I've got a 2002 Durango 4.7L SLT. This thing is driving me nuts. I've owned it for about 4 years now, and it's never let me down, until now.

When the engine is cooled down, it starts no problem. But when it's hot, it doesn't want to start. It doesn't even crank. Originally I thought it was the starter, so I replaced that. That starter lasted about a week, and then it happened again. Long story short, I put it a 3rd new starter, and today is a week, and it did it again.

I know that I'm getting power to my starter. When it's hot and the truck doesn't want to start, I had my wife try to turn it over while I held my finger on the relay which controls the starter, and I can feel a slight pulse when my wife tries to start it. I really don't understand what's going on.

Like I said before, it only does this when it's hot, and even then only sometimes. I've got a 3rd new starter in the truck right now, so I can't imagine that I have 3 ****ty starters in a row.

Can ANYONE help me?!?!


Mike

 

Welcome to DF
I would try a voltage drop on the battery wire going the starter. Maybe you have a bad wire going to the starter, You maybe not getting the 12 volts to the starter.

 

Check the wires to the park/neutral safety switch... i know it sounds weird but, i was having a issue where when i would go to start the truck sometimes it would start normal and others it would just click.... a few days ago i got the code P1899 (p/n switch stuck) so i replaced the switch and when i got under there the wires where really brittle and corroded... i replaced the conector too.. after that my starting issue went away and so did the CEL..

hope that helps...

 

So, I had a brand new starter installed, and a week later, it won't start again when it's hot. So i brought it back to the mechanic, and my ignition was changed. And week after the ignition was changed, it wouldn't start again when it was hot. Today, I went to a buddies house and when I wanted to leave, it wouldn't start, so we grabbed his garden hose, sprayed cool water directly onto the start for about a minute, and bang, it started. Obviously, there is something causing the starter to become so hot it doesn't want to start, but what it is, I don't know and neither does my mechanic. I am contemplating making some kind of a heat shield, and installing it in between the block and the starter. Anyone ever tried something like that?

Mike

 

It really sounds like a bad wire going to your starter.

 

Sounds like a bad battery cable going to the starter. Take it off and clean it real good down to nice clean metal. Clean you battery terminals down to nice clean metal and have the batery load tested. Most Auto Zone or O'reilly will do this for free without removing the battery.

Lastly swap out your starter relay in the PDC with a different one of the same number. If the problem goes away replace the relay.