Why won't my truck start?

[chevy72pu]

I swapped out the battery in Lil Red a couple of weeks ago. Last Friday I jump in for a quick trip to town. Ammeter reads 11.9V, gauges light up, radio comes on then I turn the key and nothing. Not even a click! The only thing I did was pull the cables off the old battery and put them on the replacement battery. Why won't it start?

[50bomb]

Distributor coil?

[71K20chevy]

Is the truck in neutral?

Happened to me before, I thought I needed a new starter

[hopped up]

Check your cables. Could be corrosion or they might not be making a good contact
Posted via Mobile Device

[68gmsee]

Yeah, check the nuetral/park switch and also recheck the battery cables - especially if they're old cables. They can corrode internally inside the battery connection and you can't see it.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by chevy72pu

Ammeter reads 11.9V, gauges light up, radio comes on then I turn the key and nothing. Not even a click!

Pssst -- the ammeter reads amps, not volts.

The gauges & radio take very little current so they could work even if there isn't enough current to start the truck. Are the headlight nice & bright? Try to start it with the headlights on -- do they stay on but get dimmer, or do they go dark when you turn the key?

You might need to check voltages, starting at the battery, with a voltmeter (multimeter).

[LockDoc]

-
You don't mention cleaning the cables when you swapped them. Any time you have the cables off you need to clean them good with a battery cleaning brush.

Not only will dirty connections not make good contact but they will also keep your battery from charging.

LockDoc

[chevy72pu]

Pssst -- the ammeter reads amps, not volts.

Is that why it's not called a volt meter?:lol

Gonna check all these suggestions. Thanks.

[low&slow]

Hey guys I got the same problem. Where is the neutral/park switch??
All my friends keep telling me this, but Where is it?

[chevy72pu]

And the winner is..........................................Dakota Digital transmission readout sending unit. It handles the gear readout on the dash and the neutral safety switch. I crawled under the truck and found the wire from the sending unit hanging loose. I twisted the wires together and got her started. Then I drove her on the lift and raised her all the way up. I cleaned and stripped the wires, crimped on butt splices, wrapped them in electrical tape and slipped a piece of plastic wire loom over it. Thanks for the suggestions.