Chevy 454 will not start or turn over

[Chief Dave]

OK please direct a stupid old man trying to not drag the coach to the shop. '89, Class A, 454 gas, P-30 chassis
I have never had a problem until now. The engine battery went south so I replaced it (house batteries are good) now I show 13 volts on the gauge(s). All the dash lights up, all items work correctly BUT all of a sudden she will not turn over? When the key is turned on everything comes alive as well as the auto brake lock releases (you can hear it click and I got down to check it and it moves just fine) I tried to move the shift out of park but it will not move (thought it might be locked out of start but it IS locked in park) Short of R&R the starter I have no idea what the problem might be. Is there another relay or inter lock I am missing? I did pull the fuses and they are OK. So the only thing I can think of is either the starter went south (it has not given me any problems ) or for some reason the interlock on the trans will not release and again never had any problems. Trying to not have to get this old body under the coach if I don't have to. Thanks for any help

[eXodus]

No noise from the starter whatsoever?

Happened to me,  so there is a solenoid on top of the starter - that could be have gone bad - happens very rapid - or the start itself.

You can take a hammer and some safety googles googles and go underneath behind the passenger side wheel and look at the starter, is it oil soaked? cables good?
Give the starter a few good whacks.

Try again to start.  If it starts, you got a bad starter and I would order a new one rather soon.  Not expensive and not to terrible to change.
Or drive it to a shop as soon as it's run and let some young guy do the crawling.

That you can't get it out of park, - can be something else or related, my lever doesn't go out of park without the engine running when the front is elevated, like parking up a hill. Downhill no problem.

Can you hear the relay clicking when you press the brake pedal?  That should release the gear lever.
The column lockout (pill bottle sized solenoid 6 inches off the floor at about 10 o'clock on the column - should click when you press your brake and are powered on)

When you don't hear a clicking from the brake pedal - you can't get out of park.  But that shouldn't prevent your engine from starting.

[Chief Dave]

Thank you that is what I thought get out the old BMFH and hit it a couple of times.  Yes you can hear the lock out release after you turn the key so I know that is not it and I also figured that the gear release would not work without the engine running (one of the few things that Chevy came up with over the years) as well as having to step on the brake. Was just trying to avoid this old body from having to get to the ground. Easy down hard to get up in old age LOL. I was hoping there might have been a relay on the firewall. I recently had issues with the generator starting and learned there were 2 starter relays on the firewall under a cover and had to replace one of them so things now work great. Cheap fix weird thing to go wrong without blowing the fuse in the relay circuit but it worked and then the starter problem, so I thought there might be another issue similar on the fire wall. Thanks again time to get out the big hammer and give it a couple love smashes. Stay safe out there
Chief Dave   

[Eyez Open]

There is a neutral safety switch, it is a simple mechanical design. Put your foot on the brake, turn the key, then simply pull the shifter out of park and move it up and down to see if you can get starter engagement. Yes you are hunting for starter engagement, move the column shifter slowly and repeatedly...Foot on the brake at all times, if the switch has lost its alignment the engine may well start up in gear.

The video below give the basic ideal


https://youtu.be/_CEXblYqfc4

[Chief Dave]

R&R neutral safety switch, ran through the gears, pulled the starter and had it checked since it was a rebuild (discovered upon removal). New change is that now with the neutral safety switch replaced when you try to start it you can now hear the auto brake system unlock. I am open to any ideas unless there is a relay I do not know about or maybe a fuse (I did check all of them and they were good) Or maybe this old girl is just trying to mess with me?
Any ideas from anyone would be welcome and for those that have replied so far thank you very much and I hope someday I can return the help to you

[udidwht]

The neutral switch lined up (oriented) correctly?

[Eyez Open]

Benching a starter, something we did prior to installing new starters.Note here hold down the starter it will jump not badly but a firm hand is in order. First time out a two man job...if one is timid..

https://youtu.be/1-PXBjovZDE