starting car

2005 CHRYSLER PACIFICA
91,000 MILES • 3.6L • V6 • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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PAUL NIEDOROWSKI
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I have a problem starting my car. sometimes when I turn the key I get nothing and if I keep on turning the key forward and back the car will start and sometimes it will take a couple minutes of doing this before the car will start. It does not do this all the time at times I can get in the car and turn the key and it starts right up like nothing is wrong.
Jan 23, 2018 at 8:27 PM
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CARADIODOC
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 34,414 POSTS
When you say, "I turn the key I get nothing", do you really mean there is no sound at all, or is there a single, loud clunk from the starter but it does not spin the engine?

The single, loud clunk is extremely common with this little silver Nippendenso starter, and you described perfectly the symptom. I ignored this so long on my mother's Grand Caravan until the day she lost count after turning the ignition switch seven hundred times, and developed a blister on her thumb, but it did eventually crank and start the engine. You can be sure I heard about that!
Jan 24, 2018 at 7:25 AM
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PAUL NIEDOROWSKI
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
there is no sound at all .
Jan 24, 2018 at 10:16 AM
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CARADIODOC
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 34,414 POSTS
Rats. So much for the common solution.

The next suspect is the transmission range sensor/neutral safety switch. Try shifting out of and into "park" a few times, then see if the starter works. If that does not work, you will need to connect a scanner to read the position the transmission computer is seeing.
Jan 24, 2018 at 10:36 AM
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