Any help is greatly appreciated!

[BigMastiff]

1989 ram 50 2.6 2x4 auto

Out running errands and truck was starting and operating
correctly. Turned it off to go inside a store and when I came
back out to leave again, turned the key and absolutely NOTHING
happened. No clicking or anything at all from the starter. Battery is good.
Where should I look first? Thanks a bunch!

[FMS88]

Welcome! Make sure the battery terminals and starter connections are clean and secure. If the dash/cluster lights don't illuminate or go out when the key is turned to "Start," the battery is suspect. If the lights only dim slightly, test for 12v at the black/white wire to the starter when the key is turned to "Start." If no power, check the neutral safety switch and it's connections.

[SubGothius]

Oo, neutral safety switch, good call. That would explain the sudden NOTHING when turning the key to crank, not even a click or slow crank. Might even get it to start for a drive back home if you wiggle the transmission selector or try shifting it in and out of Park or Neutral a few times. Could even just be that the switch became misaligned somehow, rather than a fail(ing) switch.

[BigMastiff]

Welcome! Make sure the battery terminals and starter connections are clean and secure. If the dash/cluster lights don't illuminate or go out when the key is turned to "Start," the battery is suspect. If the lights only dim slightly, test for 12v at the black/white wire to the starter when the key is turned to "Start." If no power, check the neutral safety switch and it's connections.


Hello there. To answer some of your questions, the battery terminals are fine and battery shows a little over 13v, all my interior lights function as they should, the radio comes on, dash lights work, head lights work, literally everything is working just as it should. Also there hasn’t been any kind of starting issues in the past, the starter hasn’t acted any differently or given any kind of sign that it may be getting weak or going out, or anything like that. I tried pulling the shifter down into neutral and the tried the ignition and still nothing, as playing with the shifter was the very first thing I did.

[BigMastiff]

Also the truck is an automatic. Someone above mentioned the neutral safety switch… Where is it located? Once again, I would like to thank you guys for replying and helping me here. Truly means ALOT MORE than y’all know. Much gratitude!

[camoit]

There might be a neutral safety switch plug/connector under the passenger seat carpet. It's a 2 prong connector. A jumper wire will bypass the safety switch. IF it has that. The first gen had that.

[FMS88]

Also the truck is an automatic. Someone above mentioned the neutral safety switch… Where is it located? Once again, I would like to thank you guys for replying and helping me here. Truly means ALOT MORE than y’all know. Much gratitude!

I'm not familiar with the auto trans so I don't know exactly where the neutral safety switch is. However, this thread discusses the same issue:

http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/showthread.php/5625-need-to-pick-the-big-brains-on-my-88-dodge-sport-2-6

Post #12 has a pic of a later model trans, but the poster says the location is roughly the same as on yours. The service manual says the switch is installed on the selector lever (on the driver's side of the trans up toward the bellhousing.) But the manual doesn't illustrate it.

This illustration is of the 2-wheel drive trans and it shows the connector for the neutral safety switch, #7, but annoyingly not the switch.

http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=13294&d=1425351704

Looks like the wires to the Over/Drive solenoid are in the same section of the harness. Also, per the electrical service manual, the wires to the back-up light switch are in the same harness section, too. Trace the wires from the back up switch to find where the wires to the neutral safety switch branch off.

Hopefully you'll find the switch and when you do, post a picture here to help others, and check the connector and wires for corrosion and damage. Also follow the harness upstream to find any other connectors and check those to eliminate the possibility that the no start problem is due to a bad connection and not the switch.

Update: Think I found it in a parts book. It's circled in red in the illustration below and located in the area above the green arrow on the trans. As the FSM stated, it is installed on the control lever (#20) with a bracket (#17). The switch P/N is MD722663.

http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=28080&stc=1