no start

[5.0Flareside]

my truck for some reason aint starting now. when i turn the key over it clicked but that was it. and then i try it again and nothing not even a click. but when i turn it back to turn the radio on it plays and everything. but tried to start it again no click nothing. i think its a bad connection on my battery again. i had this problem a while back. so im gonna re do the connections after i clean it off.

 

[LEB Ben]

Cleaning the connection is where I'd start too. I'd start by cutting back the rubber on the cables and making sure there isn't corrosion further up the cable. Give everything a good clean (posts, terminals, cables)...give the batter a charge. You might even decide to replace the terminals and cables. If not that, how new is the batter and alternator.

 

[5.0Flareside]

battery is from 8/08 and the alternator is from july of this year. the starter is from july of this year also. and the connection sucks. the previous owner did a hack job of cutting the wire for the new connection. ill take a pic and show it.

 

[5.0Flareside]

this is the terminal and battery cable look at how bad the connection is.

 

[LEB Ben]

Good God man...why even bother trying to clean that. $15 and you can go get new stuff. That woulda been one of the first things I woulda replaced.

 

[5.0Flareside]

well im gonna try to get this working with this set up right now. but in the next month i will get new battery cables.

 

[5.0Flareside]

well just reconected it with a new terminal i had an extra set sitting around and it is perfect. stripped away 1 inch of cable to have a newer connection.

 

[Raptor22]

Damn man. That cable is screwed!

 

[Skandocious]

Yeah cleaning the connections fixed that same problem for me. Permatex makes battery terminal cleaner, it foams and disintegrates corrosion. Then you spray on the purple stuff, also by Permatex, to seal the terminal and prevent further corrosion. Did that after continuous connection problems and never had a problem again.

 

[surewhynot]

Purple, or mauve?

 

[Trucker_Eric]

you know it could have been a starter issue, or a bettery. i just did a starter on a caravan and all the teeth were spun around. i wish i woulda got a pics, but it did exactly what you described, even on the tester at advance auto parts.

 

[Raptor22]

Purple, or mauve?

When he said purple stuff Dave Chapelle instantly shot into my mind...

 

[Skandocious]

"Well I've got some apple juice..."
"What the **ck is JUICE?! I want some apple drink!!! ITS GREEEEEN!!"

 

[Raptor22]

"Well I've got some apple juice..."
"What the **ck is JUICE?! I want some apple drink!!! ITS GREEEEEN!!"

 

[Old_Paint]

Yeah cleaning the connections fixed that same problem for me. Permatex makes battery terminal cleaner, it foams and disintegrates corrosion. Then you spray on the purple stuff, also by Permatex, to seal the terminal and prevent further corrosion. Did that after continuous connection problems and never had a problem again.

Arm & Hammer makes some really good terminal cleaner too. It's called baking soda. Make a slurry out of a couple tablespoons, and pour it on the terminals, then let it sit for about 10 minutes. Get a post/terminal wire brush too, so that you can properly clean the insides of the clamp and the outside of the post. Scraping with something is OK, but it's gonna leave flat spots that will just corrode again. Brush both shiny, then smear a thin film of most any kind of grease. Put the clamp back on the post, and turn it back and forth a few times to get the grease out of the connection, but don't wipe it completely clean. The sole purpose of the grease is to prevent the corrosion by keeping the acid off the lead. But seriously, get some new freakin cables.

I strongly suggest you get a proper cable for that too. Those cheezy clamps are great get-me-by's, but won't hold up. They're designed for ONE 2/0 cable, not two. Our starter systems require two 2/0 cables from the battery, one to the fender mounted starter RELAY, the other to the starter mounted SOLENOID. If either winds up with poor connection, you'll have a no-start condition, cause undue heating in the starter because of low voltage, possibly even stall it on a compression stroke, or cause all kinds of havoc with the ECM due to low voltage.

Remember your battery safety too. Wear your safety glasses. Always disconnect the negative terminal and isolate it first, just in case you bump something with the wrench while taking off the positive terminal. If the negative isn't terminated, no current path, no spark, no explosion. Batteries can explode VERY violently, with little more than a static spark to ignite them. Been there, seen it, don't wanna see it again.