Was told it needed a starter...

I got my wife's grandpa's truck for free. It sat at the dealership for about a year before the family offered it to me. Dealership says it needed a starter and an ignition switch. I got the truck and replaced the started. Tested the old one and it was bad. Had the new one tested before I put it in the truck tested fine. Installed and tried to start and no luck. All it does is click and doesn't want to turn the engine over at all. I checked to make sure the motor wasn't seized. Removed spark plugs and spun it with a ratchet. Had no problem spinning it over. Replaced the ignition cylinder and nothing. I'm lost as to what else to check. I've check the 2 ground bands that I can see one in the left and the other one on the right side. Both look fine. If anyone has had this problem let me know what worked for you. Truck is in great shape and would love to get it running seeing as I got it for free....

 

Are you sure the battery is good?

 

Forgot to mention the battery was dead and I had it tested and charged at the local AutoZone. It's fully charged and I've had it on a charger since I got it back so for now I think I'm going to rule it out. Great point though thanks.

 

Just for the hell of it, have you checked all the fuses?

 

Yup checked then all and I killed the starter relay, but I was able to jump so I know I need a new one of those.

 

Going to state the obvious here. Did you swap this as well??

 

If it's clicking when you turn the key then I would check the battery terminals, then try a different battery

 

I agree. Try a different battery. Autozone may have charged it, but I wonder if it's actually holding a charge. Probably has a bad cell. If you're able to jump start it, then it's a battery issue.

 

Turn on the lights and try to start it. If the lights go out, you have a bad battery, battery terminal, or battery cable.

 

I'll give the battery a jump and see what happens and let you guys know. Thanks.

 

If you jump it bypass your battery. If it's a bad battery they'll interfere in jumping it.

 

So it's not the battery it's holding at around 12.65v. Was digging around under driver's area and found this. Is this common or is this an add on that would prevent it from starting. Today I pulled the intake off and tried grounding the starter and had no luck with that. I can't jump it because there is hardly any room to get a wire on the connection so I'm not sure what to do. This is kick me in the nuts real hard. I'm about to let it roll down the driveway and just never see it again.

 

Voltage is only one part of the equation. You need to load test it also. A battery can still hold 12.5 volts and be defective. You also need to make sure the battery posts and cable terminals are cleaned with a battery cleaner and tightened with a wrench.

 

I'll give you $200 dollars for the truck!

You can even keep the defective battery

 

What is making the "Click sound". A voltmeter can be used to diagnose a starting system. 12 volts needs to be present @ starter solenoid BAT+ terminal. 12 volts needs to be present @ the starter solenoid "start" terminal when the key is in the start position. If both are present and the stater will not operate a voltage drop test should be performed on the positive cable from the battery to the starter BAT+ terminal. A voltage drop test should also be performed on the negative cable from the negative battery terminal to the starter case.

 

9/10 ten starter problems are battery related.

 

I'm with everyone else. Bypass the damn battery and jump the truck. I had a battery that would charge fine then die after because it was old and bad.

You ask the forum for advice, take it.

 

+1 on this

 

Okay thanks everyone for the advice. I had to travel for and came back to the truck with a fresh start. I just for kicks jumped while I had the intake off with the fuel pump relay off. It cranked over which was huge. Hadn't heard the motor turn over. I was only able to turn it by hand. So I went and got a new battery for it. Threw it and thought that would be the end of it. I put it all back together and tried it nothing no start just a single click. So I grab my other car ( Scion XB) cables on it and tried jumping and finally got it to start. I ran it and drove it around the block to warm it up and hopefully charge the battery a little and came back shut it off to see if it would start now that it ran. I thought many the batter sat at Costco too long and was a little discharge. Wasn't the case didn't even start once again jumped and it started. So not sure if this battery is bad or something is pulling a lot of power. Haven't clue where to start. I will do a drain test to see if the battery hold any kind of charge overnight. I guess the bright side is that it runs. Just now need to get it to be able to start again. As I am sitting here in the truck writing this I see the battery gauge and it's says 0-18 and it's on the line below 18. I check the battery as it's running and it's reads 14.03v. any insight would be helpful. Thanks got the advice thus far

 

How do the connections on the battery look?

 

ain't much insight but that simply tells me alternator is charging batteries ?

 

So she runs!!! Turns out my battery was fine the entire time. The one issue was the battery terminals. I replaced them and it fired right up. $14 later and it runs I need to deal with a misfire and a bad 02 sensor which that's on the way. Let's see what happens after that. Thanks for all the help. I guess my other question is does anyone know of a lightbar bracket for the windshield?

 

@bmf4069 for the winning question!

 

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

 

Even if your battery have 12+v. You still need the cranking amp. That's why jump starting it helps. It's using the cracking amps of the other battery.

Grounding is a must as well. Check all the ground wires. Scaling will occur overtime that eventhoug is right. But it's not making proper contact .

 

Always good to hear a happy ending, especially when it’s an easy fix. Now time to chase down the misfire and all new fluids.

 

Oh for sure. When I get back from work at the end of this month that's what I'm doing. I want to also do some light mods here and there to make it feel like my truck.

 

Now we need pictures of it!

 

I will get a few when I get back home today.