Car trouble again? When will it all end, ugh!? *Update!* It works.....

[mylittlechickpea]

So here's the scoop.


So DH's truck died... On Thanksgiving morning, to boot.. I thought it was the battery, but after two jumps, it still won't start. And because of the jumps DH thinks it's the starter. When I was getting a jump from the neighbors, it make a "click, click, click" whenever I turned the key. I talked to one of the guys up the street and he said if it were the starter it would make some kind of "wheeee" sound, which it did not.

So we went out today to go get a starter from the parts store, and because the battery is dead anyways, I asked DH if he wanted to get a battery while we're already there, he says no. There's nothing wrong with the battery even though it's dead.......

Well, his truck is a pain to do anything on and he could only disconnect one of the bolts from the starter anyways, it's still in there. He has duty today so I was going to hook everything back up and go find a ride to the auto parts store and get a battery, and see how that goes. If it works, awesome. If not, no harm no fowl, and I know for sure what it's not.

Any people with car knowledge have any input? He wants me to go out to have our vehicle towed to the service station base for them to remove the one last bolt change the starter and then tell us we need a new battery? I just don't understand why we would not need a battery if the thing is dead... He says it recharges while you drive, and yea, I get that, but only to a certain degree. We would have to do ten laps around the stinkin island!

Anyways, any input or thoughts would be appreciated, I'm not looking to be right, just want our car fixed...

 

[PineappleMama]

Sis got stuck, dead battery, Wednesday night...

Bro's tranny, that he just paid to have rebuilt over the summer, crapped out en route to my house Thanks Day...

So far ours are holding... need brakes on the truck and tranny in the car... our mantra is "Hold 'Til February"...

We say it daily.

Of course then there's the suspension on the car... and the a/c & heat on both... and the horn on the truck and...

 

[Dunkopf]

That clicking is caused by the solenoid switch. It doesn't have enough juice going through it to engage the starter. Usually happens with a dead battery. Could also be a lose connection not allowing enough juice through. Good chance its the battery. They don't usually let you return a battery that's been hooked up. I would pull the battery and get a ride to a parts store with it. They can run a load test and see if it has a dead cell. Be sure to pull the ground cable 1st. It's a lot easier to put the bolt back in the starter right now, than to put the starter back in the car once both bolts are out.

 

[redhen]

Maybe check the alternator ??(sp?)

 

[mylittlechickpea]

Well I just got off the phone with my dad. He says battery also. Clicking meaning battery... He says a bad connection somewhere, or a dead cell. The guy from the up the street used his voltometer last night too, it read at 12.6 he said it should be 13, but dad says 12.6... But the hubs decided to disconnect the wire and everything else he saw while unscrewing his bolt, and I because I don't fit under the car as well as does... I have to go out and find some jack stands now.. I asked the neighbors that let me borrow tools last night and they don't really need them because their giant texas man truck is lifted to the heavens, she asked her neighbor that was hanging out and she didn't even look at me before spouting off some snotty response. (This girl doesn't like me because "chickens are diseased"... And I have a chicken) So even though I know she has them, I can't make a grown woman share... And I'll probably have to find a ride to the store to buy new ones... Anyways, I've gotten off track.. Dad did mention the alternator, but I wasn't really paying attention to much after he said it wasn't the starter... He says just try wiggling wires and maybe that'll do it too, lol.

 

[Dunkopf]

Quote:
You might just trying pulling the battery cables off. If it's a GM product it has those connectors that get corroded real easy. Clean them real well with a wire brush and make sure they are tight. Don't overdo it though. They strip fairly easy.

The battery needs a load test to see if it's bad. Voltmeter isn't the same thing.

 

[dawg53]

It could be the alternator not charging the battery. You'll have to charge or replace(borrow) the battery to get your truck running. Once your truck is running, disconnect the negative connection to the battery away from the battery. If the truck dies....your alternator needs to be replaced/rebuilt. If it keeps running, it's the battery. Bad starters drag, wont turn the engine over at all. I forgot to add that if you suspect it's the starter...you can gently tap the starter a few times with a hammer...then try starting it, it should start up. If that's the case, the starter needs to be rebuilt. Otherwise it's most likely the battery. These are a few tips to save time and money for you. Good luck.

 

[Redcatcher]

Quote:
You might just trying pulling the battery cables off. If it's a GM product it has those connectors that get corroded real easy. Clean them real well with a wire brush and make sure they are tight. Don't overdo it though. They strip fairly easy.

The battery needs a load test to see if it's bad. Voltmeter isn't the same thing.

The above, and the cable to the starter itself sometimes corrode. I found one or the other to be the case at least half of the time.

 

[Redcatcher]

Quote:
This trick only works on older vehicles. The engine will die on a newer vehicle and you can risk frying the ECU as well.

 

[silkiechicken]

Lead acid battery should be 12.6 when sitting still. Alternator should keep it up at about 14.6. When my battery died, the car went click click. When my alternator died, car's battery got drained down to 11.2 but car did start. You can run a few dozen miles on a battery alone depending on the car.