Truck Won't Start!!!

[userpete1037]

I have a 95 Chevy 1500(350, 5.7L) and it won't start. I installed a new starter(2-horsepower) over the weekend and it started fine. By the way, the old starter(solenoid) went bad. Anyway, i'm getting ready to go to work and it wouldn't start today. When I tried to start it, all i hear is a repeated clicking sound. So i quit trying to start it because the last time i did that, the solenoid on my old starter malfunctioned and ran constantly which caused wires to catch on fire. I repaired that though. I checked my battery with a voltmeter and it read 12.65V which is good. Checked all my fuses and none were blown. However, as i was driving home last night, I noticed the battery guage was almost or right at 9V which isn't good. I didn't think about that until just now. Could the alternator be bad?

[777stickman]

Loose or corroded batt conections? Bad batt cables? Alt should put out about 14v at battery when running.

[userpete1037]

I feel like a freakin!!!! idiot!!!!! Thanks for your response 777stickman, it fixed the problem. I guess i've always looked at corrosion as white powdery build-up but boy i was wrong. The cables are actually new except for the power cable. i decided to check it because of your response before i assumed it was my alternator. I noticed the head on the power cable was dark, almost black. So i scraped it to get it back to the silvery look. Hooked it back up and it started. Even took care of the battery guage meter reading. I measured the volts and it was at 14.31V. I would say that's damn good. Thanks a lot bro and next time this happens, i will make sure i start with the cables.

[777stickman]

Good job and thanks for posting back............Steve

[userpete1037]

Well I'm back and confused. This past Saturday, My truck was driving just fine. Saturday night left home and noticed the battery indicator dropped down to 9volt area. I had the headlights and A/C on. i turned around and went back home to see what would happen if i cut the truck off. It wouldn't start back. I then made sure cables were clean and tight and snug. It wouldn't start. I then disconnected power wire from the fuse box underneath the hood to make sure it wasn't correded. Hooked it back up and it started. Truck started until today when i got off work, truck wouldn't start. When i turned the ignition, all i heard was a click..click..click sound. Waited for a while and tried it again and got the same results. I pushed truck home via another truck since job isn't far away. Thinking it was my alternator, i took it off and had it bench tested. it passed all three tests(rectifier, regulator and something else). so now i'm really confused. could it be the switch? Switch module? I'm really at a loss for words right now. The starter is new and I don't have any idea where to start. I noticed when it was running fine, the battery meter would move towards 9volt whenever i cut the headlights on, A/C or both. As a matter fact, it would move more towards the 9volt area when both are on.

PS
Battery is new as well and i measured the voltage to be 12.65 with engine off.

[dewaynep]

Two things to check if you can get it running. First, the serpentine belt. Make sure it is in good condition with no glazing. With the A/C and headlights on, it puts a big stress on that belt and if it is glazed or stretched, it will slip. The second is the connection between the alternator and the battery. Trace the wire and take a voltage reading at several points along the wire. My bet is on a faulty connection from the alternator, especially if the alt. checked good out of the vehicle. A simple test is to start the vehicle, put the a/c on so the battery voltage drops to 9v or so, then run a jumper from the terminal on the alternator to the positive battery terminal. If the problem is in the wiring your voltage will go back to normal with the jumper installed.

[777stickman]

Sometimes that corrosion you found and cleaned up can get inside the cables were you can't see it. They may look good and clean but they're not. Have someone help you and try this. With the key in the "start" position wiggle the cables (power and ground). See if it tries to turn over and keep clear of the moving parts in case it does.

[userpete1037]

Thanks for the quick responses. I was about to look at the wire at the alternator and the serpentine belt but something told me to check the cable again. As i stated in a previous blog, i cleaned the cables once and that did the trick. Well i took a razor blade and pilled back the the red cover on the power cable and it was corroded bad. I clean it about as good as i can and tried to start truck. With the first turn of the ignition, i heard the same click...click..sound. With the second turn, i heard the sound and it tried to start. With the third turn, it started. So i guess i'm thinking that i need to replace the power cable.

[777stickman]

The really safe thing would be to replace the Pos and Neg cables both at the same time. Then if it happens again you'll know were to not look.....Steve

[userpete1037]

thanks again for the response. Fortunately, I had already replaced the neg and the pos cable that runs to the alternator/starter so hopefully this will do the trick. If not, I'll repost.

[userpete1037]

Well i replaced the cable and it's starting. I have another problem that has come up. In the process of starting the truck, i hear a clicking or rattling sound and then it catches on fine. Does anyone know what that could be?

[777stickman]

Hard to say without knowing the source or location of the noise.

[userpete1037]

Yeah i have know idea what that noise is. I took the serpentine belt off to see what would happen. It still made that noise. I took the starter off the to check it and everything looks fine. Fired the engine up and did it again. The sound seems to be louder when it sits over night be once you start it several time, it dissipates some but is still there. I'm not sure if it has something to do with timing or what. My spark plugs ,cap, rotor button and wires are fairly new because i changed all that stuff out when i bought the truck 2-years ago.The weird thing is that it makes the sound when the engine fires up but goes away when it catches on so go figure.

[777stickman]

If it's a high mileage motor it could be the internals ratteling around until the oil pressure builds up. Just a guess. If you have an oil pressure guage watch it and see if the noise goes away when the pressure comes up at start-up.

[userpete1037]

It seems like it's coming from the distributor cap or in that area. I'm not sure if something inside there got messed up when i was turning the ignition trying to get my truck started. I haven't checked it yet but could that be possible?