Car wont start... =(

[almostacrayon]

Hi everyone,
so today when I went to start my car nothing happened. I put the key into acc position and the radio, lights and all come on fine but when I turn the key to the on position nothing happens, literally nothing - no crank and no starter motor sounds (no spark?).
This car used to have intermittent times where it would do the same thing but after another go it would start perfectly.
While digging around the dash while installing my headunit and repairing the cluster I noticed some random wires just hanging about in there. I asked the po if there was any alarm system/immobiliser installed before and he says there was but was removed a while ago. Could this be my issue? Could the installer or whomever removed said alarm have screwed up the wiring for my ignition/starter motor and this is why I'm having problems? If so how would I access, test and repair affected items.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm quickly going crazy as my baby is just sitting there, dead =(

Cheers,
Adrian.

[Ian Bowers]

Is your battery fully charged, and is your battery ground connected securely?

[almostacrayon]

Is your battery fully charged, and is your battery ground connected securely?

Yes, to both of those, battery is slightly on the low side being around 12.6v but that should be sufficient to start shouldn't it?

[xtos]

Did you figure it out?
Do the battery , oil , brake lights come on on the dash? When you give it a "go" do they drop voltage(dim)?
What motor you have? Most possible causes imo are a bad contact on the key ignition position or a faulty starter solenoid. You can take a long stick/tool ... and hit the solenoid a couple of times it's located on the top of the starter, if the car starts, replace it. If say starter is stuck, put in 3rd gear( if you got a manual trans) and push the car back and forth a couple of times to get it to work. GL

[almostacrayon]

Did you figure it out?
Do the battery , oil , brake lights come on on the dash? When you give it a "go" do they drop voltage(dim)?
What motor you have? Most possible causes imo are a bad contact on the key ignition position or a faulty starter solenoid. You can take a long stick/tool ... and hit the solenoid a couple of times it's located on the top of the starter, if the car starts, replace it. If say starter is stuck, put in 3rd gear( if you got a manual trans) and push the car back and forth a couple of times to get it to work. GL

Not yet unfortunately.
They are all lit up and they do not dim when trying.
I have an M40B18 auto box.
I tried testing hitting the solenoid (dunno how hard to hit it though) to no avail.
Thanks for trying.
What should I try next?

[xtos]

Well m8, time to grab a 12v tester cable and start checking wires!
Start from the battery poles check if every wire is crimped right and connected. Check the cable that grounds motor to chassis. Then get someone to "crank" the engine and test if solenoid actually gets current. And last...if the starter has 12v in the on position. If solenoid/starter are faulty when you hit the on position the lights on dash would dim a little bit,current would be dropping.GL

[almostacrayon]

Well m8, time to grab a 12v tester cable and start checking wires!
Start from the battery poles check if every wire is crimped right and connected. Check the cable that grounds motor to chassis. Then get someone to "crank" the engine and test if solenoid actually gets current. And last...if the starter has 12v in the on position. If solenoid/starter are faulty when you hit the on position the lights on dash would dim a little bit,current would be dropping.GL

Thanks for all the help, I tested it all found it was all in order and then came to the conclusion it was either the inhibitor switch or the ignition barrel/ignition loom.
Turns out the barrel was shot and for some reason was giving out when trying to crank... Fixed it by by-passing that with a push to start button.