'05 intermittent won't crank - start

[axxense]

Hello All. Picked up my first H2 a couple of months ago and love it, but, have just had my confidence level go way down... ...turn the key - nothing. Had it for a month and had no issues, whatsoever.

All electrical appears fine (lights, dash, etc.), yet, it doesn't crank, at all - turn the key and get zero crank. 1st time it happened, it started (cranked) about 10 minutes later. The very next morning, same thing - then it started about 2 minutes later. It then was 'fine' for a couple of days, then same thing - this time it started some 4-5 hours later. My battery tests fine at 13v. I torqued down the connections and did a test lead and it appears I have juice going to the starter. After tightening the battery and starter connections, it was fine for about a week - thought I had a corrosive/loose connection. It is doing it again now, though.

Ignition? Starter solenoid going south? Gearshift-in-park sensor/switch?

Can someone tell me of some things to check and how to check them (as if you are talking to a 2nd grader cuz I can be a moron)? My nearest shop is some 45 miles away and would rather make a good try taking care of it myself before having a mechanic charge me an arm and a leg to troubleshoot. If I can narrow it down, at least I can save some $ by doing the troubleshooting myself, if not actually fixing it. Thanks.

[H2R]

I have heard this before "ignition switch". The ignition switch wears out on these often.

[DRTYFN]

The search feature is your friend, mmmkay.

[axxense]

Right - the search is a good thing. It has revealed many posts with very similar, yet, not exactly the same issue.

Some pose viable troubleshooting, but, talk about jumping the relay, etc. - Apologies, yet, I am pretty clueless, so, I need it stated more like, 'place one end of your wire at X, the other end at Y, then do this, then that'.

I also read where some replaced the starter, some the ignition switch, another says it is the switch/sensor that let's the ignition know that the gearshift is in park. After having read the posts, I can conclude it might be the starter (solenoid) or it might be the ignition switch - some say it is the 'gearshift in park' sensor/switch.

Certainly I could replace one or the other or all three and might be good to go. What I would rather do is definitively find the problem and correct it, as opposed to guessing, having it start and thinking I am fine, then getting myself in a remote gorge in the Washington Nat'l forest and discovering it was something else. Like I said - I can go a week without having any issue. That is why I am asking how to troubleshoot it. Thanks for the responses - all VERY much appreciated! VERY.

[Rene S. Nielsen]

Hi

I would start with having the ignition switch changed. There seems to be a lot of problems with that one.

That fixed the issue that I had on my truck (same problem as yours)

Rene

[Gunzz]

Had it happen to me one time on my 05. Battery lights and all electrical were fine but when turn the ignition, no crank. Just like the old days I took a broom handle and banged on the starter from the passenger side. When I turned the ignition started right up. At least that limits me to believe I may have a faulty starter down the road a little later, but for now it has been ok.

If it happens again to you just give it a try. If it starts right up after a couple bangs at least you can probably now limit your trouble to the starter. If it doesn't work then you may have to do some testing of the ignition circuit.

Good luck.

[albertahummer]

hopefully your problem is gone, but if it isnt then there is an easy fix.
The starter is in behind your friont passenger wheel under and back of exhaust parts where the gasket is. Now there is a wire connected to the front end of the starter that is tigfhtened by a "approximately" 13 mm nut.
To tighten disconnect your positive battery post then untighten a little bit , clean or scrape connection point with screwdriver maybe, then tighten, and hook battery back up. Also easiest done when vehicle engine is cool because of proximity to exhaust. This is what i did and have not had the problem since with my H2 .