Then I am thinking of another switch/gen set.
OHHHHHHHHH, maybe it was the Mark 1, the old round one?
In any case, he should take a 24 VDC reading at pin 3, durring start. Should be 24 VDC. Hold the probe longer and then let S1 go. Do you still have 24 VDC at pin 3?
And yeah, S17 has fooled...