QuestionHi! This is a 3.9 l., 6 cyl. engine. No crank, delayed start by 2-5 seconds, then starts fine. Aperiodic, sometimes won't start unless wiggle lever, pound on battery, wiggle cables, or wait. Starter/solenoid, ignition, relay, battery all check out. Neutral safety switch on tranny? On brake? Wiring? Thank you.
AnswerHi Pat,
The closest manual I have is an '04 and that shows a conventional starter circuit. Fuse #32 (10 amp) powers the starter relay and fuse #1 (30 amp) powers the starter solenoid switch. And the relay will only activate if the transmission is in P or N. So it could be anything from the battery ground cable and its attachment to the body and engine, the fuses, the relays, the starter solenoid or the starter motor itself. The best way to narrow it down when it won't turn over is to have a helper try the key while you open the power box, locate the starter relay, and observe whether it clicks or not. If not, then it could be the P/N switch is not being grounded (so move the lever a bit off center from the detent or the battery cables/clamps, or the relay is the problem. If it does click, then either the wire from the relay to the solenoid, the solenoid, the starter, or the fat red wire from the battery to the starter motor is where the connection is poor. That is how you go about isolating the reason for the "no staater" action.
While it won't respond is when you can best find out. Try tapping on the various elements involved using whether or not the starter relay is clicking to guide which items are suspect.
Roland
