Bypass safety circuits and start your car or truck

If you know your battery is good (because jumpstarting doesnt help), but your car/truck wont crank, here's a method that might get you started, at least enough to get to the shop.  First, find the two wires connected to your starter a  trace them up to a convenient location under the hood.  Find a connector on the smaller wire and attach remote start switch to that, and the battery + post.    This will bypass a bunch of circuits (some are safety related) that prevent starting the engine. Turn key to ON (be sure you are in park or neutral), and hit the starter switch.  If is starts, you've proven the battery and starter are good, exposed that another circuit is at fault, and allow you to drive it to the shop for further diagnosis & repair.

Specifics here: 1998 Dodge Dakota won't crank by key after rat invasion.  Repaired some ground wires and injector wires eaten by said rat.  Confirmed relays & fuzes OK, starter good, neutral safety switch good.  Simplifying the circuit got it started and now I can drive it to a shop where people are skilled at systematically identifying and testing circuits to find other damage from the rodent.

About the rat:  I parked the truck in the field near some woods.   A few days later I could not start it.  Opened the hood and saw a rat scurry off the valve covers.  I tore down his nest and figured he'd took off into the woods.   Later that day my dogs were obsessing on the truck and when one started biting the frame, I poked around and saw the rat scurry past a hole in the frame.   Dogs came inside, trap set in engine bay.   The next morning, one of our dogs brought a full trap up to the porch.

• #autos_vehicles
• #dodge_dakota
• #engine_wont_crank
• #truck_electrical