I need help. Car will not start. Turn the key on and I have power to everything. Turn the key to start and nothing, just a click sound. Like the starter relay is working? Just bought the car... Oh yeah 2000 dodge stratus.. 4 cylinder.
Battery??? Starter??? Relay??
HELP.......

 

it sounds like you dont have enough power to turn it over...

 

Most likely not enough power like BAD said. Is is a single click or a constant clacking? If it's a single click I'd say it's probably a starter issue. If it's a constant clacking, battery is probably low.

 

Its a single click.. I am going to pull the battery and check the cables today to see if they are coroded. I dont know how old the battery is.

 

Single click usually indicates a bad starter, bad power cable going to the starter, or bad battery terminal. I'd go thru the list in reverse order. Clean the terminal, if that don't work change the cable, if that don't work change the starter.

One more thing you can to do test it is to cross the hot lead and trigger lead on the solenoid with a screwdriver. If it clicks the solenoid should be good and it's probably one of the three things I listed above. Just a way to varify it.

 

ok pulled the battery. Terminals are clean. I checked the main lead to the starter and I have power to it, but the other wire has no power. I had someone turn it over and still no power.

 

I believe that second wire should not have power unless the relay is energized (when you turn the key to start). The second wire is what activates the solenoid in the starter to engage.

I would also check that all of your major grounds in the engine compartment are clean and tight. This is relevant because the starter gets it's ground through the engine block, so if it is loose/bad the circuit will not be copleted.

good luck

 

This is really getting to me because I just bought the car on friday. The second wire didnt have power when I had the key turned over. But then again I might not have had a good contact on the wire with the volt meter. The starter on the stratus is not exactly easy to get too. I will recheck it tomorrow after work. I am going to pull the starter and get it checked at Autozone.

 

Is the solenoid on the starter or remote on that? Haven't worked on any newer mopar cars. Did you check to make sure your ignition fuse is good? I would have the starter checked. If you bought the car at a dealership call them up and tell them that 2 days after you bought it it wouldn't start. You never know, maybe they'll fix it because it's been such a short time. If they refuse, declare war.

 

Yeah allready declaredd war. They want me to pay for the tow, the diagnostic, everything.
Unfortunately the solenoid is on the starter. Which is also under the exhaust header, I can get my hand in betwen the pipes but not enough to reach the starter. I am going to have to get to it from under it. The second wire is a fusible link. maybe it blew in the rain storm while I was driving. I got a check engine light but when I check the codes there was nothing.