6.5 won't start, only one dash light

[6.5guy]

I have a problem. Have a '95 GMC K2500 with a 6.5 turbo in it. The truck will not start. It died on me a couple times yesterday, started right back up. Last night, it wouldn't start. The starter will spin but the glow plugs will not fire, the engine just spins, doesn't even try to start. The only light that would come on was the seatbelt light. The radio also came on, but no other lights on the dash(4-ways work but no turn signals) Cleaned the battery connections thinking it was a dirty connection. Nothing changed. Where do I go from here?

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

[john8662]

Do a quick search here on the forum for the places where groungs go bad. Sounds like you got a broken/corroded grounding location, causing your electrical problems. These grounds are in the form of grounding straps to the engine, and into the wiring harnesses.

[jerry598]

I agree with the previous post. Start with the grounds and other simple stuff. My symptoms were very similar. After not finding any other problems, it turned out to be the ignition switch (this does'nt mean that your switch is bad though, cause it might be something else). The only way I discovered the culprit was by pushing around on the switch (actually by pushing up on the housing under the steering wheel) and all of a sudden all the lights came on and the engine started perfectly. Drove it that way for quite awhile. Whenever it wouldn't start I just applied pressure to the underside of the switch and it would start everytime. It would never stall after starting. Of course I finally replaced the switch. Good luck!


Jerry
95 K3500 6.5 turbo, 125k, right now torn down for repairs.

[6.5guy]

Got it running. Thanks a lot for your help. I checked the grounds and hot cables, nothing. Read Jerry's post about the ignition switch so I tried putting pressure on the housing on the steering column, nothing happened. So I took the housing loose and wiggled the switch, the dash lights came on and the truck started. Sometimes it will still die without warning, but that will be taken care of once the switch is replaced. Thanks again everyone. :D:D:cool: