dash or engine off unless short starter relay on inner fender

[kumar_explorer]

My explorer used to start with the key inthe ignition, untill it malfunctioned. The switch will turn on the dash but would not crank the engine. So i decided to short the inner fender starter relay with my key on the on possition for the car to crank and turn on. It was successful. My explorer would run like normal, untill yesterday, my explorer when the key was turned ,the dash light (instrumental lights)would not turn on, nor would it start by pressing a button i wired to the starter relay ...so i wont have to open my hood every time i wanted to start my explorer.

So anyways i bought a new ignition switch that goes on top of the steering column, a starter relay and an ignition coil. The ignition coil ill tell u later why.

So i replaced the new parts except the ignition coil, because i bought it after i tried to crank the engine with the new parts i found out no spark was being produced by the coil. So then i ordered one from the autoparts shop delivered it to me in a few minutes and it finally cranked but with a diffrence.

Okay so i replaced all those parts, went under the engine unbolted the starter morter and took it to the autoshop with was not necessary because i knew my starter cranked.

But when i go back into the car with everything installed , the dash or any of the lights that would normally turn on even when the key is not inserted, wont go on unless i short the starter relay.

Ive checked my battery, my battery cables, fuses..both external and under the dash board.

 

[Bruces expo]

I had a similar problem , The ignition switch pushes a rod with connections on it to send the power to the right areas , If you look under your dash on the bottom of your steering column , there will be a white plug in box with wiring pointing up towards the instrument cluster and dash , mine had 2 broken tabs there and the connector was not connected properly , I used some Big zip ties to put it back in place , I would check there to make sure your connector is properly connected and if it is not , try and connect it and then turn the key on to see if that is the problem

 

[Bruces expo]

The Plug will be very hard to see , but you can feel it , it has a good amount of wires coming off the top of it , its tough to get your hand in that area , but if you take your time and look for a way to get to it , you should be able to tell if that is your problem , I tried to take a pic of the area , but its right on top of the column under the dash , so that did not work well .

 

[kumar_explorer]

In order to reach that area of the steering column you need to unbolt two screws one on each side of a retaining silver braket that holds the steering column up. Then the ignition switch will be easy to reach. Thank you for the advice im going to checkif its securely attached to the connector.