I have 1500 doge ram 4x4 (1997) .Turn key on and all lights are a OK but starter will not turn. Fuses are OK as is the relay. Noticed that relay is not clicking .If I jump contacts on the relay, starter will turn . Whatever it is that turns the starter relay it is the problem. Any ideas how I can fix this problem.
Thanks

 

if you jump the contacts on the relay and the starter works, doesn't that mean that your relay is bad?

 

Had a similar problem.. It was a fuse. Went out to start the truck and it clicked once and wouldnt start. Then i tried it after that and No nothing. No noises or clicks at all when i turned the key. I checked the underhood fuse's and it was the starter sol fuse that was blown. There needs to be a 25 amp fuse in there and there was a 20 amp. I beleive somone said it was dodges mistake?

Are you sure its not a fuse?

 

Dude, you answered your own question. Solenoid is bad, get a new starter motor.

 

if the starter was bad, it wouldn't crank at all would it? he said he jumped the contacts to the starter relay...and it cranked. if thats the case, wouldn't it be the relay thats bad?

 

Wait wait wait, i think your right! lol

If he did in fact jump the contacts for the relay and the starter turned, it would have to be a bad relay...Wouldnt it?????!!!?!?!?! Its almost a no brainer right? Or are we wrong? I feel dumb as hell right about now.

 

i also had a starting problem a while ago...i checked everything under the sun. turned out that the connections to the battery were corroded and just needed a good sanding and dielectric grease and been good ever since lol. it was really stupid on my part for not checking that first.

 

lol Accually, Thats the first thing i went to when my truck didnt start when that fuse blew.

I popped the hood and unhooked the batt and got my wire brush and a peice of 60 grit sand paper then scraped all the rust and crap off. Still no start! Then i checked the fuses and well, you know... found that fuse.

ahh connections needed to be cleaned anyway.

 

If the relay was bad I don't think he would be getting power to have it crank. The relay feeds power to the solenoid. I would think it's the solenoid that is bad. Tapping it with a hammer might help to prove that. Replacing the relay with another relay such as the horn relay would be a simple test for that. If the solenoid is bad, I have never been able to by the solenoid by itself, you always have to buy the starter motor & solenoid together. The starter could also be bad and only function when it gets a good strong jolt, or it cools down. I had a starter go bad on me many years ago and it would only work when it cooled off. It would leave me stranded in places for hours at a time waiting for it to cool down.

 

Looks like I found the problem - neutral switch.I knew the relay was fine and battery was fine,there is no fuse for starter that I could see (all fuses were fine).I asked mechanic that I knew from before ,what could be the problem and he told me ,if relay is fine but it is not getting turned on by the key than the only thing that can prevent it from starting is neutral switch or broken wire.Shifted it in neutral and starter was working fine.All I have to do is change the neutral switch now.
Thanks guys for your help.