One Click - No Start

[pipeline010]

I'm blowing up the forums lately....

Ok, so after finally getting my new disk brakes dialed in and the truck sitting for 2-3 weeks.....I drove it to/from work yesterday with no issues.

Rather cold night last night and this morning I got a 1-click no start. Hopped out, pushed some batt and solenoid cables around a bit and same: 1-click no start....and drove the crappy little car to work instead.

Thoughts?

Relevant intel:
1. I live on a barrier island so sand/rust is a thing. It sat for a while (I usually drive it every day) so I'm betting some of the connections got rusty on the solenoid especially.

2. the guy who helped me with my shim install [SERIOUSLY EVERY LIFT NEEDS TO INCLUDE SHIMS!!] remarked on wednesday that my lights were a bit flickery as I was leaving. Failing alternator?

3. I did drain the battery to zero by leaving lights on a couple months back. Never charged it and just let the alternator do its thing. Possible the batt just gave up.

I honestly wouldn't bother even asking this one, it's just the 1-click thing was a new sound to me. Thoughts? Thanks.

 

[SHX669]

Dead battery or bad connection at battery post or starter or at engine block or at solenoid.
Do you have an Optima battery - if so after running it totally dead you might have to use a trickle charger on it for a few hours.

 

[Rustytruck]

make sure you have clean grounds at the engine block, under voltage regulator mounting bolts, under starter solenoid and from the battery negative to the body. take off battery cables and clean the terminal and posts. any black hard spots have to go. Check voltage at the battery above 12.5 volts good battery good to go under needs recharge under 12 volts battery is done get a new one. start engine voltage running should go over 13 volts up to 14 volts if not battery wont charge.

 

[pipeline010]

Updates -

Came home for checks.
12.57v on battery, off.
Took a look at some terminals, a bit krusty but I've had much much worse. Planned to scrape both sides of the solenoid.
Sat in truck, turned the key and it roared to life like it never had a problem....

This morning it was about 38 degrees, now close to 70 (shore living,..).

Checked voltage, at 15.89 (high?).

Assuming swelling due to warmer weather leads me to think about bad connections OR possible falling alt, especially with that higher output....or is that within range for these old trucks?

 

[jmhend]

Can you jumpstart it from your starter solenoid? If the starter engages then you know it’s between the battery and the starte solenoid. If the starter does not engage check wiring to the starter.


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[DirtDonk]

Checked voltage, at 15.89 (high?).

Yes.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

A couple of questeeons. Was that high voltage reading taken with the engine running still, or off? If off, was it immediately after turning it off?

And second, when you get "the click" and it won't start, do all of the other accessories still work? Or is the truck fully dead after the one-and-done click?

Paul

 

[pipeline010]

all other accessories were working. I'm pretty sure the Q you're asking, though, and I'm not 100% sure if they continued to work AFTER the click/attempted start.

Truck has been starting without issue since that one event, though. I took some time and removed/scraped/cleaned both battery posts, both solenoid connections, and the inlet on the starter. Good amount of whispy smoke from both the posts and starter, but nothing terrible.

Lights were no longer flickering at idle, though, so maybe it was simply a connection issue.

I took many readings on sunday and it was stable at about 15.4v while running. While off the battery was right about 12.6v as before.

I'm betting it was all just gummed up connections. When the weather got warmer the metal expanded and offered more options for connection. It's possible it was an interior fault of the alternator (temperature being the temporary issue). For now it's all good though.

 

[Rustytruck]

If you have an automatic rock the shifter back into park as the neutral safety switch can be an obstruction to electrical flow.

 

[DirtDonk]

While I don't think the 15.4v reading is immediately dangerous to the battery, it's still above the normal reading of approx. 14.5v too. We usually consider anything between 14 and 15 to be pretty good, but being even just that not quite half a volt over could still be indicating something.

My guess is that the regulator is slightly off, or it's receiving an improper signal from the battery.

Next time you're under the hood (sooner is better than later) measure the exact voltage on the Yellow "A" wire at the regulator. You can do this by poking the test probe inside the socket if you can, or you can remove the connector (leaving the regulator bolted to the body) and measure the Yellow wire directly. Look for any corrosion on the contact points too.
Compare the Yellow wire to the battery and they should be identical. I'm not sure what kind of variation is allowed, but I bet it's less than 2/10ths of a volt or so. Any more like a half a volt and you'd possibly see that higher reading you're getting while it's running.

At least that's my take on it. If the regulator sees a falsely low voltage reading it would naturally want the alternator to try to charge at a higher rate. Creating that 15.4v reading instead of the slightly lower normal reading.

Worth a quick look-see anyway.

Paul

 

[Rustytruck]

do you have the tall box mechanical voltage regulator or the flatter squat electronic voltage regulator? I have found the electronic voltage regulator much more reliable.

https://www.wildhorses4x4.com/produ...iHRpjdV5TbBni9IZutZHjip6ezJlV5uEaApv8EALw_wcB

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...2SYPwlQu3aTZ4KcjIVPf97kpnpm6JrPIaAhv_EALw_wcB