Remote start switch

[Lucy]

Please help me--I'm not a mechanic! My husband and I have a great 1996 diesel Dodge truck. For years it didn't want to start if the temperature was near freezing. Over the years its "non-start" temperature moved up. It now doesn't care if it's a 100-degree day. Sometimes it just won't start. And by not start I mean there is dead silence when we turn the key to try to start it. We got a remote start switch at Harbor Freight, and that does the trick when we need it.

Here's my question:

What is the remote start switch bypassing that apparently isn't working on the truck? We've replaced the starter twice in the past couple of years.

Thanks for any help, especially if you can explain it in simple terms!

 

[kbs2244]

This is a pure guess.
Is it a 2 battery truck?
The HF switch may be allowing 24 volts to the starter and that will spin it at double speed.

 

[pattenp]

Sounds to me that the start contacts in the key switch have gone bad. The remote bypasses the key start position. I assume once you start the truck with the remote, to drive you have to turn the key to the on position.

 

[WhiffySpark]

Loose battery cables or corroded internally may be worth looking into. If you turn the key back and forth a couple times will it finally crank?

Voltages drop is a good starting point

 

[theoldwizard1]

Checking and cleaning all connections is always a good idea !

Get a good 12V test light and check the voltage at the starter when the key is in the start position. If you are NOT getting 12V (the light should be as bright as when directly connected to the battery) to BOTH the power and start connections (these would be the 2 conection you would connect the remote start switch across) on the starter, then the problem is "upstream".

When trouble shooting anything electrical on modern vehicles, you ABSOLUTELY need a wiring diagram. You can view one here BBB Industries.


EDIT : Assuming this is the correct diagram



If you are NOT getting a bright light on the black wire at the starter, check fuse 2 and the "engine start motor relay". Remove the relay and using jumper relay contact 30 to 87. The starter motor should spin.

 

[MikeF2316]

There is a switch connected to the shifter that only allows the starter to work in Park or Neutral. Next time it happens, move the shifter to Neutral.

 

[NZGarage]

Hi,
If your truck is manual gearbox the problem will be in the electrical part of the key/ignition switch.

If it is Automatic gearbox most likely the problem will still be in the key/ignition switch and or could be the inhibitor switch mounted on the automatic gearbox.

Please be very careful how you use the Auto start, I live in New Zealand and a few years ago a 4x4 ute was remote started up in in the city and was in gear leapt forward on to the footpath and in to a pregnant lady, no injuries but needed an emergency caesarean the day after the accident.

 

[Bad Eye Bill]

Hi,
If your truck is manual gearbox the problem will be in the electrical part of the key/ignition switch.

If it is Automatic gearbox most likely the problem will still be in the key/ignition switch and or could be the inhibitor switch mounted on the automatic gearbox.

Please be very careful how you use the Auto start, I live in New Zealand and a few years ago a 4x4 ute was remote started up in in the city and was in gear leapt forward on to the footpath and in to a pregnant lady, no injuries but needed an emergency caesarean the day after the accident.

Not necessarily, there will be a safety start switch on the clutch pedal which means the clutch pedal has to be depressed before the starter will engage. There are known to fail or get out of adjustment etc.

 

[RustyJunk]

If it's starting with the remote than it wouldn't be one of the safeties, it must be a problem with the ignition itself.

 

[pattenp]

If it's starting with the remote than it wouldn't be one of the safeties, it must be a problem with the ignition itself.

Exactly... that's why I said what I did in post #3.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Fuse, relay, neutral/park safety switch for automatic, clutch safety switch for manual, ignition switch.

Check the diagram in post #5

 

[MikeF2316]

If it's starting with the remote than it wouldn't be one of the safeties, it must be a problem with the ignition itself.

I would expect that a Harbor Freight remote start switch would be connected between the battery and starter bypassing any clutch or neutral safety switch.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Hi,
If your truck is manual gearbox the problem will be in the electrical part of the key/ignition switch.

If it is Automatic gearbox most likely the problem will still be in the key/ignition switch and or could be the inhibitor switch mounted on the automatic gearbox.

Please be very careful how you use the Auto start, I live in New Zealand and a few years ago a 4x4 ute was remote started up in in the city and was in gear leapt forward on to the footpath and in to a pregnant lady, no injuries but needed an emergency caesarean the day after the accident.

Not necessarily, there will be a safety start switch on the clutch pedal which means the clutch pedal has to be depressed before the starter will engage. There are known to fail or get out of adjustment etc.

Sounds to me that the start contacts in the key switch have gone bad. The remote bypasses the key start position. I assume once you start the truck with the remote, to drive you have to turn the key to the on position.

I would expect that a Harbor Freight remote start switch would be connected between the battery and starter bypassing any clutch or neutral safety switch.

The above reasons are why in many areas it's illegal to install remote start kits on manual transmission vehicles where the neutral & clutch safeties have to be bypassed. There are more advanced systems available now that utilize the OEM parking brake switch and also have software to prove the transmission is in neutral before the engine is shut off. Even then, it's not fool proof. Someone can put the car in gear after the remote start has been "preset" and the car will try to start while in gear.

It wouldn't surprise me if the HF kit is so simple it just bypasses the ignition switch start circuit and its safeties.

That being said, I'm on board with the problem being a bad ignition switch, too.

Tommy

 

[abachman]

One of my older cars has this 'switch problem'. I need to wiggle the key some to make contact, then all is well.

 

[timewarp]

They aren't using a remote start switch that has a remote, they are using a switch with 2 alligator clips you put on the battery and the starter solenoid so you can turn the engine over by pushing the switch, bypassing the safeties, the relay, and ignition switch. So the trouble could be with one of the safeties, the relay, or the ignition switch. See post #5 for wiring diagram.

example of switch:
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-remote-starter-switch-35448.html

 

[LS6 Tommy]

They aren't using a remote start switch that has a remote, they are using a switch with 2 alligator clips you put on the battery and the starter solenoid so you can turn the engine over by pushing the switch, bypassing the safeties, the relay, and ignition switch. So the trouble could be with one of the safeties, the relay, or the ignition switch. See post #5 for wiring diagram.

example of switch:
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-remote-starter-switch-35448.html

Duh. I was thinking "remote car starter", not "remote engine start switch". In my world that's a "bump switch". But I still should have realized from the start what was being described... Yeah, that adds some complexity to the troubleshooting.

Tommy

 

[RustyJunk]

Hell if that's the case just put a start button on the dash like the old jalopies had and forget about it.

 

[Bad Eye Bill]

They aren't using a remote start switch that has a remote, they are using a switch with 2 alligator clips you put on the battery and the starter solenoid so you can turn the engine over by pushing the switch, bypassing the safeties, the relay, and ignition switch. So the trouble could be with one of the safeties, the relay, or the ignition switch. See post #5 for wiring diagram.

example of switch:
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-remote-starter-switch-35448.html

Yes, that's how I took it as well.

 

[pattenp]

Duh. I was thinking "remote car starter", not "remote engine start switch". In my world that's a "bump switch". But I still should have realized from the start what was being described... Yeah, that adds some complexity to the troubleshooting.

Tommy

I'm right there with you... didn't even dawn on me that was just a simple jumper switch being used. Forget what I said. Should have realized when Harbor Freight was mentioned.

 

[58Yeoman]

Anyway...it looks like another One Hit Wonder.