Some of you may not remember a thread I posted asking a question about a intermintant starting problem.

A recap........
The truck is a 1995 Dodge Dakota with a 360 and a 5-speed.

The ignition switch was replaced because the old one physcially broke. Still had the problem of starting.

The starting problem....
Some times when you went to crank her over she would just "click" like a dead battery or starter. But it you pump the clutch a few times while holding the ignition in the "start" position it would fire.

So I found the clutch safty switch and by passed it.
The problem remained.

I got the battery tested...tested good.

Last weekend I was over at a friends house and the damn truck wouldn't fire to save it's life. I figured that the starter had finally gone. So I drop the started and go get it tested.

Starter tested good.

The counter guy at AutoZone mentioned about checking the positive lead from the battery to the starter and the ignition wire. Saying that since they are inside the engine compartment that they could be rubbing against something and shorting out.

So I pull off the entire positive wire assymble and begin to inspect it. And thats when I found it.....

The starter on this particular engine has a "step up" block attatched to it. How it works is like this....
You have the positive lead from the battery and the ignition wire that connect to the starter, well this step up is "S" shaped and is in between the positive leads and the connections on the starter. Well the nut and stud that the positive lead of the battery connects to the "step up" were fused together and would not move, and yet that connection was loose to the touch.

Use a vise and then direct connect the two leads to the starter and BADA-BING no more starting issues.

It's the small things....

 

Yup always check battery terminals and cables first. I'm glad you got it.

 

I did clean all the connections at the battery and such. But I'm an old school chevy guy and I never would have guessed about that extra piece attached to the starter.

 

Its always good when you finally find the problem like that, sometimes it can be a worse pain.

 

Thats what was bugging me. I've been around enough to understand the vast majority of issues when it comes to cars/trucks. Half the time I'm just too lazy to fix it myself, but I know the issue. LOL

But when it boils down to something I've never seen or heard of before it's entertaining. LOL

 

Hey 95Dakota, thanks for this thread. Same exact thing is happening with my truck. I'll take a look later today and hopefully this will fix it.

And on a side note, the search actually came up with what I was looking for, for once