Charged battery, but doesn't even try to start.

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73 Duster 360

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My wife's been out of town with our primary vehicle all week so I've had the pleasure of being able to drive my duster a lot more. Unfortunately just now as I was trying to leave for work, I ran into a weird issue.

When I turn the key nothing happens. It doesn't try to turn over. Doesn't make a single sound. I know the battery is fully charged because last night when I went out to get some food the car was struggling. Whenever I was just sitting at an idol it would die and I would have to start it and keep the idle fairly fast just to keep it from dying on me in the drive-thru. I just figured it was due to the cold since I didn't really let it warm up before I left the house last night. But then when I drove it into the garage when I got home, it literally died with 6 inches left to go. And it wouldn't start again.

So just to be safe I put it on the charger and let it trickle charge all night. Came out here today and I got nothing.

So what's the best bet? The ignition cable? The ignition control unit? I don't think it's the porcelain ballast simply because the last time that died on me the engine would crank and then immediately die and right now it's not even cranking.

I've been reading the manual as I wait for a ride to come pick me up and it doesn't have a lot in the way of diagnostics for this kind of problem. Anybody have any tips and tricks?
 
Try to start it with a screwdriver at the starter relay, that will at least narrow it down to something upstream of that.
 
Sounds like car may have been running off battery and pulled it down. Especially with it wanting to die. Now the issue is did the charging system have an issue that killed the battery. If you have a volt ohm meter check battery voltage after charging and then see what voltage does when trying to crank the engine, I’m betting it drops off significantly. Could also have load check done on battery. Could be a diode failed in alternator which could be allowing battery to drain.
 
I would immediately be suspect of the bulkhead connectors. And that’s where I’d look first. Assuming both battery cables are clean and tight and you have a good battery.
 
My first look would be the starter relay for a ground.
 
I would immediately be suspect of the bulkhead connectors. And that’s where I’d look first. Assuming both battery cables are clean and tight and you have a good battery.
 
I'd say the car was actually running off of the alternator, not the battery. Bet you have a bad battery with a couple of plates together.. I don't care what the smart charger read out said.

Start with a fresh battery or a booster pack..
 
If you have a voltmeter you will have to start at the battery and chase the circuit until you find a spot where you have lost power. Battery, starter relay, starter, firewall block steer column switch and so forth.
FUSEABLE LINK fry on you?
Do you have power inside the car with the key on? Defrost fan work?
Headlights on?
Bulkhead hot and melted at firewall?
I don't want to send you on a goose chase because it could be just a bad ground somewhere or a dozen other things.
Start the power chase first with a charged battery and find where your 12 volts are lost.
 
I have experienced a similar issue where I get absolutely no response from the battery knowing that it's fully charged. The cables didn't look too dirty but I pulled them off, cleaned everything up really good with a terminal cleaner and that solved my problem. If it's this then it's easy and it's free, if that doesn't do it for you then follow the advice of everyone else as you dig further into the system.
 
Fixing an issue like this is always a process of elimination. I agree with starting with trying to start it with a screwdriver across the starter relay first. I normally start with the easiest first and do the harder checks last.
 
Do you headlights work? If so,put in neutral and see if it cranksor as said check starter relay with screwdriver .
 
Sounds like car may have been running off battery and pulled it down. Especially with it wanting to die. Now the issue is did the charging system have an issue that killed the battery. If you have a volt ohm meter check battery voltage after charging and then see what voltage does when trying to crank the engine, I’m betting it drops off significantly. Could also have load check done on battery. Could be a diode failed in alternator which could be allowing battery to drain.
The battery is good checked it with a meter, also everything else works. Lights, stereo, gauges.
 
If you have a voltmeter you will have to start at the battery and chase the circuit until you find a spot where you have lost power. Battery, starter relay, starter, firewall block steer column switch and so forth.
FUSEABLE LINK fry on you?
Do you have power inside the car with the key on? Defrost fan work?
Headlights on?
Bulkhead hot and melted at firewall?
I don't want to send you on a goose chase because it could be just a bad ground somewhere or a dozen other things.
Start the power chase first with a charged battery and find where your 12 volts are lost.
Thanks. I'll go through it step by step.
 
When I turn the key nothing happens. It doesn't try to turn over. Doesn't make a single sound
  1. When you turn the key do you have power inside the car for things like headlights, heater fan etc.
  2. Is the trans in neutral / park


. I know the battery is fully

Just because you had the battery on a charger does not mean it is fully charged.

What voltage does it measure with nothing turned on.

What voltage does it measure with the headlights turned on


. Whenever I was just sitting at an idol it would die and I would have to start it and keep the idle fairly fast just to keep it from dying on me in the drive-thru


  1. If the alternator and all wiring was working properly the engine would not die unless the battery was shorted and pulling too many amps causing the voltage to get too low to run the car.
  2. If the alt or wiring was bad and the car was running on battery only, the car should keep running till the battery was too low to run the car. Turning off the headlights ( assuming they were on) will lighten the load on a low battery and no alternator.

Starting a car and driving short hops is like a bank account.

This happened to my daughter in real life.

Let's say you have 100 dollars in you account.

Every time you start the car you take 10 out of the account.

Now you drive for 10 minutes and put 5 back into your account.

Now your account has only 95 dollars.

Do that enough times and sooner or later you will not have enough dollars in your account to start your car.


Rather than damage your starter relay terminals with a screwdriver get a real remote starter switch. That will also help diagnose a problem with the NSS cir.
 
It could be as simple as a bad battery. I've seen people chase their take only to find out their 14 year old battery gave up the ghost. Have the battery checked out.
 
If I had a nickel for every 'good battery' that turned out to be junk after replacing starters and switches.... I'd have about $17.50 - but still, that's a lot of junk batteries.
My first battery check is always: turn on headlights, try to crank. If headlights never come on - bad battery. If they're dim and go out when you key it to start, bad battery. Could also just be a bad connection either at the battery terminals, or ground wire.

If the battery is good, then I'd be looking at the neutral safety switch circuit which can interrupt power to the starter relay. I'd also make sure the positive wire from the battery to the relay and from the relay to the starter isn't compromised. I've had clutch linkages smash mine and cause a dead short which stopped the starter from cranking with the clutch in. Trying to jumper 12v from the battery to the start terminal on the relay will help you figure out if the key signal is getting to the relay. A test light or multi-meter can do the same, if you have them.
 
The battery is good checked it with a meter, also everything else works. Lights, stereo, gauges.
What kind of meter? Static voltage means less than nothing. When a battery goes bad, even a small load will pull the voltage down. I've seen them read 13+ static (no load) but it couldn't light up a tail light bulb - dropped to 3v. A battery tester is the only good way to know. Using a known-good battery in your car is an even better way to rule it out, if one is available.
 
It does sound like a secondary ignition circuit problem. Id have to agree with members that said check the bulkhead on the firewall going into the passenger compartment to the ignition cylinder (key).
The steering column under the dash also has another flat connector to check for bad connections, going to the key.
Tough to diagnose when not there to help and a lot to consider when everything everyone has given so many logical possibilities.
Hang in there, you're in the right place for advice!
 
Also Dubob #3 I think is on to something.
Seems like battery when you think that it was gradually running crummy and then quit and left you with a dead battery.
 
1....Don't get wound up in all the symptoms. Pick one and chase it and often the others will fall in line
2....You MUST have some tools. A service manual. Go over to MyMopar.com and download one. A multimeter, and 12V test lamp, and sump alligator jumper leads
3...Do you have HEADLIGHTS? Are they bright? Leave them on and twist the key. Do they die? Do they stay bright? What exactly happens. Did the starter relay click when you twisted the key? If not, and if the headlamps stay lit, jumper across the two large exposed terminals on the starter relay with a scewdriver. Anything? Cick? Buzz? Anything?
4....Start by removing the battery clamps and inspect and CLEAN. With a battery post cleaner tool.
5...Measure battery voltage at the posts. A fully charged battery is 12.6, will be less if cold. Turn on headlights and re-measure. If it is below 11V the battery is either dead or cold. YOU CAN AND MUST NOT charge a cold, dead battery. If it is below freezing and the battery is dead you really need to bring it in, warm it up and go from there. Dead batteries can freeze, healthy, charged batteries do not

My guess? You may have a charging problem, and might be as simple as a slipping belt, etc, that allowed the battery to "sag" as you drove it and ran it down dead. If the battery is down enough to be "dead" you need a larger charger, at least 6A and better, 8-10A
 
The key in his first post... "it wouldn't stay running unless I increased the idle speed". Running off the alternator...
 
The key in his first post... "it wouldn't stay running unless I increased the idle speed". Running off the alternator...
All cars "run off the alternator" if the alternator is charging.
 
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