my fuel shut off solenoid keeps catching on fire
 

in my 96 my fuel shut off solenoid has cached on fire 2 now the first was the stock one and the second was new only had it like 3 days any one know why

check the harness which it plugs into, make sure it's all clean in there. corrosion could cause arching and extra heat leading to fire. and along with this, maybe grab a volt meter and check the harness terminals. have someone help you buy turning the key for you and make sure your not getting excess volts flowing through there. could be a loose connection on the back of the harness.

also there are two big relays right above it check those and make sure they are not bad the dodge dealership told me that's why mine blew up so i just put a switch in to keep it from happening again

I'm not too sure if they are the same as the type we use on our old Deere equipment or not. If they are, there is a pull in coil, and a hold in coil. If the linkage isn't properly adjusted the hold in coil is over worked. Are there 3 wires to the solenoid, or two?

there is three I heard from several people though that those relays above it shorting out are a main cause for it

Likely your starter contacts are sticking and backfeeding 12V to your solenoid. Replace your starter contacts and your problem will likely be solved. Get the supersized contacts from Larry B. They also have a diode that will prevent you from burning up your solenoid.

Check it out:

LarryB's Dodge starting problems solved here.

ok thanks guys i just put a choke cable in it for now and works good might just keep it if i cant figure it out

Can you use a multimeter well? If so, back probe the connection to seee where power is, and when

Im telling you its your starter contacts. Pull the starter and look at them. I can pretty much guarantee you that one of the contacts will be paper thin.

I've never looked at a Dodge/Cummins SOV, but assume they are the same as any other. 3 wires, one for pull in that gets power from the start circuit, another for the hold in that is ignition power, and the last for a ground?