Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Need Help! Truck won't start - totally dead.

[JStangeland]

Hey Guys

My 95 all of a sudden won't start. I got in the other day, turned the key and nothing happened. Batteries are good, they are fairly new & I put a multimeter on them. Terminals are clean and tight. I looked through the archives under 'won't start' and found only a couple with problems similar to mine.

According to those posts, I checked fuses in the PDC & swapped the A/C & starter relays.

Anything else I should check?

I read in one post about shorting across the starter terminals to get the truck to start. But would that help me diagnose the starting problem?

Not sure that it would be the starter contacts as the starter was replaced only maybe 15,000 miles ago. Any way to check this?

Thanks guys, I appreciate any clues and all the good help I am able to find through responses to other guys posts.

 

[DonTX]

You might check the neutral safety switch and its wires.

 

[WilsonF]

"I read in one post about shorting across the starter terminals to get the truck to start. But would that help me diagnose the starting problem?"
If you mean shorting across the starter solenoid, it will tell you if the solenoid is bad. If you can get someone to turn the key to start check to see if you have power to the solenoid at the small terminal on the solenoid.
Floyd

 

[Dave M]

Look around on this site for good troubleshooting info on starting problems:



LarryB's Dodge starting problems solved here.



I would start, as suggested, looking for 12v at the starter. There are 2 small leads. Track them down on schematics.

 

[Dave M]

All the following info is from a review of my 97 schematics. Don't know what difference there is in your 95 auto.



There is a "Starter" relay in the PDC that is energized when the ignition switch is in the "Start" position. This "Starter" relay sends 12v on a Brown wire to the starter motor solenoid. This circuit depends on a good fuse #2 (40 Amp in PDC) and fuse #3 in the PDC. In addition, this circuit assumes a good Park/neutral safety switch and of course a good ignition switch (any of which are suspect at this time).



Have someone turn the ign switch to start (and be carefull its in Park) and put a voltmeter on the starter wires and look for 12v at the small wire (brown in my case). This brown wire (on 3rd gen trucks) has been known to rub against a bracket just above the starter and short out to the bracket (hard to see), but a fuse would blow if thats the case. While your there verify the big red cable on the starter (goes to PDC/battery) has 12v. This "Brown" wire is the 12v source for your starter solenoid. Without ithis 12v to the solenoid the starter will do nothing.



Also note that this "Brown (in my case) wire also goes to the "coil" side of the "Fuel Shutdown Relay" (the larger of the 2 relays)

which is mounted on the cowl above the Fuel Solenoid. If there was a short here you would have a blown fuse or melted wire. You could pull the relay to eliminate it as a problem, but the truck would not get fuel. Don't go here unless you have to. I don't think your problem is the relay.



If you don't have 12v on the small wire then you must track it down to Park/neutral switch, starter relay circuit or ignition switch. If you have 12v then its probably your starter. Look for burnt or loose wires on your journey through the starter circuit.



Wondering what the neutral safety switch is needed for in the starter circuit? The neutral saftey switch provides a GND signal (when the neutral switch is closed) to the coil side of the "Starter" relay in the PDC, so if it's not providing the GND then there is no 12v provided by the output of the "Starter" relay in PDC to the starter solenoid. A loose ground a the Neutral switch could be a problem also. The 12v power to the coil side of the "Starter" relay in the PDC comes from the ignition switch provided all the fuses are good. A bad ign switch will not allow the 12v from it to energize the "Starter" relay in the PDC.



Verify that the Park/Neutral safety switch closes when in Park or neutral.



Let us know.



Dave

 

[Dave M]

Here is an easy test to check your Park/Neutral Safety switch from my 97 Dodge manual. Remove the "Starter" relay in the PDC. Place the transmission in Park. Put your voltmeter set to Ohm lowest setting and place one probe to chassis or battery GND post and the other into the cavity labelled "85" of the "Starter" relay. The reading should be close to 0 ohms. If not then troubleshoot the neutral switch.



Here are some other tests of the "Starter" relay with it out of its socket and probing the cavities it was plugged into: Put the voltmeter on "DC Volts" and read 12v all the time (key off or on). This will prove that Fuse #2 in PDC is providing 12v to the "Starter" relay input. When the relay is energized this voltage is connected thru the relay thru cavity 87 (when relay is plugged in) and then out on the "Brown" wire to the starter solenoid. In other words, when the relay is energized, pin 30 is connected to pin 87 to provide 12v to the starter solenoid.



With the ign switch held in the "Start" position, there should be 12v (from Fuse 3 in PDC) to cavity 86 of the "Starter" relay. With ign switch released there should be no voltage. If not OK then check wiring to ign switch or bad ign switch or fuse #3. If OK verify the Neutral switch if not already done (see above). The relay also could be bad. If so, there is a procedure to test it... let me know.

 

[kenny61]

on my 96 there is a fuse under the hood, it went on mine a while back.....

 

[Missouri Mule]

You can pull the starter relay and put a solid wire (house wire) into the female terminal closest the the battery put the other end in the female terminal toward the firewall. Engine should crank if not check out starter solenoid and starter itself. (Make sure it is in park and brake on. )



You should be able to pull connector off neutral safety switch and jump the pins ( house wire in one side of pin and the other side of the wire to the ohter pin in connector, have some try to start truck). If truck starts try cleaning neutral safety switch with contact cleaner before replacing it.



If truck does not start you will have to check out starter relay.

 

[JStangeland]

success!

much thanks dave & bill. hunted down a spade connection that had mysteriously come apart while i was hunting for the park/neutral switch.

wire jumper across the starter relay terminals proved the starter and then started with my multimeter on the park/neutral circuit.

 

[Dave M]

Sounded like an easy fix. Glad you found it quickly and it cost you nothing in parts to get it fixed.