I have a 97 Dodge that started having shutoff solenoid problems about three months ago. I replaced the solenoid with no benefit. Replaced the relay and it worked one or two times and then not. Replaced relay again and am now in a situation where it will lift the solenoid plunger sometimes but not always. I assume my fusible link is OK because it works intermittently. I have new starter contacts that are not installed yet. The starter never runs on when the key is released. I was told that was the main symptom of worn contacts. Bottom line, there seems to be enough juice sometimes and not at other times to activate the solenoid. Any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated. By the way, at roughly the same time as this problem started, I installed two new batteries that are 875 CCA each. Could this be a contributing factor?

 

My bet is the fusible link (blue wire at battery) is corroded under the insulation where you can't see it. Reason it is intermittent is sometimes the bad section will heat up from trying to carry too much juice though wire that has become too small, it heats up and sometimes will weld itself back together. It probably started acting up when you changed batteries because you moved the wire around.
Most any autoparts will have a blue (65 amp) fusible link.

Blue wire is probably the most common cause of solenoid failure and should always be the first place to look.

 

Infidel probably nailed it. The Fusible link would be the cheapest and easiest thing to try first.

 

so if it is the blue wire, how far back do you replace it? I am having smilar problems, & the blue wire disappears into the loom & goes god knows where....

 

You can usually tell where the wire is corroded by flexing it back and forth, corroded part will bend easier.
Sometimes the wire insulation will look a little melted.
Sometimes though there is no indication unless you strip the wire.
Voltmeter won't help, you can still get a 12 volt reading but the corroded wire can't carry enough amps.

 

Thanks Infidel. After spending almost $200.00 on a new solenoid, and a couple of relays, I solved my problem with $1.40 worth (4 inches) of blue fusible link. When I stripped the old one, I found about one third to one halve of the copper strands cut. There was no indication on the outside, like melting, but this probably explains inconsistent juice going to the solenoid.
Thanks again for the advice guys. As a new member, I am really impressed by the knowledgible responses on these forums.

 

does the blue wire go bad randomly, or is it in a somewhat typical spot that it goes bad, like close to the battery, or up the loom somewhere?

 

Depends on how good of a job you do controlling battery corrosion.
Typically it corrodes close to the battery and is pretty obvious.

 

that may not be my problem then; my wire looks pretty good / normal....

 

Next place to look is at the relay then.
Don't replace the solenoid, it's probably the most needlessly replaced item on a 12 valve, they rarely go bad and when they do most often are visibly burned up on the outside.

 

Never having this problem I may be wrong but could you run a jumper wire from the battery to where ever the other end gos to check to see if it is the fusible link?

 

I replaced everything before I found my problem, Its how I roll

1st) I replaced the fusable blue wire first (didn't work)

2nd) checked the wire off the starter (re-terminated it on starter) and followed it up to the fuse block (didn't work)

3rd) I replaced the relay, twice since I might have gotten a bad one (still didn't work)

4th) I replaced the solenoid, it was ugly anyways with bad boot (didn't work)


so I finally ripped apart the wiring harness from the fusable link up to the first Y in the harness. Found it, the thick red wire had a bad spot in it up inside the harness about 6-8 inches past the blue fusable link wire.

how it got a bad spot is beyond me, I did have a pack rat make a nest in the engine so I'm going to blame the rat.