1993 Dodge Dakota, 5.2L, original owner, 165,000 miles.

I have an intermittent problem (that seems to be increasing in frequency) where my engine wont crank over. I put it in neutral and most of the time it will start up fine. Sometimes that doesn't work. I'll alternate between park and neutral and eventually it will fire in one or the other. I suspected it was the Neutral Safety Switch since I've had to replace this switch twice before. So I replaced it and the problem continues. Any suggestions for what I should look at next? Starter has a dead spot?

Thank you.

 

Several possibilities.

Starter has a dead spot.

Solenoid is failing.

Loose connection at the starter (THAT one got me a few months back, so now I have a new in box, brand new, never reman'ed starter sitting here since I fixed that between the order and the receipt ... )

Bad ignition switch.

Neutral Safety Switch not adjusted properly.

Bad battery connections at battery.

Bad ground connections at motor block and frame.

And my most recent one on my 1988 - pin slipped in the connector from the ignition switch to the starter at the battery (there's a 2 pin connector - at the battery side, one goes to the battery + and the other goes down to the starter; at the truck side, the 12V goes into the cab and the wiring from the starter goes to the other pin.)

So.

It's time to start chasing the voltage with a signal light.

But, if it's the brushes on the starter, THWACKing the starter may get it to start when it's being recalciant.

RwP

 

Hi Ralph, thanks much for your input. I did a couple things. One, I checked the starter wire at the battery. It seemed a little suspect to me. Kinda loose and a little corroded. Might be nothing but I decided to clean it off and make a better connection. I also found the starter relay (one of those cube style relays up in the engine compartment fuse box). I searched up a nice YouTube video on how to test it. One test to be sure it clicks and another test for resistance. Both tests passed so I deem the starter relay to be good. I'm kinda stuck at this point. I have an intermittent problem so unless it happens again I can only assume my wire reconnection remedy worked. Took it out for a short drive and when I got home it restarted just fine. But most of the time it does. So it remains unclear if I have resolved the problem. If I find it is continuing then I guess my next best try is to replace the starter. With the truck being 23 years old I don't mind replacing stuff on a SWAG because the way I figure the starter will likely need to be replaced soon anyway so if it doesn't solve my problem at least I wont have to worry about my starter going bad for the foreseeable future. If this doesn't solve my problem then I guess the ignition is next.

Thanks again Ralph for your reply. It is truly appreciated.

 

My '93 3.9 has a similar issue. Just a click click click, then it'll start. Sometimes a heap of clicks! Battery was 5 years old and checked weak, so I bought a new battery yesterday. Nope, not it. Monday I've got to figured it out. I'll post back when I find what my problem is.