Chrysler Repair: Intermittent starter problem: 1999 Voyager, neutral safety switch, chrysler dealer

Question
I have an intermittent starting problem, the van has a 3.3L V6 with 112K.  When I turns the key nothing happens, no fuel pump or starter.  It will sometimes start after waiting 5 minutes or five days.  I have changed the starter, the ignition switch and the battery and no improvement.  The van also sat at a Chrysler dealer for two weeks but there were no starting problems.  Please help!

Thanks in advance,
Marius

Answer
Hi Marius,
The best thing of course would be to have a voltmeter handy when it refuses to start. When you say "no fuel pump" are you sure of that, because that would implicate the automatic shutdown relay circuit, but that relay is NOT involved with the starter motor circuit? And the two devices share no fuses as far as I can tell.
I would begin by going to the power distribution box under the hood the next time this happens and listen/feel the starter relay click or not while a helper tries the key.
That would verify fuse 10 under the dash and the ignition switch, if it clicked. If not then you need to test for voltage on the pin socket that is closest to the rear of the van when you turn the key to start. If so, then you need to try moving the gear shift leaver slightly off center to see if the Park/Neutral safety switch might be out of adjustment. If that doesn't cause the starter to fire up then the relay may well be bad. Try substituting an identically numbered relay in its place, but one that is not needed to start and operate the engine.
It could be you have a cracked fuse (#10 under the dash, #23 under the hood in the box) and that either fuse is subject to going "open" as it heats up, and "close" when it cools.
But if it really also is shown that you don't hear the fuel pump run for about 1 second when you switch to the "run" position when the starter won't work, then I would wonder about the ignition switch or its wiring (but that has been replaced).
The only tie in between the fuel pump and the starter motor is the powertrain controller and if the intermittancy was due to it not getting power to function then I could see how you might not get either. Look closely at fuses 16, 17, 18 under the hood for possibly being cracked which would disable the powertrain controller.
So try those checks and look closely at the fuses, and let me know what you observe.
Roland