Won't start ... 03 V8 2WD 365k mi

Hey everyone ... Made an account to post this ... After searching and reading, thought I'd ask for help in narrowing down troubleshooting steps.

This is my 'home depot' and 'tow shit from Sunbelt rentals' 'work on the house truck'. Bought w/ about 360k on the clock. Now has 365k. Been sitting for a few weeks because of Covid, and then we had a weird, heavy, driving rain. Tried to start the truck some days after that, and no go.

I'm mechanically inclined, not the best with electric, but can do basic multimeter stuff.

It is probably the battery, but battery was new when I bought truck 18 months ago, so I guess I started reading and researching... I should probably take out and try new battery. But wanted to ask here too:

Here is what I see and have tried:
0 volts bat dead as a doornail.
Wouldn't jump start.
Let charge up from jump car, bat showed 13.5V while connected to jump car.
Still no start. Lights, clicking, and sounded like something slowly turning behind firewall (starter?).
Disconnected jumpers. Bat showed 11.7V (dead?)
Gave up. Went inside.
After a few days, tried to diagnose it again ...Checked Starter relay. ... Is good .
But battery back to 0V / dead / nothing.
And that's what was puzzling compared to the 11.7 I had seen ... Is there a short or drain somewhere?
Is it just a dead battery and I need to go try a new one? Or is it something else that I can check and track down?

 

Put a new battery in it!

 

LOL ... Got it ... Will give that a try. Thanks for the advice!

 

Definitely start with the new battery. A bad battery can get in the way of jumping a car if it's really shot. Also, you can take the battery to almost any auto parts store and they'll test it for you.

 

Cheap batteries can die quick, especially in extreme conditions. My cheapo vatozone battery is about toast at 23 months. But I drive maybe 20 miles 1 day a week.

 

Welcome to the forum..

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

 

I agree with other replies. Sounds like it needs a battery. Get an Interstate battery from Costco or somewhere else that has them. Interstate is a good brand. Good quality battery. Should last about 6 years or so.

Also, if you're not using the truck at least every other week, it's a good idea to disconnect the negative battery terminal or put a little wall wart battery tender on it to keep the new battery topped up.

 

+1

Drawing a battery down is really hard on it and will enventually kill it if done repeatedly. Yours is at 0 volts -- that's extreme. You may have something going on that's causing a parasitic drain, but the only way you're going to know is to put a known good battery in the truck and keep an eye on it over the course of several days. If you have a charger, I'd recommend trying to charge the current battery. (disconnect the negative terminal to eliminate any possible drain while charging)

 

I like french fries taters. Mmmhmmm.

 

Biscuits and mustard.... hmmhmmm!

 

Agree with the others, probably a bad battery. When they run down, sulphur buildup occurs and ruins the battery. The electrolyte is too weak. I'm lucky to get 3-4 years out of a battery anymore, they don't make em like they used to. Other problem could be battery cable corrosion. Clean the terminals and check the cables. My negative battery cable rotted out on me. On a road trip from California to Arkansas. Had to replace it in a Subway parking lot, the factory one is run inside of a wire loom with other wires. It's still in there. I just zip tied the new one to the loom along side the old one.

 

It was a 42 month AC Delco made in May 2018...so I was thinking that it should probably have lasted longer, as it is just about 2 years old. It was dead though. Was going to replace it for free, but got a hassle about original receipt etc, and that I'd have to wait a day for it to be delivered to the parts dept, so I just went to Costco to get one since I have a project plans this weekend and need the truck ready tomorrow afternoon.
New Costco interstate battery and it started right up. Phew.
So ... All good! ... although I broke a cardinal rule of auto repair, put a wrench on the manifold which promptly fell into the engine bay and lodged in the most inaccessible place on the front cross member. Managed to get it out.

 

Glad you got it running again, welcome to the forum

 

Funny that it was such a simple fix. That’s these trucks huh?