So I changed out some old door locks on my '92 toyota pickup (3vze), and then tried to change out the ignition to make it match. It was the wrong ignition part--it fit but wouldn't turn properly, so I put the old one back in, ready to use a two-key system.
When I reinstalled the old ignition cylinder however, the truck wouldn't fire (still cranks).
I pulled the ignition switch, inspected it (it looked fine from the outside), and reinserted it. The truck then fired right up.
Next day, I try to start the truck, and it only cranks again.

I pulled the ignition switch again, took it apart, and it all looked fine. I disconnected it from its harness, and (in the harness side) jumped am2 to ig2, am1 to ig1, then am2 to st1, and again, crank but no start. So the problem seems to be downstream of the switch. Also the efi relay clicks 8x in sets of 2, (when turned to run), if that helps. Don't think it's supposed to do that.

If it's relevant, the check engine light sometimes comes on with high throttle input. But clears afterward.

All help is greatly appreciated.

 

If you pull the relay and test it externally (ground to 85 and 12v to 86) does it just click once and stay closed? Or click over and over? If once and closes, that means the relay is operating as intended. If it's continuing to click over and over the relay is bad. If it's operating as intended but clicking when you put it back in after the ignition swap I was would start eying things like bad connections to the ignition switch as it may be something with the wiring itself and not the relay. Keep in mind, the starting circuit jumpers a different circuit than the "on" circuit, so it's possible to get cranking when turning the key over, but have a crappy connection with just "on". Really sudden clicking of the relay would make me think there is a loose connection coming up to the ignition switch you replaced. Look for corrosion, get a multimeter out and see if you can do a resistance test and make sure there's good conductivity. I would start there at least.

The other day i ended up replacing a turn signal relay only to have a separate relay go out. I thought for certain I had done something wrong, but I checked wiring diagrams and realized the circuits were totally separate and the timing was just crappy. I replaced it, worked fine. I pulled my whole dash apart and was diving into all kinds of stuff thinking it was something complex. Anyway, moral of the story is start with the basics before going down the rabbithole.

 

Figured it out and it had nothing to do with the ignition swap.
the pickup coils in the distributor were intermittently faulty..
new distributor and the truck fires up every time.


thanks