My truck will fail to start sometimes, just get a cliking noise. Replaced both batteries about 1 month ago and they are fully charged. Have been having problems removing the ignition key after shifting the auto into the park position.

When I have problems, shifting the trans into neutral allows the truck to start.

My question is if there is some sort of "safety switch" that gets activated when the trans is put into park? Maybe it is not disengaging???

Any body experienced this before or have any thoughts?

 

Sounds like you need new contacts in the starter. They arc a little everytime you hit the key and eventualy burn and get pitted. It is probably coincidence that it starts in nuetral.
Tom

 

If you just get a clicking noise it probably indicates that the safety switch is working OK. As Tom said, check your starter solenoid contacts. If you have the chance, next time it happens, don't move the gear selector. Try placing your hand on the starter solenoid and get someone to try the ignition switch. Bet you will feel it each time it clicks.
The hard removal of the key is probably a secondary problem and not related to the clicking problem. Two things could cause it. One, the steering wheel needs to be turned a fraction of a turn to relieve the pressure on the pin or it is just plain normal wear and tear and time to change the ignition switch. Have you tried squirting some lubricant into the cylinder?
Let us know what you did to fix the problem.

 

Thanks for the replies. Since the truck is 8 years old, decided to replace the starter with a rebuild from Cummins. Checked battery voltage, starter relay and wiring and all were OK.

Starts easily now, probably could have got by with a solenoid but did not know condition of the starter motor. The part was $223 at my local Cummins dealer.

 

my replacement contacts were $15 and its worked perfectly for over 2 years