i just recently replaced the battery, alternator, and starter. sometimes when i try to start it, especially when its just been driven, it wont click or anything. on maybe the 20th try it will start like normal. to me this seems like the starter solenoid but i just replaced the starter. can anyone offer me some troubleshooting tips to narrow down what the problem is. the battery cables have new terminal end connections with no wing nuts.

 

clean and check the connections at the starter solenoid

 

check your relay

 

this should be the same

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b.../starting.html

 

somethins not gettin power. check electircl connections

 

well it's still doing it. i checked those things and they are all good although the relay diagram is not the same on this truck as it is on the FI trucks. im going to swap the relays tomorrow and see if it fixes it.

has any of you guys ever got a bad solenoid on my their remanned starter from autozone before?

also my parking brake light and charging light has been on since about 3 months before this problem started and i dont know what tripped them both to come on and stay on like that. could that have something to do with this?

 

ok there are two relays on my truck and neither of them is a starter relay. what is the thing on the passenger side inner fender that connects to the fusebox? it clicks, could it be the culprit? also, i have a manual transmission so where can i find the neutral safety switch to see if its bad? thanks

 

What model is your truck. Mine is a 94 and it has a clutch override button on it. There are 2 wires that run to your starter. Spray contact cleaner on the connection in the plug. Could have grease or mud in it. If no help, trace the wire down and make sure that it isn't pinched or bare somewhere. You can bypass the relay all together to do a check. Tell me the year, and engine and I can get more into detail. I may be able to help. I am currently an electrical engineer student. With the battery light coming on, my truck also did this and I had the alternator checked. It checked out fine at the auto store, but it was still bad. I ran a voltmeter across the battery and it showed 14.3 volts most of the time, until the battery light came on then it jumped to 17 volts. Replaced alternator and all is well. Sometimes these auto store checks aren't the best, but they do help when the alternator will not charge at all.

 

Charge+Brake= Charging probelm. Get it checked.

Remanufactured starters/alternators/etc. Are a real gamble, IMO. Could very well be your problem.

 

I have an 87 with a carb. The battery reads 12.89v when off and 14.76v when running(lights on).

"Charge+Brake= Charging probelm" yea, i read that somewhere too. the charge and brake lights came on soon after i installed a remmanned starter and alternator. i went back to auto zone and they checked the alt. on their machine and it tested good. Can i take my alt. back and demand another one even when it tested good? I'm not sure how i could convince them to trade it unless i got someone inexperienced behind the counter. on the other hand, i really cant understand how my alt. could be causing this problem.

 

The alternator could be a seperate problem. Your voltage test looks good, but test it when the charge+brake light is on and the engine is running to see if you get 14 or 12. It's possible the alternator is intermittently producing charge which would explain why autozone's test was good. Also you said you have new battery terminals and connections, but is the starter cable coroded? Look a couple inches down the wire. There may be build up in there.

 

it read 14.76v when running and the charge+brake lights on. i mean they're always on, though sometimes they will change from bright to dim and back again. is 14.76v a good reading?

the starter cable and everything else is like new. my problem must be the starter solenoid like i originally thought. i will just pull it and try to exchange it for another one and hopefully that one wont be faulty too.

the alternator though, im not sure on. is it definite that the charge+brake lights always being on means the alternator needs to be changed? thanks for everyones suggestions.

 

I had the same prob. with starting. It was because of weak voltage in the ign. wire to the solenoid. I ended up wiring the ign. wire to a relay which in turn sent full power to the solenoid from the batt. Works for me. Good luck.

 

If you're receiving 14.76v while testing the battery terminals, then the alternator is producing a normal charge. Odd that the charge light would remain lit. Your starting problem is probably the solenoid if you have a charged battery and good wiring/terminals that are not coroded. You could check your ignition contacts which is less common to fail.

 

where are the ignition contacts and is there a way i could test them?

 

I have the same problem. You say that you turn key and it clicks, and you keep trying, and it eventually starts? Obviously its not the battery or charging system, as battery cant just get power all of a sudden. My opinion is that you have some wires crossed, not grounded, wrong place, or loose. Mine did this for a while, same exact thing. I checked everything that you said. it all looked good. Turned out to be positive wire from battery, to starter. It looked tight, but wasnt getting a good contact. I suggest taking it off, and cleaning all your connections, to be 100% sure. My charge light has been on for god knows how long. I just gave up. My volts show good, and it starts and drives fine so if it ever blows up, ill have mysef to blame

 

The ignition switch is in your steering column where you put the key in. Try to turn the key and jiggle it with some pressure first. Once you get access to the switch, bypass it by jumping it. Don't buy a new switch unless you think that is the problem cause it's probably not a returnable item. I think they're about 40 bucks or so (not sure). I don't think it's the problem, but it's something to check. Double check your other connections under the hood to make sure they all have a good contact.

You could also use a remote starting switch that connects to the solenoid directly from the battery and see if you get better starting results. You can use a volt meter to test the voltage on the solenoid while someone tries to cranking with the key and then test while using the remote switch. If your readings are off more than a volt or so, then there is probably an issue with your starter switch.