Another "truck wont start" thread
Another "truck wont start" thread
hi everyone. i've been all over the net trying to find a sold solution to my problem with no luck. so i figured i'd just ask. My 318 1500 started idling a little ruff this past week and then a few days ago it didnt crank on the 1st try. so i made a mental note to check on that later since i had to go to work. but i forgot about it till 2days ago when it did it again but this time it wont crank at all!?! i took the battery and starter to get tested and the both are good. then i came here and saw that one guy put his truck in neutral and it cranked so i tried that and it worked but since it was late saturday i couldn't take it anywhere so i just gassed it up and waited till today to take it in. but know it wont even crank in neutral ether!?!?!?! could anyone help me figure this strange issue out????
All Star
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 754
Likes: 0
From: Carbondale,PA
Definitely the neutral safety switch. those are text book symptoms of a bad switch. Go to the parts store and get a new one and it is located on the driver side of the tranny just above the pan and right below the gear selector. Be prepared to put the new one in the instant you remove the old one. You need a thin wall 1" deep well socket. If you can jack the back end of the truck up as high as possible you will lose much less fluid on the replacement.
Champion
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,570
Likes: 0
I had a wierd experience like that one time where it wouldn't crank. Turned out to be a black box under the dash the dealership had installed in the truck when they recieved it new on the lot (for security purposes). We didn't get the alarm on the truck so they turned it off after we bought it but they never removed it? Whatever anyway I guess after 7 years being hooked up inline with the starter wire, the amperage finally made it take a poop. Too bad I didn't figure that out until after I replaced the starter, turn the key.... no start. I was pissed. I broke out the volt meter like I should have done in the first place and worked from the ignition switch forward. Ignition switch worked fine, removed the lower dash piece, wa la! actually I didn't say "wa la".... it was more like "WTF is this thing?" Long story short, it was that black box. I cut it out, and has been working perfect ever since. My symptoms were intermitant starting... You could start it if you were lucky, then turn it off and it wouldn't start right back up. Wait a while... then give it a shot. Depending on the mood, it would either start or not, which is why I thought it was the starter.
Last edited by pcfixerpro; Jun 8, 2009 at 12:17 PM.
!?!?! i think it might be one of my ground wires....could anyone tell me where the engine ground wire is...
All Star
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 754
Likes: 0
From: Carbondale,PA
So you aren't getting any power to the starter at all? Do you have lights on the instrument cluster? Do you get power in the truck at all? I think we are gonna need more info here.
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All Star
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 754
Likes: 0
From: Carbondale,PA
Follow the battery ground to the engine block. It should run to the driver side of the engine. There are three that are on the back of the engine. One on the driver side back of the head and two on the passenger side. One goes to the head and the other to the valve cover. Where did you get your neutral safety switch from? When I got mine it was the "wrong" one in that it had a small lip that ran around the circumference of the pin end. I had to snap that off in order for it to work. maybe you aren't getting the plug on all the way.
yea i'm getting power. and like i said i tested the starter and the battery, their good....
Follow the battery ground to the engine block. It should run to the driver side of the engine. There are three that are on the back of the engine. One on the driver side back of the head and two on the passenger side. One goes to the head and the other to the valve cover. Where did you get your neutral safety switch from? When I got mine it was the "wrong" one in that it had a small lip that ran around the circumference of the pin end. I had to snap that off in order for it to work. maybe you aren't getting the plug on all the way.
if my memory is right(cuz i'm not home now) i've got three grounds coming from the battery; one to the frame right next to it(on the fender); one attached to the frame below it; the one that goes up by the intake manifold i believe. then i have a ground that goes from the passenger side header to the firewall(which is kinda odd to me) and it has a second wire that goes from the firewall location to somewhere behind the engine(my guess is the tranny???)
that was my next thought. well i'm gonna try it when i go home for lunch..and also take some pics of all my wires. thanks for all the help guys