Need some help before I dehydrate.

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seethrough

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Went to get in the truck to take it to the chassis shop and all I get is CLICK CLICK CLICK from the starter and no cranking. Trucks been sitting a few weeks so I figure it needs a jump. Tried jumping it, charging battery and even replaced the battery still the same. Took a voltmeter to the battery with jump start charger on it and it drops from 14.5 to under 9 when the starter tries to engage. Checked my battery connections and they are hot to the touch so I know there is massive amounts of current and not just a battery issue. Put a socket on the crank and tried turning the motor over by hand thinking the starter gear was worn and wedged with the flywheel. Can't turn over the engine even with a 3' cheater bar. I didn't give it a lot of pressure but enough that it should have budged a little. Loosened the bolts to the starter and played with it but it is not binding. I started pulling plugs and scoping the cylinders to see if I have any binding but the heatwave we have finally got to me after 3 plugs and I came back to the AC and cold beer to ponder on this. The hot starter wires lead me to believe the starter is working but the seized engine isn't giving under the starter power. I plan on pulling all the plugs and seeing if I can turn the motor over without any compression and make sure that the cylinders are clear. Any other input would be appreciated - Not that I don't like pulling a plug or two and then stopping for a beer but that usually ends up with me frustrated and not thinking clear enough to fix the problem.
 
Did you try just tapping on the starter with a hammer to see if it will turn over that way? I have started several vehicles with bad starters that way just to get them where I needed to go.
 
I did tap the starter but no change. I pulled a few more plugs and scoped them and everything looks good. Pulled the belt off and with 8 of the 10 plugs pulled I was able to manually turn over the engine <huge sigh of relief>. I listened to the starter and it sounds like the armature is working and engaging starter gear to the flywheel but I am now thinking I have a weak starter. Gonna have another cold one and swap the starter to see if this helps. FYI - I guess this is the first time I have manually turned over a 10 but it took considerably more UUMPH than a small block chevy takes.
 
VENOMOUS1 RACING said:
Still sounds like a battery bud. You're overanylyzing I believe. 9 volts is too low!
Click to expand...

I agree with venomous. A bad starter, locked motor wouldnt make the battery drop like that. probably another dead or bad battery. Try a KNOWN good battery or go buy another new one off the shelf.
 
Mine did the same with a six month old battery, apparently it was the wrong battery and didn't have enough ass to crank, sat there by Sebring for hours everyone tried to jump it:eek: Triple A came out laughed and said change battery I did all was fine:rock: These bad boys need some cranking amps.

thewelshm
 
mine did the same thing on and off for a while until one day it was just doing the click click click.take the starter apart and clean all the brass and put it back and it started right up
 
It was the battery. Took out the new interstate battery that sat on a charger half the day and put in one of the 1000CCA units we use in generators. First cranks was extremely sluggish but after that it fired right up. Ran it for a minute and put the Interstate back in and it starts no problem. I think this is my truck's way of telling me to drive it more!
 
Glad we could help bro. Often times a bad cell will happen in a battery and it'll show voltage yet not have correct amperage. They hate hot to cold and cold to hot weather changes. They'll usually go out then. Many times you'll see the bulging on the sides of the battery case as well, indicating a bad cell.
Glad she's purring again.
 
Glad you got it figured out. Even though I hate the thought of adding weight- but I am going to utilize that spare battery tray- and add a second battery. This florida heat tends to ruin batteries within a few years.
 
Thanks guys. New interstate battery is back n the truck and working fine. It is a new battery so not sure why it initially wouldn't turn over the motor but now it works. Truck goes in to get the rear end narrowed so will follow up with this issue when it gets back.
 
For some reason this song came across my mind as I read this thread..

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGyOaCXr8Lw&feature=player_detailpage]The Rolling Stones - Start Me Up - Official Promo - YouTube[/ame]
 
I did, so far no problems, but only had it since April. Wanted AGM but not the huge 65 series, a local autoparts store matched the $151 price on Amazon.
 
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