Not starting

My truck didn't start this morning. There were weak lights on the interior, but when I clicked the key over, I got nothing. No sounds, no extra lights, nothing. When I clicked the key to off, there was a clicking noise coming from under the pax dash. When I put my foot on the brakes the clicking stopped, so there is obviously some circuit staying open somewhere.

i jumped it and it took right off, but woudn't hold an idle until I held it steady under gas for about 30 second, then it idled just fine.

I backed it out of the garage at 9:40 and then let it run in the driveway for a full hour, ample time to recharge a battery. I pulled it in the garage at 10:40, shut it off, heard the clicking, and it wouldn't start. No sound, no lights, nothing.

I did change the terminal end on the negative battery cable not long ago because the OEM one had cracked. Thought maybe I just wasn't getting good contact, but there seems to be more. Then I thought maybe there was something draining the battery while it was turned off, but now....

Does this sound like a crapped out starter to y'all?

Jump start it, if the starter works, it works.

Clicking and not starting is usually a low voltage issue from:
• leaving the lights on
• a failing battery
• a failing alternator
• dirty or loose wire connections
• internally corroded wires

Perform routine maintenance of the start and charge systems. Remove, clean, and firmly reconnect all the wires and cables to the battery, starter, and alternator. Look for corroded or damaged cables or connectors and replace as needed. Do the same for the grounding wires from the starter to engine block, and from the battery and engine to the Jeep's frame/body. You must remove, scrape, and clean until shiny, the cable/wire ends, and whatever they bolt to. Jeeps do not tolerate low voltage, bad connections, or poor grounds.

Have the battery, starter, and the alternator Load Tested for proper functions.

All of the above.

Definitely "load test" your battery. This very easily could be a bad battery.

Load testing is the only accurate way of testing a battery. Voltage testing by itself is inconclusive. Any parts store will load test your battery for you for free.

birchlakeXJ said:

All of the above.

Definitely "load test" your battery. This very easily could be a bad battery.

Load testing is the only accurate way of testing a battery. Voltage testing by itself is inconclusive. Any parts store will load test your battery for you for free.

Click to expand...

Good thought, but I know it isn't the battery. I have had the battery from the XJ, the ZJ, and the WJ, as well as a spare in it and it acts the same with all 4 batteries. It just does a slow drain if it isn't started for a couple days.

Electrics drive me nuts...

Let me get this straight...

1. if the battery is good (which I know it is) and the jeep starts with a jump, then it indicates the starter is good also.
2. the Jeep could start with a jump and run for an hour with the alternator not charging the battery using only what was left stored in the battery.
3. then if the alternator is bad (and I haven't checked all grounds and such yet) how would the alternator keep the Jeep from doing anything. Doesn't the starter (in essence) turn over the alternator as part of the motor?

It just confuses me how a bad alternator can keep a truck from starting.

Thanks for the suggestions y'all. Keep 'em coming. Now I have work to do on all 3 Jeeps!!!

It takes much less energy to keep the engine running than starting it does. The starter draws 150 or so amps for a short time. If the alternator is bad then it is not charging the battery, which could have enough charge to run the engine but not turn the starter. Most parts stores will check your charging system along with the battery load test.

Cottontail said:

Electrics drive me nuts...

Let me get this straight...

1. if the battery is good (which I know it is) and the jeep starts with a jump, then it indicates the starter is good also.
2. the Jeep could start with a jump and run for an hour with the alternator not charging the battery using only what was left stored in the battery.
3. then if the alternator is bad (and I haven't checked all grounds and such yet) how would the alternator keep the Jeep from doing anything. Doesn't the starter (in essence) turn over the alternator as part of the motor?

It just confuses me how a bad alternator can keep a truck from starting.

Thanks for the suggestions y'all. Keep 'em coming. Now I have work to do on all 3 Jeeps!!!

Click to expand...

A bad alternator won't keep it from starting, but it might keep it from restarting, if you got it going only with a boost, simply because there's not enough charge left.

I don't know whether it's been mentioned yet, but if problems persist you should get an ammeter and test for drain when the key is out. It's possible you have a short in the interior light circuit or elsewhere that is draining your battery slowly.

If the engine starts with a jump it means the starter is probably all right, but it might still be dragging enough to pull too much current, and start only with a boost. You can get an ammeter that clips over the battery cable to test starter draw.

If you haven't already, you should check the starter end of the cables as well as the battery end.

You can easily run for an hour or more on a fully charged battery with no alternator, if you don't run the fan, etc. I think an hour off a fresh boost is unlikely.

If your alternator isn't working, it should show immediately on either the voltmeter or the warning light.

Update: Got a new alternator and put it in. When I reconnected the battery all the lights in the car jumped to attention. I got the fan belt back on and she fired right up.

I shut her off and it was 100% dead again. No clicking, no lights, no noises, nothing.

I jump her this morning, fires right up. Idle for 25 minutes. Shut her off and it was 100% dead again. No clicking, no lights, no noices, nothing (see a pattern here).

I guess next step is to review all the connections and make sure everything is tight and clean. I appreciate the ideas that Matthew Currie posted, but I have no idea how to test amperage, nor do I know what readings to look for. I think I may pull the starter and have it tested next. That is a pretty east disassembly.

**incidently, the alternator that I pulled out of the Jeep, I took to the parts store, and it tested as still good. I'll keep the new one I have in it, and keep the orginial as a spare.

Idling does not spin the alternator fast enough to charge a low battery. Go for a long drive or put the battery on a charger.

Did you Load Test the battery and see if it has failed ?

First, as mentioned, make sure the battery is really charged. Put it on a charger overnight if possible, or drive for a couple of hours without shutting it off.

Still, after 20 minutes I think a good battery should show at least a little life, and if you do decide to drive it for a distance, make sure you have a spare battery and booster cables handy in case you stall or something, because you might end up stone dead anywhere.

I have had batteries that seemed fine, but had an internal fault that would simply drop them dead under cranking load. I had one do this in my Jeep at about two months old. Do not automatically assume that a young healthy battery is good, even it if seems to accept charging. Get it load tested, if you haven't already.

Make sure that the connections are really clean. That means shiny battery posts and cable connectors, rust free connections at the block and the starter, etc. Don't make any assumptions from appearance.

If the vehicle runs poorly after the boost this is normal for Mopar systems, which hate a dead battery. When the battery isn't actually accepting a charge, it also is not filtering the alternator output, and the choppy, harmonic-rich DC the alternator provides makes Mopar computers puke.

To test for key-off drainage, get a DC ammeter that's good for a few amps, it doesn't have to be very much. Most cheap digital multimeters will have an amps function that's sufficient for this. Now remove either cable from the battery, and bridge the broken connection with the ammeter leads. Turn on the ammeter, and look at the reading. Radio memory, clock and keyless entry systems will draw a small current, but they should be in the milliamps range.

Here's a youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFCT-YZbU5o

ok...so it turns out it was my battery...

(hangs head) :sad1:

It Happens, I had similar issues on my truck not long ago, ended up being the positive wire to my starter sylinoid only had about 2-3 strands of wire holding it together. Making me think the alternator or battery was crapping out