Hi guys, I've got a 1976 sleek craft exec with a couple issues. the one adressed here is regarding the ignition. When i bought it, it started and shut off by the ignition switch like normal. All of a sudden, i pulled up to a fuel station at havasu and it would not shut off by cycling the key. It was only when I hit the fuel tank selector switch that it shut down. Since that time, shutting down is by "switching fuel tanks".

Any of you guys out there had this issue with running electric pollak switching valves that are tied into the ignition? I'm not very experienced with diagnosing electrical but i really want to get this fixed before the season gets here?

Is it likely that contacts inside the terminals of the valve are bad and replacing it would fix the problem?

Thanks in advance guys!

Check under the dash first...

Your tank solenoid should only have one wire going to it from the switch, the other wire from the switch should come from the "IGN" or purple wire on the ignition switch.

The other side of the tank solenoid should go directly to a ground at the engine (or where the switch is located).

You may have an alternator going funny on you, these are very seldom wired "correctly" and can cause problems by back feeding through the charging circuit and the additional current draw of the solenoid allows it to shut down (I'm guessing here).

Pull the coil  wire on the ignition coil to troubleshoot and see if you can figure out where the power is coming from with a test light. It should be pretty apparent after a few minutes....


Good luck!

GT