OT 1995 Dodge Ram 1500 Woes

Neighbor lady has this truck. It is a gas (318), with an automatic trans. It has been acting up lately. A few days ago, it started to crank, start for 1-2 seconds, then die. It has been needing a new battery cable for about a year, so that was replaced (Dodge parts procurement is the WORST mess EVER - but that's another story....). Now, everything gets juice (lights, horn, dash, etc), but it won't even CRANK! I shy away from Dodge, so I don't know enough about how the thing operates to do much good. She cannot afford to tow the thing to a mechanic, nor pay a bill. Right now, she has 3 teenagers at home, a fixed income, and no way to get anywhere. I know some of you guys work on these trucks, so thought I'd see if you had any ideas. What she REALLY needs is a different truck, but cannot afford payments!

Look on YouTube under 95 Dodge Ram 1500 no start. Some tips about it on there.

Might sound overly simplistic but , could just be poor ground connection.I have seen many times on trucks and tractors when the lights and other six. things would work fine , but no cranking the starter. Can be loose or dirty battery cable ends , or ground cable can be rusty where it bolts to the block .

What was wrong/why did the cable need replacing?

Who replaced it?

While I know nothing specifically about this vehicle, I imagine the basics are still there- bat. cable to relay, which could be either remote, or starter mounted. Then vehicle power flows from there. Something could have been disturbed at one of these connections when the cable was replaced. That's the bane of working on older electrical systems- you touch one thing, and something else quits!

My Dodge Dakota has acted like that when the battery got weak. I charged the battery and when I went to start it I had to give it some gas immediately and it would stay running. Actually I ended up revving it up, then chucking it in gear, then driving it up and down the road a few times. After awhile it came out of it. I think it had to reset the computer.

The cable has THTEE wires - two to the starter (one of which splits off to a plug that goes into a wire loom), and another that goes to the relay (breakers) box next to the battery. They bought a new one - to the tune of $280!
The cable was corroded, broken, and coming apart....

Then buy her one if that ones so bad Or get someone to work on it that knows what they are doing

You don't sound like a guy who I'd like to have next door as a neighbour. You're sounding pretty grouchy today !!!

If the Battery Drops just ONE Cell, they will not crank now ( usually)..but that cell may be intermittent..and drive ya nutz finding it..!!

Been having some trouble with condensation in the fuel with all this Warm/Cold temp swings..

Things get real wet in the tool shed..

My '01 would run for 2 seconds once if I stepped on the gas, and then die. A new battery fixed that.

Dodge vans are good vehicles. I have had good service from mine, but you've got to do your maintenance. If she doesn't do any maintenance, it is definitely the wrong vehicle for her.

During various brief periods of my life when I couldn't afford to register and insure a vehicle, I would ride my bicycle. If it was good enough for me, it is good enough for her. Tell her to get a bike.

Once when I was having electrical problems with my crusty old 89 F250, I went over and cleaned every ground I could find on the thing. It wasn't the problem, but once I had it fixed it performs super now.

Repair parts for those trucks are cheap, and they are stupid reliable if maintained and not abused. Start with:

battery,
cables
grounds,
ignition check
fuel pressure check
idle air controller
crank position sensor

I have had Ford products, GM products, and Chrysler products. They all seem to have their quirks. GM seems to be the one that developed the most annoying rattles and also tends to have the key mechanical issues that one has to watch out for. My least favorite was the "self destructing" plastic intake manifolds on their V-6 engines in the late 1990 and early 2000 model years, or their poorly built transmissions from the 1970 and 1980 model years. Ford products had quirky electrical issues and their horrible "variable venteurri" carburetors in their 1980 model years and premature rust from poorly designed body exterior metal in the 2000 model years. Chrysler always seemed to have a variety of quirks. I have had 360 V-8 engines notorious for sucking intake gaskets and drinking oil, hard starting in damp conditions causes by faulty ignition wiring, rear solid axles with the tires not running in true alignment, loss of FM band on higher end factory stereo equipment, and finally the loss of steering control during a typical left hand turn in dry pavement. This last issue, from what I can gather, was something that occurred over many years of banging and vibration of the front axle of that pickup truck. I never saw anything come through the mail from Chrysler, but I have a friend who told me about these issues they dealt with in a fleet of these mid to late 1990's trucks. The steering issue may have been prevented by installing new shock absorbers on the front axle in this truck I had, and my friend told me the "bulletin" he was aware of recommended this be done on an annual basis.

CHEAP?????
They wanted $280 for a stupid BATTERY CABLE!

Ok, Thanks for all the input! I got the thing running this afternoon.
Replaced the battery cable, replaced the starter relay, replaced the STARTER, and replaced the IAC. The thing is on borrowed time, but it should run good now.....for awhile.