Truck Won't Start

[Foxcroft80]

Hi All,

I went to fire up the truck today and was greeted by a simple clicking noise. Not even a hint of the fan trying to turn. My battery is less than 2 months old, so I know that's not the issue. Any ideas as to where I should check? No idea how long the starter has been in the truck...

Thanks,
Foxcroft-

[kcsa75]

Have you tried to jump start it? Clicking usually means you have a dead battery. Even if it's only two months old, you could have left something on that drained the battery.

[dave`12]

I'm not an expert, but here is where I would start:

First off, try to jump start it, maybe your have a drain somewhere.

Then make sure your battery is charged and will hold a charge. auto parts stores will test the battery for free. next, if it's good, they will also test your alternator for free. Assuming they are both good and all your connections are good. They will charge your battery for free. Does it start with a freshly charged battery? if not, and you have checked all the connections, I would suspect the solenoid. It is easy to jump a solenoid to test it, check u-tube for a video on doing this. if it starts when you jump it, I would suspect the solenoid is bad.

one of these steps should solve the problem.

keep in mind, I'm no mechanic, and advice from the internet is worth what you paid for it. good luck

dave

[Arnulfo]

With a charged battery everything in truck off ( stereo, lights engine ,etc.) in a dimly lit garage disconnect the negative and as you are disconnecting the cable look to see if there is a spark. If there is that indicates that there is a drain on the battery. The stronger the spark, the greater the drain. If you do find that there is a drain, try to locate by doing the following with both cales connected;
1) go to fuse box and start with the highest rated fuse and remove.
2) remove negative cable from battery and see if there is still a spark when you are removing it. If YES replace negative cable , reinstall the fuse you removed and repeat process with next highest rated fuse.
If NO SPARK at negative cable when you reconnect,that incates that the circuit ( tail light, headlights ,lighter., etc,etc) the fuse you removed was on is the cause of the drain.
Good luck

[Stocker]

You can do the same thing without looking for a spark. Remove a battery cable and put a test lamp between the battery terminal and the end of the cable. If the test lamp lights up, there is a drain on the battery. Proceed with removing fuses until you find the offending circuit.

[Foxcroft80]

OK, I put a charger on the battery and it's fully charged. Still a click. Fly wheel isn't even close to moving. Alternator? Solinoid? It's in the garage and my driveway pitches upward and hard right out of the bay so it will be hard to try a jump start. My 6 and 7 year old boys won't be much help

[RPBurris]

I would make sure that all of your connections are tight on the solenoid and starter. A loose connection on either or even on the battery will keep it from turning over. Had the nut on my solenoid come loose before and did the same thing. Good luck.

[Foxcroft80]

Thanks, RP. Will check that as well. Driving me nuts, as it ran like a top 2 weeks ago. Actually, NOT driving me anywhere at the moment...

[roboticjunky]

If you have an automatic, make sure your shifter is in the Park position. My truck did the same thing after I bought it. I just pushed the shifter alittle bit to the left and it started. I tried again without pushing on the shifter and it wouldn't start. I ended up adjusting the shifter to line up the Neutral Safety Switch.

[Foxcroft80]

No such luck - It's a 4 on the floor. I did move from gear to neutral but no dice.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

If your wires are good, more than likely the starter. But I suppose it could be the solenoid. Is it possible it could be a voltage regulator?

[Foxcroft80]

I'm at a complete loss! I'm a mechanical "newbie", so it's all a possibility to me. Trying to learn as I go without doing irreparable damage to a classic rig.

[Dagr8npwrfloz]

If i were going to take a stab at it, Id need to know where the click originates.. If theres no starter relay under the hood, I'd think if I heard a "click" ,I'd assume the solonoid is in fact switching over.... If the noise is more under the truck, The click is either the solonoid or the Bendix engaging on the starter...either way we have juice that far in the circuit but perhaps not enough.. If the battery is at full charge, I'd clean all the connections to bright shiny (brass). That would rule out insufficient amps. If its still just a click after cleaning , your looking at a new starter, or at the very least a new set of brushes. Jumping the terminals on the solonoid as mentioned before will tell you for sure... If you get a good spark out of that and the motor doesn't turn, your starter is shot. Be careful though...I've had a new battery weld my screwdriver to the terminals.... Exciting to say the least...... Now I disconnect the distributer before I try this....

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Starter replacement is simple. Especially if you cut the wires near the starter where they're easy to get to, and install connectors. It's not quite right, but sure makes things easy.

The only issue may be you need a shim or two, which should come with the starter. Meaning you may need to reinstall the starter 1-3 times. By that time you'll discover it's a 10 minute job. Unless you can eye or measure to your existing starter, i'd try it without any shims. If it sounds/feels rough then add a shim. If it's real rough, then use two.

I generally use these Connectors (blue or red): Suggest buying bulk, because they'll rape you on just a few....... Amazon.com : SOLOOP 50pcs Female & Male Fully...

[Grumpy old man]

whoa whoa whoa !!! don't cut any wires EVER !!!! Use a set of jumper cables and a running car/truck to jump start the truck ,you drove it 2 weeks ago and now it won't turn over sounds like you left something on or your batteries on it's way out . at any rate don't change anything until you can jump start it with another car .

[Dagr8npwrfloz]

Originally Posted by Foxcroft80

I'm at a complete loss! I'm a mechanical "newbie", so it's all a possibility to me. Trying to learn as I go without doing irreparable damage to a classic rig.

First step is to get in there and start Losening/tightening bolts. Not many things on a vehicle more simple than the starter circuit. Excellent place for a newbie to start. And no matter what you do.... None of it will be " irreparable" .... Just a learning experience... And few things will be more rewarding than when it finally starts....

[Foxcroft80]

Dagr8npwrfloz - First off, thanks for the boost of confidence. It's such a beautiful truck and I'm paranoid about ruining it. Want to make sure I do her well...

The click certainly seems to be more under me than in the engine compartment. It's hard with only me being involved, but when the truck is running correctly I always feel the starter "catch" under the driver side. Probably not a great explanation, but that's what Ive noticed in the past.

[Grumpy old man]

Don't start loosing and tightening anything ! You have a dead battery or loose battery connections JUMP START IT WITH A ANOTHER RUNNING CAR AND JUMPER CABLES !

[Dagr8npwrfloz]

Post 6. Battery is at full charge....

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

whoa whoa whoa !!! don't cut any wires EVER !!!! Use a set of jumper cables and a running car/truck to jump start the truck ,you drove it 2 weeks ago and now it won't turn over sounds like you left something on or your batteries on it's way out . at any rate don't change anything until you can jump start it with another car .

Not to say I'd do the same with my rebuild, because you're right, uncut is nicer and you're less likely to have problems. I think it depends what you're striving for and what you've got. I cut mine decades ago, and replaced the starter a number of times. Never an issue, just made things easy.

[Dagr8npwrfloz]

When you hooked your battery charger up, did you hook it to the battery cable clamps, or directly to the posts on the battery?

[Grumpy old man]

The clicking noise is either a dead battery or a bad starter selenoid as far as hearing the click below the drivers seat ,well , the starter is on the passengers side , dirty corroded battery connections ? burnt + battery cable to close to the exhaust ? loose wire on the starter selenoid ? a picture is worth a thousand guesses ?

[Foxcroft80]

I should have said the click is below me (re: the cap versus the engine compartment). I will try to take some pictures tomorrow - totally understand it's hard to provide solution to someone who probably isn't doing a good job describing the problem.

[Foxcroft80]

I should also say that when charging I went Positive to positive battery clamp and negative to frame (per manual). Should I go + to + and - to - on the battery teminal clamps to test the core connection?

[Dagr8npwrfloz]

Positive to positive cable clamp, negative to negative cable clamp. If you still get a full charge reading then your battery cables are tight and connected...sometimes the battery is fine, but the cables are loose or corroded. If you hook directly to the posts, then the charger tells you nothing of the connection... Follow? The current from the charger will have to pass through the battery cables to get to the battery... In turn "testing" that connection.... A bad ground is just as bad, as a bad hot...