Here is a weird story for the forum's edification and my education. I was on the freeway in my new-to-me 1984 manual with electronic overdrive, commenting to my sister (visiting from the other side of the country) how quirky my new little car was. The quirk under discussion at the time was the overdrive, which when activated (well, when the button is pushed) sometimes makes the light come on (and sometimes doesn't), but never actually engages the overdrive. To illustrate the quirk, I pushed the button, demonstrating the lit light and lack of overdrive, then turned it off. About 10 more miles down the road I said we should try it again - and this time the overdrive light corresponded with a sudden change in the engine/transmission noise! Our excitement at the overdrive's sudden appearance quickly turned to dismay, as the car began bucking about and acceleration completely failed. We made it over to the shoulder, and the car wouldn't start again.

Now the car is back at my house, where it still doesn't start. The engine cranks nicely, but never seems to turn over. I'm in the slow process of diagnosing this no-start, beginning with the usual (e.g. spark - yes, fuses - all good, fuel pump - seems to be noisy), but wondered if anyone had ever heard of some kind of catastrophe coinciding with the overdrive trying to engage? Any thoughts would be appreciated - I'm in western Washington state, with no garage, and working in almost freezing rain really stinks.

cheers!