Starting electrical Problem (not the typical starter problem) EMERGENCY!

First off, the emergency tag is because we need to drive this car to a shop to get a roll cage installed and right now we cant start it.

Here is the long description of the problem and how we wound up there. This is intended to be a racecar. Everything has been removed from the inside, nearly everything important has been replaced outside the engine, and the engine is still strong. In addition to gutting the interior, we had to take out the steering wheel lock, and in the process, destroyed the front part the ignition switch where the key goes. All we have left is the plastic switch itself which inside is rotated by the key portion and starts the car.

Here is the issue, when we turn that switch with a screwdriver, we can get the car first into ACC, then in to ON, and finally when we turn it to ignition, it fires up. The problem is once it starts and we disengage the starter it runs for maybe another 5 seconds before it just dies. The starter starts the engine EVERY time. No starter problems, no spark problems, no timing problems, it just will not stay running for very long after the starter motor is disengaged. Fuel has pressure, alternator tests out fine.

So my question is, who has made a switch (or series of switches) in their car to replace the key ignition switch? If you did this with the wires that already exist in the cabin, how did you do this? Can you provide a diagram?

If that question cant be answered, can someone explain to me the sequence for engaging the two ignition leads and the starter lead all combined in the wiring harness for the keyed ignition switch? Is there a trick for engaging the ignition using the switch while it has been separated from the key portion of the switch?

If this is actually not my problem, are there any suggestions as to what might cause the car to just die within seconds of disengaging the starter motor? Even if I get it gas, it still dies, just immediately.

Any thoughts or insights are really appreciated!

Thanks

 

The air flow sensor is plugged in and i assume it is working, i can try a backup that i have later, but I've had problems with them before and they don't just die at full throttle. There is something electrical cutting out i believe, or a ground that got disconnected that i never hooked back up, but nothing obvious. Fuel pump works. I believe i hooked up the gas vapor line and fuel return line correctly, but i may have not. All of these mechanical issues would at least cause sputtering or rough running, but when its on, its silky smooth until it cuts out like i just turned the key off.

Looking at the wiring diagram, i have two source wires 1, 2; and 4 signal wires acc(3) ig1(4) ig2(5) and st(6).

The diagram then has wires 2 and 5 connected by a single switch, and wire 1 connected to 3,4,& 6, by a 3 way selector switch. My assumption is that i need 2 & 5 always connected and then i connect 1 to 4, then 1 to 6 to start, and then back to 1to 4 for running. Does this sound correct? What might i be missing?

 

I haven't, but again it runs really smooth, revs up smooth, then just stops like it was shut off. I'm thinking it has to do with the ignition somehow.

 

Oh, just a broken wire in the engine wiring harness, so nothing difficult to track down... uke

Based on this switch my suspicion is that when i am just turning the base of the starting mechanism, I am not connecting IG2. My guess is that that connection exists as a part of some low-tech security measure within the unit itself. Does anybody happen to have a picture of the ignition switch completely removed from its housing? This doesnt matter, it is more for me as a sanity check. I had only been looking at the wiring diagram and guessing as to what remained connected during and after ignition. That second photo of the continuity of the switch itself was a huge help. I will try now wiring together all of these wires according to both diagrams and try again.

While we are on the topic and before i can actually try it, what does the Unlock Warning (Normal | Push) do?

 

Alright, thats what i thought. All we have is that gray piece left over with the wires coming out of the back of it.

Ill try too wire it up to work without and share my results later.

Is there a good diagram of all the connecting points of the wiring harness in the engine compartment?