'01 2500 CTD 4x4 LB Qcab Auto with 89K miles<br>Motor wouldn't turnover this weekend on the way home from a trip. Starter fuse was blown under the hood. Put another one in and it immediately blew upon turning the key to crank it. So, we took a screwdriver to the starter itself to force crank it with the ignition on and got the truck home.<br><br>Dropped it off at the Dodge house and they are saying it's the starter... it has a short. Ok? Haven't heard of starters getting shorts much... but ok I guess. Then they tell me $715 ($495 for the starter, the rest is labor and tax) to swap in a new one. yikes! So, I'm planning to swallow the $80 diagnosis fee, drive myself over to NAPA and pick up a $200 starter. Anyone else experience starter problems like this? Should this be under the drivetrain warranty? I just had my lift pump replaced under warranty... why not the starter?

 

ahhhh... not a warranty item. I called DC customer support. There is a TSB on the fueses blowing for the starter relay. But, my truck build date did not apply.

FYI DC customer support # is 800-992-1997
TSB # for blown starter relay circuit fuses on 00-01 Ram trucks is TSB 01-01-00 Rev A'

 

thump....If you are looking for a new starter, call Piers! He sells &quot;new&quot; for around $250.00. Anything else, including the Dealer, Napa or whoever, only sell rebuilt and of course, you have a core charge...Piers is brand New!!! no core charge.
Steve

P.S. a lot of people don't know this.

 

thanks for the tip... is that Pier's as in PiersDiesel.com?

 

Thump...that's right:<br><br>http://www.piersdiesel.com/<br><br>Look under prices on the left menu/under dodge. Talk to Al or Piers if you have any questions...let them know I referred you to them.<br>Steve

 

Allrighty... she's back on the road. Here's the scoop (and thanks to all who chimed in). My 01 CTD has a Nippondenso starter. When you pop the cap off of the solenoid, (3 screws) there is a spring loaded plunger that comes in contact with two... anyone... yes... copper contacts. The plunger has a copper disc on it as well. Mine looked pretty bad.. one contact was really worn thin and grooved (typical from what I've read). <br><br>I've read stories of others who had symptoms like their starters hanging. That wasn't mine. It just plain wouldn't go. Turn the key... have power for everything (lights, stereo, a/c) but no cranking. The starter fuse (30 amp) under the hood was blowing. Note, prior to my production batch of trucks, they had a 20 amp fuse to the relay which was causing fits... mine wasn't in that batch (just fyi). <br><br>My options were... <br><br>(1) Dealer change out the stater. Over $700. $495 for the starter alone... and 2 hours of labor. <br><br>(2) After market starter. NAPA carries them Delco-remanufactured for $220 or so. Autozone can order them $140ish... but had some message on their computer saying currently unable to order? PepBoys said they don't have them yet. <br><br>(3) Replace the contacts myself. NAPA here didn't carry the contacts or rebuild kits... but he gave me the number of a place that did... see below. There are several internet sources that sell solenoid rebuild kits (contacts &amp; plungers) for $35 plus shipping or just the contacts for $12 each. Larry B's mentioned above was one of these. He also sells a new starter for $230 and no core needed. <br><br>What I did... <br><br>I used the NAPA guy's starter/altenator shop in Dallas &quot;Auto Electric&quot;. Took mine in at lunch and picked it up after work the same day. $40, they put in new contacts and cleaned up my solenoid plunger contact surface. I took all of 10 minutes to reinstall the starter (3 15mm bolts and 2 wires). I used the remaining 1 hr and 40 minutes (2 hr alloted Dodge repair time less ten minutes to remove and 10 minutes to install) to drink a beer, change my oil, drink a beer, clean my airfilter, drink a beer, was my truck and drink one more beer. Hell, maybe that's how they do it at the Dodge house... probably when they came up with the pricing!!! :*belch* <br><br>Thanks for the help... hope this is useful to someone as well.