Truck wont start need help

hello everyone ,
i have a 2005 Tundra limited 2WD 4.7 V8
i was driving to work and my truck literally just died while driving.
i have a code scanner but have no codes showing ?
tried starting it back up and i get one click with dash lights dimming for about 3 seconds and everything lights up back to normal. headlights and dome light have a very light flickering almost not even noticeable.
i tried disconnecting the battery and cleaning the posts and starting it up againn but its doing the same thing.

if anyone can help i would really appreciate it

 

starter, maybe.

 

dead battery?
bad ground cable? Often fails where it connects to the engine, not necessarily the battery side.
Others will have more.

 

Flickering makes it sound like a dead battery to me, not necessarily a bad cell, but the battery is incapable of supplying the CCA required to turn over the engine.

First thing I would do is pull the battery and carry to auto parts store and have them test for free. This is the absolute no-brainer thing to do right now.

Meanwhile, this is a very short and easy to understand video to check starting issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jWouSQYTnU

 

Since it died while driving, probably alt not charging battery. If not that, cable.

 

sounds good thanks for your help. ill try taking the battery to the store meanwhile

 

thanks for the help , what cable would you be talking about ?

also i tried jump starting with another car and still wouldnt turn on

 

Usually the negative ground cable, big black one, but could be something else cable wise if not the alt/battery

 

Was the negative jumper cable on the negative battery post/terminal?

 

These scenarios almost always end with one of two problems. A bad battery (that didn’t look bad) or a bad / corroded cable. The cable corrosion is usually an engine ground. The cable can also fool you. Have the battery tested, If it passes, then it’s likely a bad cable. Died while driving doesn’t sound like a bad battery to me. Likely not alternator either as it would have slowly faded on you. You would have gotten a battery light, dimming lights, voltage readout would have been low on the dash etc.

 

Yes it was .

 

"If" it's the negative cable, attaching the jumper cable to it won't help. Especially if like @KNABORES detailed if it's a problem at the engine ground. It's like attaching the jumper cable to nothing. I don't guarantee it's the negative cable, just that it hasn't been ruled out.

 

I agree with these guys, but the first step IMO is to get that batt tested. Failing alternator often will take a batt out, if it's good, great, it drained for a reason.

Same situation hit me about 10k miles ago. Batt light came on, truck almost died on my way to work. Went to NAPA (only store nearby), battery tested bad, got a new battery. Installed new battery, started it right up, and alternator caught fire before I made it out of the parking lot - something shorted in the alternator, which had gone bad.

 

It's the best place to start, if the battery is dead, find out why. If the battery is good, it's not getting current to the vehicle.

 

Good luck with this and keep us updated

 

Related: do you guys disconnect the negative battery cable while the vehicle is running to see if it keeps running as a quick alt check? Or is that old vehicle stuff?

 

You can have the parts store check the alternator too. That’s the best way

 

Sounds like its almost certainly a bad cable. Bad battery or alternator wouldn't result in it stopping while driving. This is an absolutely classic bad cable/bad terminal symptom.

Try jumping it with the negative cable grounded on the engine itself instead of the battery (I always do this anyway when jumping), any good metal contact will work.

 

You mean the positive cable right? Negative would kill it regardless.

And no...because it can cause high voltage surges. The battery light is there to tell you if the alternator is working or not....oddly enough it doesn't light up for battery problems.

 

Yeah will do , thank you guys a ton , I’ll keep you guys posted , I’ll take the battery to AutoZone as soon I can

 

lol, I did mean pos (+) I think. I forgot, who am I? Thanks @Aerindel

 

Seriously, first thing I would do is jump it with the negative clipped to a solid metal part on the engine. This can rule out a lot of things, and may get you running right now.

 

It certainly would. Ya need spark to run the engine. Usually easiest to tell at night because the lights get dim and then die and then the engine dies. But if the alternator is no longer putting out and then battery drains down it will definitely result in engine shutting off.

I know everyone is trying to be helpful but there is so much misinformation in this thread.

 

That rear engine hoist hook looks inviting as a ground.

 

If its the alternator...the engine dying is the last thing that happens as your battery voltage...spark is the least energy intensive thing that happens. Just shutting off with no warning would be a really atypical presentation for an alternator failure, but is classic bad terminal clamp or cable.

First your battery light comes on, they your heater fan dies, your headlights dim, your blinkers stop working, instruments go dead...then you start misfiring and your truck dies, and at that point your battery is dead dead, no headlights, no clicking when you try to restart...its too dead to do anything.

And...it will restart just fine on jumper cables...even if you put them on the terminals.

Alternators can and do fail....but you know it when it happens as the battery slowly runs down over an hour or two. I've limped trucks home before with a blown alternator that where like something out of Star Trek "Captain, reroute emergency power", as in I kept turning off things when the engine would stumble, get another 15 minutes before having to turn off the next thing...until I finally got to the point where I turning on the blinkers would make the engine sputter and had to go the last ten minutes like I was driving a BMW.

Yep. Its what I use, whatever is handy and relatively clean metal. Its how I always jump start vehicles as sometimes going through a dead battery draws too much juice unless you wait ten minutes or something for it to get some charge.

 

Took battery to AutoZone and they said it only had about 20% of charge , in hoping this was the problem all along

 

So, if the battery is good but only charged 20%, the next big question is: Why was the battery only 20% charged?

Leaves three main possibilities from my experience:

• Alternator isn't outputting 13v+ which you can pretty easily test at the alternator terminal itself while car is running
• Line between alternator and battery or an associated ground wire are compromised which you can test continuity with a cheap digital multimeter
• The 100-140A "ALT" fuse (see pic and vid below) in the engine bay fuse box or its wiring may be fried or compromised which you can also test with a cheap digital multimeter

My reco:

• Charge the battery if store said its good; drive the truck home if possible, or have truck towed to your house
• Install battery and have a voltmeter ready, on-hand, start the truck
• Carefully test the alternator output at the alternator to confirm output voltage - all good, 13-14v?
• Test for voltage at the positive battery terminal - all good, 12.5-13.5v?
• Find the ALT fuse - all good, not fried?

Alt fuse will be one of these type, I think the one singled out in red, but this is from an '03 so flip the cover over for your '05 and look at the diagram drawn on the inside of the cover to confirm. Video below the pic shows replacement, since replacement is an absolute f'n bitch.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNsNZBt3rCU