OK, it will start if I jump it hard, but it struggles to do that.

After driving 60 miles, I stopped to ask directions. Returned to the car five minutes later, turned the key and the engine wouldn't crank. Nothing happened. No warning lights in the panel.

I noticed the column shifter was stuck in park. I manhandled for a while and it worked loose. When I pulled it down to neutral, drive and other gears, all the warning lights came on. When I tried to crank again, they all went off.

Eventually, I borrowed a battery from a battery shop and tried to jump start through the Durango battery. No dice.

After that, I tried to jump start from a running engine. Like I said, when I turned the key, I got little faint nibbles of starting. I kept at it and the nibbles got stronger. After a minute or two, the engine started. At that point, the engine wouldn't idle; it died. I rejumped and made sure the engine had enough gas to stay running. After maybe 10 minutes, it was stable enough to drive. I drove home, parked, shut off the engine and tried to restart. No dice.

I cleaned the battery posts and cables around the battery and tried again. No dice. I took the battery to be tested. It showed 12.5 volts with 728 cca. (New battery of that type specifies 700 cca.)

The guy where I got the battery test told me it sounded like maybe a bad neural safety switch, but he didn't know where the nss was located (maybe inside the dash). I see lots of advide to check the cables, beat on starter with a hammer, replace starter solenoid, etc.

Any thoughts? (Almost) goes without saying I would prefer to do the easy cheap stuff first.

Thanks in advance,

 

when you turn the key on (trans in park) dooes the dash run a self test? (do the idiot lights flash on?) the nuetral saftey switch would allow these self tests to run, but would not let the starter spin,

it sounds to me more like you have a poor connection (the slow spinning sounds like the starter isnt getting enough juice to spin up right away) somewhere, maybe on the starter, maybe on the starter relay/soleniod, maybe its a loose ground, i would look into that

 

Sounds like a bad connection or ignition switch. Lastly a NS switch and that switch is inside the valve body of the 45RFE transmission.


Personally, I would install a new battery and check your connections including grounding lugs to the engine block.

 

When you try to jump start,does the electric fan stay on with the key in the on position?

 

Master tech, I didn't notice. Next time I jumpstart if I do I will look for that. When you say electric fan, I assume you're talking about the radiator fan.

If the radiator/electric fan came on and stayed on, what would that imply?

 

Hydrashocker, you said...

Personally, I would install a new battery and check your connections including grounding lugs to the engine block.

******

I will check connections (battery cables and cable to starter). Any other? Is there any way to check the integrity of a cable other than sight checking it for corrosion or other damage or replacing the old cables with new cables? I have a multimeter and wonder if there's some way to look for some specified resistance or voltage.

Also, how do I check grounding lugs? What should I look for? Something missing or disconnected...or should I run a multimeter check for a ground reading?
__________________
Thanks,

 

SHRPSHTR325,

You asked/said...

when you turn the key on (trans in park) dooes the dash run a self test? (do the idiot lights flash on?) the nuetral saftey switch would allow these self tests to run, but would not let the starter spin,

******

I tried to crank and no dice. The shift stick was stuck in Park. After I messed with it for a while, the shift stick seemed to break lose and the idiot lights all came on. Then, when I tried to crank, the idiot lights all went out.

******

You said...

it sounds to me more like you have a poor connection (the slow spinning sounds like the starter isnt getting enough juice to spin up right away) somewhere, maybe on the starter, maybe on the starter relay/soleniod, maybe its a loose ground, i would look into that

******

I will mess with the cables and try to find a problem in that. Can you tell me how to troubleshoot cables apart from looking for corrosion or replacing the old cable with new ones? Like a multimeter test?

Is there any chance that a bad ignition relay could cause the problem. I see several engine/starter function related relays that would be easy to replace or swap?

Thanks,

 

Hydrashocker,

How do I test for a bad ignition switch?

Thanks,

 

I would look at Hydrashockers info that I placed here:
I had the same prob and had to have the Neutral Safety Switch Cable replaced. It works fine now. Cost 321.00 + tx.

Hope this helps.

Dave
2000 and newer directions:
Turn the key to ON (not start), OFF, ON, OFF, ON and leave it there. If you look in the odometer window the codes will flash any code(s) with a small delay between each result. Each code should be in a P#### format, and will say PDONE when completed - turn your key to OFF and remove. Use the OBD code list to determine what problem the computer detected.

To reset your engine codes:
Remove the negative terminal of your battery (10mm wrench).
Turn your ignition key to START and hold it there for about 15 seconds.
Turn your ignition key to OFF and remove it.
Connect the negative terminal of your battery.
Start but do not hit the throttle. Idle for about 10/15 seconds then turn off.
Restart the truck and drive as usual. It will take at least 12 starts and 48 miles to fully retune the computer. Hard Codes leave a shaddow for 40 full cold starts.

 

with that information im leaning towards an ignition relay/switch, or bad nss (i believe it is called a transmission range sensor on the newer trucks)