Good evening,

I have a 96 pickup, I have replaced the starter and battery. still wont start. I tried to bypass what I think is the starter relay, but still won't turn over nor start. Not sure if I tried the right plugs to bypass the starter relay or not. been looking at YouTube, but still at a lost. when I turn the key i get a type of action sound up towards the firewall. It is an automatic 4.2 motor. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get it started so i can get to the parts store? Only vehicle we have. Thank you for y'all's help.

Bear

Lots of possibilities... Few arm chair guesses check the fuseable link wire and the plug located on the battery cable.... the starter relay may be bad.... could be an issue with the shifter linkage or a bad connection.....check the ground wire connections.....quick question do the headlamps and all the accessories work? Also this site offers a FREE factory service manual which troubleshoots in detail. Click on service manuals at the home page.

Another possibility is that the timing is off.

Make sure that the small wire going to the starter has power when the key is in the start/run position. Hook up a test light, have someone turn the key. No light, no power, no start. The small wire is the start trigger from ignition switch. No power there could be faulty ignition, bad wire, bad relay. You may have a broken wire between fuse panel (relay connection) and starter.

Im having same issue. Replaced starter twice, replaced clutch switch, replaced ignition switch, went to salvage and grabbed some extra used relays Blue ones. 4ea. on right side relay box, tried all 4 of them, tried with 4 on the only one on left side, then tried all four that are under dash adjacent to fuse box, which are different than ones under hood. Had my battery checked, it was good also. I havent replaced fusible links yet. Thats my next try. Need help! is there any other relays on passenger side under dash? Is there a relay called a inhibitor relay on a 1996 it looks different than blue ones that parts store shows. but cant find it any where. 96 XE 2wd manual built after May 1996.

See if you have voltage at the White/Black wire coming into the Ignition Switch. If not, Fusible Link G is blown. If W/B is hot, check the Black/Yellow wire coming out of the Ignition Switch when you turn the key to the start position. If it doesn't go hot then the switch is bad. If both of those check out, on an M/T the Clutch Relay is in the Relay Box on the passenger fender. It should have two Black/Yellow wires, a Blue/Green, and a Black/Pink. Both B/Y's should go hot with the key in Start, if not there's a broken wire between the Ignition Switch and the relay. If B/Y goes hot, jump B/Y to B/P with the relay removed and the tranny in N or the clutch pulled. If the starter spins with the key when the relay is jumped, the problem is in the relay circuit. The clutch switch needs to ground the L/G wire, so check that the switch has ground and that L/G isn't broken someplace between the relay and switch.