My 96 Dodge Ram 3500

37 chief

Well-known Member
About all I use my Dodge for is hauling my tractor. It's a V10 and does a good job, and likes gas. I unloaded it yesterday on a slight down hill street. The tractor pushes the truck which was in park while unloading. I loaded the tractor after finishing my mowing job. I go to start it, and the key doesn't turn, stuck in the off position. I had no idea what to do. I unloaded the tractor and pulled the trailer back a few inches. Doing this somehow it loosened the key switch, and I could start the motor. My question. Is the key switch somehow connected to the park position? Had this not worked I had no idea what to do next. I was blocking half of the lane at the time. It was not a busy street, which was good. Any thoughts? Stan
 
Just sold my 95 Dodge Ram 2500 with a Cummins Diesel. Have owned the truck since 2005. A couple of times I had a similar situation. I found the steering wheel torqued one way or the other. By putting pressure on the steering wheel and moving it slightly (1/8 inch) that allowed me to turn the key and unlock the wheel. Hope this helps. Steve.
 
Yes, if the steering wheel was bound tight against the locking mechanism, the lock can be difficult to turn. Possibly one of the front wheels was pushed against a curb or something stressing the steering. But usually the wheel can be muscled off the lock to relieve the strain, if you thought to try that.

Another possibility, the ignition switch is failing electrically. The inside of the switch melts, turn it off, the melted plastic cools and welds the switch in the off position. That's been a Dodge problem for many, many years. It is aggravated by running the AC blower on high, or the blower motor is failing and drawing too many amps. If that is the cause, it will be back, strange things will happen, accessories will stop working, AC will stop, etc.
 
Not really related to your ignition key, but another thing that is a good idea, when loading or offloading tractors, etc.,is to set the parking brake. Have seen where a sudden stop on a trailer has broken tbe park pawl in the transmission.
 
(quoted from post at 23:06:12 05/12/22) Not really related to your ignition key, but another thing that is a good idea, when loading or offloading tractors, etc.,is to set the parking brake. Have seen where a sudden stop on a trailer has broken tbe park pawl in the transmission.
hat's good advice.
 
Thanks for the information I never thought of the tire against the curb. I could have just turned the steering wheel. That probably was the problem. I was trying to park as close to the curb as possible. I usually block the trailer to keep it from moving. I learned that the hard way. One time I was unloading on a hill. The weight of the tractor on the trailer raised the truck back dules off the pavement. Off I went down the road. I hit a car, and pushed it up on the sidewalk. I pulled the car off the sidewalk. I Left a note. Nothing ever came of it. Stan
 
Please?? Use wheel chocks on your trailer wheels when loading and unloading. I know of two instances that the trailer tongue lifted the weight off the rear tires of the truck, enough that the truck and trailer began coasting away. Once when I had my neighbors daughter's wrecked Mustang being loaded onto a trailer behind my pick up, by a wrecker. Facing downhill on a gravel driveway, my truck started sliding, and once it started, it just kept going, until it jackknifed, and bent the tongue on the trailer. Another when one of our linemen didn't want to wait for an equipment operator. He decided to load the backhoe, on an equipment trailer, behind a single axle 7 yard dump. Same story, except a very steep, very busy street, in a fairly large Northwest city. The harder he tried to load the backhoe, the faster the truck and trailer went. It finally jackknifed into a side hill. No real damage, except for his bruised ego.
 
My 96 w/cummins did that. wiggling the steering wheel would usually release the key to turn, BUT, eventually it failed and I had to replace entire switch. Love my truck. Had it since 1998
 
My 2000 1500 did that sitting in the garage once many years ago. I even had a mechanic come out and couldn't figure it out. After about a week, I got good and ------ at the steering wheel and gave it a heck of a two handed yank. It finally came loose and the ignition worked.
 

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