If you get power when trying to start it, then it's a bad starter. If you don't get power, then the next test point is the starter wire on the ignition switch.

 

thanks. i'll try that next. i got into the ignition lock cylinder on the column last thing yesterday.
below are a couple of pix. 1st 1 is a stock image. 2nd is what the 1 i removed looked like. could that be my demon?

 

Yes, with it broken like that it's possible the cylinder isn't turning the cam far enough to reach the start position on the switch. Did you try using a tool to reach into the cylinder's hole and turn the cam to see if the starter engages?

 

havent tried that. i thought about it. but thought i had better ask 1st. didnt want to potentially pooch any further electrical crap and cause more grief. I'll try it after work tomorrow.
do appreciate the help as well.