1988 Suburban Intermittent Starting

[zachl]

I recently purchased a 1988 V20 Manual suburban. It is an awesome rig and just reached 100k on a recent 3,000 mile fishing trip. It drove without a problem. Recently it has had power failure at random times and will make a clicking sound when attempting to start (like it isn't throwing enough volts to crank). I removed the starter and had it tested and it is fine. I put the starter back on and it fired right up. Now it is giving me the click again. It has 2 batteries and I am not sure what purpose the 2nd serves. The bolt to the + terminal on the primary battery does not tighten completely and I think it may be the source of my troubles. The battery is new and the cables seem fine. Any ideas?

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by zachl

I recently purchased a 1988 V20 Manual suburban. It is an awesome rig and just reached 100k on a recent 3,000 mile fishing trip. It drove without a problem. Recently it has had power failure at random times and will make a clicking sound when attempting to start (like it isn't throwing enough volts to crank). I removed the starter and had it tested and it is fine. I put the starter back on and it fired right up. Now it is giving me the click again. It has 2 batteries and I am not sure what purpose the 2nd serves. The bolt to the + terminal on the primary battery does not tighten completely and I think it may be the source of my troubles. The battery is new and the cables seem fine. Any ideas?

load test both batteries at the battery supplier.
operate with one battery . all battery connections must be clean and secure.

disable the ignition , then using a meter have the engine cranking and look for voltage drops starting at the battery leads...

remember positive and negative/ground wires must both be good ............

[zachl]

Thanks for the help! Another thing worth mentioning is that I do have power but cannot get power to the radio or dome light even though I replaced the fuse. The vehicle will start fine if I hook it up to jumper cables but I cannot get the radio and dome light going. I want to think it is the battery but I m a bit confused about the other electrical issue. I will run the tests you recommended tomorrow for a good start to solving the problem.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by zachl

Thanks for the help! Another thing worth mentioning is that I do have power but cannot get power to the radio or dome light even though I replaced the fuse. The vehicle will start fine if I hook it up to jumper cables but I cannot get the radio and dome light going. I want to think it is the battery but I m a bit confused about the other electrical issue. I will run the tests you recommended tomorrow for a good start to solving the problem.

these vehicles have fuseable links in the wire harness and at the starter lugs. these look like round pens about 1.25 inches long. internally they have a wire that melts above the current capacity of the wire. when at this age they get corroded and look green ..using a meter and a needle to pierce the wire insulation you can check these for failure/open/high resistance..