Thank GOODNESS for remote start!!

[03SXTGUY]

So, how fun is this...

Yesterday, I'm going over my buddy's house to hang out for a while so while I'm inside, I remote start the car since it had been sitting all day (I always like to give a 5-10 min warmup from a cold start). I hop in the car, drive over my bud's house about 1/2 hr away, and all is good.

I go to leave, I hit the unlock button, interior lights come on, parking lamps flash, all is good. I put the key in the ignition, go to crank it, and NOTHING. All of my dummy lights light up, gas gauge reads the tank, coolant gauge reads, etc. but there is absolute silence - it literally won't even crank. I think to myself "W..T...F?" I try it again, NOTHING.

So by this point, I flip out because the last thing I want to do is pay for a 30+ mile tow. However, the first thought is of course...ahhh check the battery! So I pop the hood, battery terminals all seem good, then I think "Wait a minute...everything is working and is not dim..." (Key fob, dome light, ACC, etc.)

So then I think, well maybe it is the battery but it doesn't have enough juice to crank it. Go back inside, get buddy's truck, hook it up, and again - not a damn thing. Silence. No crank at all.

So with us both standing over the engine bay, I think "Hmmm...*push remote start button*" Engine starts right up! My bud (who didn't know I had remote start) thought the car started on its own!! LOL

So, this morning I went out and checked all of the fuses in the interior driver door but then it started pouring on me. So later on, I'm going to check all of the fuses/relays in the engine compartment. If those all check out, the only other thing that I can think of is that it's the ignition key starter. But again, thank God for remote start!! If I wouldn't have had it, I would've been stranded & paying for a costly tow. I drove home perfectly fine.

[jonnymopar]

Good to hear that you were able to make it out of there. I'd suggest checking the park/neutral safety switch, but if it started with the remote start... hmm...

Hopefully it's not the remote start system actually causing the problem!

(I always like to give a 5-10 min warmup from a cold start).

This is a LONG time. You're putting wear on everything for no good reason. In extreme cold temperatures, I'll let it warm up for 60-90 seconds before driving it. When it's not freezing outside, no problem with getting in and driving it.

[JeffM]

This is a LONG time. You're putting wear on everything for no good reason. In extreme cold temperatures, I'll let it warm up for 60-90 seconds before driving it. When it's not freezing outside, no problem with getting in and driving it.

Anything below 40* I give the car a one minute warm-up. Anything above that is just hop in and go. Remember, your car wants the fastest possible warm-up with the least amount of wear.

Good thing your remote start worked. I hate having to pop-start the car anytime I drain the battery.

[occasional demons]

You could have pulled the starter relay and jumpered it there, and the starter would have done it's thing. You want to be very certain it is out of gear/brake set for this one tho.

[03SXTGUY]

Yea, I agree it's probably overkill, and to be honest on most days I start it probably 2 minutes before I'm walking out the door. When I say cold start, I mean that it's been sitting at least for a day. If I just hop in and drive, it NEVER drives nice and smooth until it does warm up some - the revs are higher, shifts aren't as good, etc. But when I had my Audi Twin-turbo, for the life of the turbos, it was best to warm them up first, so I just got in the habit of doing it.

@ jonnymopar: good suggestion on the safety switch - but yea, with it still remote starting, I don't know if that would be it. Also, I've had the remote start system for over a year now with absolutely no problems...

@ Bill: I wanted to check the starter relay, just have to wait until it stops raining...but yea, I suppose you're right, I could've jump started from there

Oh and I forgot to mention, earlier in the day I had driven to a couple appointments/errands and each time started it with the key, absolutely no problem whatsoever...

[03SXTGUY]

Okay, so now I am stumped. I went out and checked the fuses and relays in the engine compartment and here is what I found:

There is not one code thrown.

The fuses are all intact and are receiving power (used multimeter to verify).

All of the relays are the same, so I swapped the Starter relay with another and still nothing. Next, I traced & tested the brown wire from the starter to the firewall and it read correctly without any breaks in the circuit. So, by directly connecting the brown wire off of the starter solenoid to the 12V battery, the car started (with the key in the ON position of course).

So now, I went back to the starter relay. It appears that it is not getting any power/signal to the relay. Here is a copy of the wiring schematic from Haynes to better help show what I determined:



Where are my Mopar mechanics at? I need your help/suggestions! Possibly the ignition switch &/or harness?

P.S. I can still remote start the car without any problem so yes, it is still drivable lol

[occasional demons]

You should have 12 volts at pin 24 when keyed to start. You are grounding to the (-) battery terminal to check for power?

If you are not getting voltage there, it may be in the ign. switch, or connector C103. That is from the '01 FSM, so the connector may have changed for '03-'05. The circuit is the same tho.
EDIT:
You could also check pin 6 at the ign switch, since you may have to dig into there anyways.



On the ground side:
The relay coil is grounded via the PCM. If it does not get a signal from the PN Switch, or proper range selector input, The PCM will not ground the relay coil, so the starter will not function. Put your test light in the coil ground socket, and see if it has ground when you key on/turn the key to crank. If the light does not light, it is something to do with the PCM/inputs.

[fixitmattman]

I had a no start about a year ago, ended up being that the brown wire between the relay and the starter just under the fuse box went all corroded. Not the terminal, but the wire a few inches in from the relay was all puffy and upon closer inspection green inside. A cut, solder, and a splice later it was good to go.