96 s-10 not starting - clicking noise

Ive had my 96 s10 2.2 LS 5spd for about 4 years now. About a year ago it started to die intermittantly while i was driving, and occassionaly would not start at all. This was fixed by a simple adjustment of the red battery cable- if i pulled it up a little it would start fine and run again for a few weeks. I would have to do this 2-3 times a month.

About 3 weeks it was doing this about every day, increasingly until it just wouldnt start at all. At first when I tried to turn the ignition, the speedometer would jump up wildly and a loud clicking could be heard from the left side of the dash. Now i can just open the door and it will click at me, and when i turn the ignition, nothing happens except for the clicking stops!

When i jump the battery, it will run fine until i turn it off. It doesnt seem to be holding a charge at all. Not even for 1 min. I can charge the battery all the way, and if I turn turn the truck off, there is no chance of it starting back up. It just clicks at me. The clicking is really fast and continues until I try the ignition a few times, which is when it will cease to responsive AT ALL.

Any ideas, suggestions? All are appreciated, Thanks.

bad relay maybe?

You've got a dead battery.

Make sure your battery connections are good when you replace it.

Hope this helps

I guess it could be, but i just replaced the battery about a year ago, and when i took it up to autozone they said it was fine. Im thinking it might be the alternator, but what would make that clicking noise?

well the reason i thought of a relay is cause they stick sometimes. when they stick theyll just keep powering what they power..

Fixed it all, it was just the battery cables. Noticed there were some burn marks on the positive terminal cables rubber shield, took the shield off and retightened the cables and it seems to work fine now.

well thats good to know it wasnt something serious