Background

Was off in Montana for a few weeks skydiving and hadn't driven the trucks 2 weeks prior to that that so I thought it was low batts so I charged it for about 4 hours and it fired up 3 times in the driveway off to the races I go, stop to get fuel no start no click nothing
tried pushing it nothing
manually moved fuel supply silanoid shaft up pushed and it started
got it home
shut it off no restart nothing
I have
1. jumped the starter with a remote button (thank you snap-on) fired right up
2. Jumped the relay terminals at the terminal block (30 to 87) fired up
3. tried to jumper out the clutch safety switch still no start at the key switch
4. tested voltage at the terminal block where the starter relay sits at points 86 and 87 to ground no voltage using the Key with and without the clutch saftey switch jumpered out
5. swapped the starter rely no fire

so it seems like no juice to the relay from the key
how do I test the key switch is there anything I should be able to see easily and a good test point for this?

what am I missing?
Is there another relay is the system?
Does anyone have a wiring diagram on line somewhere?

any input welcome

Thanks

John

 

Try to find a wiring diagram , my truck has 2 relays on the same sheet metal mount , one is a fuel shut down solenoid - this a 70 amp relay that pulls the linkage up , the thing that I have that may be extra or in a different place is a starter relay -thats the 2nd one on the same mount , which is located on the top edge of the firewall almost over the master cylinder ,
Get a 12 volt test lite , ground the cable end , then touch the other end handle to the small wire on the starter solenoid while someone els is turning key to start position , should lite , if it does then the solenoid or starter is bad , if not lite then follow that wire to where ever it goes till you get lite with key in start pos. , here's site that should be good for finding , fixing , parts , upgrades .

http://www.fostertruck.com/dodge/default.htm

I used to do some gold mining in that area .

 

Before getting into tracking relay problems, I would pull the batteries and the alternator and take them to a local parts store that can test them. I had a starting problem that turned out to be the alternator even though the gauge was reading 14+v when the truck was running and ~12v with the key on and engine not running. When I had the batteries tested, one would hold only half it's capacity and the other was dead(couldn't even be charged). When I had the alternator tested, it was only putting out 2v when the gauge said it was putting out 14v. I started to look at relays too before getting those parts tested. It may be worth while just to rule out the easy, although somewhat expensive, fixes first. Good luck!