Hi,
I'm "in charge" of my son's '98 Dakota while he's in Marine bootcamp. The battery died. I purchased a new battery and as soon as I touch the second battery terminal, the engine starts to crank. There's no key in the ignition. I removed the starter relay, and it still cranks when I want to hook up the battery.
Why would it do this if the relay is out and what do I do to fix it?

 

Solenoid seized? Tap on it with a hammer a few times, then try and hook the battery up, see what happens.

 

Thanks. I appreciate it. I did manage to get under it and knocked it a few times to no avail. I will try again today. It's kind of hard to get to.

 

Yeah, stuff is packed in there pretty tight. Know how that goes......

 

Does it actually crank and start or just crank? May have a remote start installed. ???