for awhile, my truck had to be jumped everytime i started it. it had a new battery a few months before this. so i put a new alternator in. then it started without a jump. when i was having to jump it everytime to start it, sometimes it still wouldnt start. no cranking over, nothing. just the brake light flashed on. now, it wont start at all. i put a new ignition switch in, and it still wont start. i put a new started in about a year ago, and the truck has been driven probably no more than 1-2k miles since the new starter.

what shoudl i check first? i plan to put a test light on the starter to see if it gets power. if its not getting power, where should i look? if it is getting power, the solenoid went out?

I'd be looking at the neutral safety switch(assuming it is an auto) The stock non tilt columns were junk, and I've seen them sloppy enough where you had to pull the lever up to start it.
I think your previouse no start problem was unrelated IMO.

i'd start with the most basic / is the battery any good ? thentake both battery cables off (both ends both cables) clean and inspect real good and reinstall , then go to ignition switch to see if power is coming in(red wire) and with switch in on position is power coming out(purple wire) then go to neutral safety switch and see if theres power in and out with switch in on position

I would go back and check the 'new' starter solenoid by jumping across the terminals;
all my recent starting troubles were because the rebuilt 'new' starter had a bad new solenoid

I'm going to keep an eye on this post, since my truck is doing the exact same thing.
And everything is brand new, and replaced again with more new parts, still the same thing. I use a "remote" hidden starter button to crank the engine over with the key in the "on" position. I even have everything grounded properly to, engine to frame, cab to frame, engine to cab.

I've heard that there is 2 types of starters, one has a long bolt going from the solenoid to the starter motor, and another with a short wire. I heard that with the long one, it can drain the power while trying to crank the engine over. Is there any truth to this? What about using a mini starter? Sorry for highjacking the thread. :o
David

well i got the truck started earlier tonight. i was testing some of the wires mentioned in this post earlier, all seemed good. truck still wouldnt start. crawled down under, the starter was getting power. a friend was in the cab, he was wiggling the wires in the back of the ignition switch with the key in the start position, and the damned thing started.
this next part is probably totally unrelated, but when it finally did start, we had hooked a jumper box up to it, becasueno dash lights or anything was turning on, so we put it on just in case. then when it was hooked up, after wiggling wires, it started. i drove it a bit, then grabbed a volt meter and tested the battery. its at almost 14 volts when running. so it doesnt seem to be the battery. look slike the problem is just a loose wire somewhere. if only iknew which one it was.

unplug the ignition switch, and inspect all the plugs. It'll be obviouse if there is an issue.
If you find anything burnt in there, replace the ignition switch too.


This is a somewhat common issue on these trucks.