dodge ingintion problem

[Trashman]

I have a 1978 D-200 that ive been working on.While driving my newly painted truck back home my turn singal switch on the steering column caught on fire.I took it apart and found the switch burnt up.I know i can fix the switch,but the only way i can start it is buy jumping the starter solionid.I can turn the engine off with the key,i just cant start it.
 

[HalWA]

It sounds like the problems with the turn signal switch might have included some wiring damage inside the column. It might have cooked the wire that goes from the ignition switch to the starter, or maybe that wire shorted out and caused the turn signal problem. If I remember correctly, that circuit does not have a fuse, although it may have a fuseable link.

I wonder how a turn signal switch could burn up. I would think that it would just pop the fuse(s) and the wiring would be protected. But strange things happen sometimes.

You will probably need to remove the plastic parts around the steering column to see what happened inside. You may need to open up the wiring loom, but maybe not, the problem might be very apparent. If you are really lucky, what you have will be fixable. Or you may want to try to find the wiring harness for the column or whatever you need at a wrecking yard.

I once bought an old Chrysler Imperial that had suffered a wiring fire a couple of months before I got it. The fire fried most of the wiring under the dash, and the people who had it didn't know how to deal with it. So I bought the car for $40, clipped some burned out wiring off, hotwired the car and drove it home. The 392 Hemi ran just fine and I later sold the unrepaired car for $500. It would have needed a complete wiring harness to fix it right.

It would be interesting to take apart the damaged turn signal switch, to see just what happened inside. Maybe something broke off and caused a dead short inside. But still, I would have thought that something like that would blow the fuse before things got too hot. Good luck!