Starter clicking

[larrie]

Went to start the van today and all I got was clicking from the starter. Thinking it was a low battery I tried to jump start it with my Jeep. Still got clicking even with the Jeep on high idle. Am planning to check for corrosion on the starter wires. If it still clicks then it is a new starter. I have a three day window between rain storms to get this done.

[1der]

Also, check the connections at the starter solenoid and the solenoid itself.

re Battery- a really dead battery will not even allow a start with a jump. Check for battery voltage. If it is in the 10's, it will need quite a bit of time of charging to regain enough capacity to spin the starter. Toss a strong charger on it overnight or for at least a few hours. Then see if it spins the starter.

Once you get it started, check the charging voltage coming from the alternator. Should be in the mid to high 13's to low 14's.

Few things to confirm/eliminate before getting to pulling the starter.

[marret]

Ray covered it well in addition to what you said Larrie.

Many auto parts places will load test the battery as well. A battery resting voltage could be ok, but fail under load.

[N147JK]

If a jump doesn't change things, could very well be a wiring issue. I was almost stranded one time - same conditions. Out of pure luck, found the wire connection to the battery post connector was loose.. that is INSIDE the connector. Lesson learned was you have to check the wiring points you can't even see and would never suspect!

[gahamby]

I have found that a bad ground strap between the engine block and the frame can be the cause of these kind of troubles.

[marret]

Yep on ground. I just had the same issue with my Onan generator.

[kbeefy]

I think your on the right track, Ray covered pretty much exactly what I would do for a click no-start. As he mentioned, a very low battery often will not respond to just the current available through jumper cables.


Charge overnight and retest.

[N147JK]

Originally Posted by kbeefy

As he mentioned, a very low battery often will not respond to just the current available through jumper cables.

For a long time I thought that was the case as well - that a battery that is compromised internally would interrupt even a jump start. But I don't think that's correct. The jump is typically connected directly to the cables through the clamps. You could disconnect the vehicle battery completely and just use jumpers and the system would work normally (until you disconnected the jumpers, obviously).

[Twoxentrix]

Originally Posted by N147JK

For a long time I thought that was the case as well - that a battery that is compromised internally would interrupt even a jump start. But I don't think that's correct. The jump is typically connected directly to the cables through the clamps. You could disconnect the vehicle battery completely and just use jumpers and the system would work normally (until you disconnected the jumpers, obviously).

I’d have to agree (based on my experience) - I’ve jump started vehicles using cables (with completely dead batteries) numerous times in the past…just left the cables attached for about a minute prior to turning over the engine. Success each time. Not sure if it would make a difference , but I’ve always carried heavy duty cables.

[kbeefy]

Originally Posted by N147JK

For a long time I thought that was the case as well - that a battery that is compromised internally would interrupt even a jump start.

I'm not suggesting it will 'interrupt' a jump start. If the starter load is low enough that the jumper cables can carry the current, no problem.


Usually (if it hasn't been sitting months/years) the starting battery still has something left in it, and jumping it gets it over the 'hump' to actually crank the engine fast enough to start.


Sometimes, if the battery is dead enough or the load is high enough (diesel engine) the 50A the starting battery can contribute in it's depleted state plus the 50-100 amps jumper cables can contribute just isn't enough to get things moving.


Maybe I encounter this more often than normal because I have so many large vehicles, or because I retrieve alot of dead vehicles. Maybe all 4 of my jumper cables just suck. My experience after owning/fixing/flipping over 100 vehicles is that a fresh battery is always better than jumper cables.


Think of the contact area on jumpers compared to suggested wire gauge... it's inadequate.