Not turning over

[msoumas]

Last night, my M1009 decided to quit on me (again), naturally right before leaving for a night on the town. I waited for the glow plugs, turned the key, and all I got was a *click* sound. Now, it used to do the same thing when one of my battery terminals wasn't so good and it came loose, but I could wiggle it around and get it to start when it did that. All my terminals are making good contact, the voltimeter is showing that there is power, it just doesn't want to turn over, or even try.

Any ideas where to start looking?

 

[Warthog]

The first thing to check is the batteries. With winter here, the cold has been killing batteries.

You need to charge them and then do a load test. A bad battery can show full charge, but when you put them under load they fail.

The starter relay, or the starter

 

[msoumas]

The first thing to check is the batteries. With winter here, the cold has been killing batteries.

You need to charge them and then do a load test. A bad battery can show full charge, but when you put them under load they fail.

The starter relay, or the starter

Probably should have mentioned, the batteries are brand new as of two months ago (the big yellow Wal-Mart ones) and the starter is less than a year old.

 

[Warthog]

Still check the batteries. I have seen new off the shelf batteries that are bad.

Have you done the "doghead starter relay" upgrade?

Remove the starter relay from under the dash and check for voltage at the terminals.

Red wire will be 24v at all times.
Purple/white will be 12v with the ignition key at start
Black should be grounded
Purple feeds the 24v to the starter solenoid

 

[Barrman]

Check all your connections on the firewall for the battery cables as well.

Another shade tree trick is this. Turn on your headlights. Try starting the truck. If the lights never dim, power is not getting to the starter. If the lights dim, power is getting to the starter and the problem is at the starter. If the lights dim and don't come back up after you try. Then you have a bad connection. Leave the lights on and watch them as you shake, move all the connections. When they come back up to full, you found the problem.

Repeat until it starts.

 

[msoumas]

Check all your connections on the firewall for the battery cables as well.

Another shade tree trick is this. Turn on your headlights. Try starting the truck. If the lights never dim, power is not getting to the starter. If the lights dim, power is getting to the starter and the problem is at the starter. If the lights dim and don't come back up after you try. Then you have a bad connection. Leave the lights on and watch them as you shake, move all the connections. When they come back up to full, you found the problem.

Repeat until it starts.

The lights dim slightly, guess I'll be pulling the less than a year old starter again. I distinctly remember the starter being a godawful PITA to pull, too.

 

[stampy]

Check your cables before pulling the starter as corrosion is a b!tch. I have solved many problems by cleaning grounds and hot connections and applying a little dielectric grease.

 

[msoumas]

Finally have weather conducive to working on a truck outside, and I've got the starter down. The ground strap doesn't look too good, the end on the starter looks pretty frayed. I tried crossing the solenoid posts with a screwdriver once I got it down (I can't reach the dang things when it's in place) and the starter turned just fine like that. Is it possible that this stupid ground strap is the cause of all my troubles?

 

[319]

Very possible. No ground, no start!

 

[Warthog]

The stock starter case grounds via the two mounting bolts and the support bracket.

The batteries gorund to the engine and the frame.

The only wires to the starter are the positive battery cable and the starter solenoid wire.

What ground strap are you talking about? Did someone add an additional cable? Can you post pic?

 

[msoumas]

The stock starter case grounds via the two mounting bolts and the support bracket.

The batteries gorund to the engine and the frame.

The only wires to the starter are the positive battery cable and the starter solenoid wire.

What ground strap are you talking about? Did someone add an additional cable? Can you post pic?

It's the black cable from the solenoid to the case of the starter. I assaulted it with solder until it wouldn't wiggle anymore and sure enough, truck started up on the first try.

 

[Warthog]

It's the black cable from the solenoid to the case of the starter. I assaulted it with solder until it wouldn't wiggle anymore and sure enough, truck started up on the first try.

That wire is the 24v Positive feed from the starter solenoid to the starter windings.

Bad/no connection, no starter.