No crank, no start

1997 DODGE DAKOTA
165,000 MILES • 5.2L • AUTOMATIC
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DALEC6328
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I have a 1997 Dodge Dakota SLT 5.2 that has a brand new battery a brand new starter a brand new crankshaft positioning sensor a brand new fuel pump brand new ignition switch and I still cannot get it to crank it will spin the starter if I if I jump the trigger wire but it won't fire, it will also actually crank if you Palmer the fuel body I mean the throttle body and jump to starter trigger it will actually crank and run so I don't know. Other than that it won't crank.it won't Even turn the starter over I've checked all relays and fuses, I've done the 30 minute capacitor reset, I've done the 10 minute key reconfiguration, I've grounded the remote on the window to try to bypass the ats. any ideas
Aug 16, 2026 at 2:21 PM
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CARADIODOC
  • Experienced Mechanic
  • 34,326 POSTS
Sounds like you did all the complicated and uncommon stuff. Now we need to focus on the simpler things. The cranking system can be broken down into four separate circuits, each with a test point at the starter relay.

Remove the starter relay, then use a test light for these tests. Be careful to just touch the test light's probe to the terminals. If you stuff the probe into a terminal, that will stretch the terminal and cause a bad or intermittent connection later.

Where you see three terminals parallel to each other in the relay socket, disregard the middle one. Of the other four, one must have 12 volts all the time. Without looking, I think that will be one of the two on the right in the drawing. Next, you'll need a helper for this. Of the remaining three terminals, one must have 12 volts when the ignition switch is in the "crank" position.

If you have both of those 12-volt feeds, move your test light's clip lead to the battery's positive post. We'll be checking for grounds next. Of the two remaining terminals, the test light should light up on both of them.

One of those four tests has to fail, unless the relay is defective. If you're missing the constant 12 volts, check the 40-amp fuse. If you're missing the switched 12 volts, the ignition switch is the best suspect. There were three different switch designs. One used a round cam on the end of the ignition cylinder. Those were known for breaking, then the switch wouldn't go quite far enough to hit the "crank" contact. The dealer's parts department has a repair kit for that. Your truck should be new enough that is uses an updated design. Those didn't cause many problems.

For the ground circuits, one is the feed to the starter solenoid. The best suspect there would probably be a rusted terminal at the starter. The better suspect is the last one. That's the ground for the relay, and it goes to ground through the neutral safety switch. If that circuit is okay, you can identify it by observing the ground path goes away, (test light turns off), when your helper shifts out of "park" or "neutral".

Let me know which of those tests fails. I'll be back tomorrow to figure out where to go next.
Aug 16, 2026 at 6:07 PM
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DALEC6328
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Ok. Thanks for replying so fast. I have used a multimeter on the relay and have 2 at 12 when on. I'll do the other tests in the morning and let you know. I really don't know what I'm doing but I got this truck for my son and I really want to get it running. Lol
Aug 16, 2026 at 7:02 PM
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