PapaGoose
Junior Member
So I've finally got the truck running. Did a full rebuild on the engine.
Went with a slightly aggressive Camshaft, new heads all the way around, new rocker shafts/arms, hellcat lifters, 180° thermostat, 3.7l electric radiator fan, mechanical fan delete, replaced all bearings, rings, head bolts, cam bolt, hell cat oil pump, etc etc..
Had a little trouble starting the truck the first few times as the battery had been placed on the concrete shop floor for about a month (yes yes...I know I'm an idiot and didn't pay attention lol)
So, jumped it off, truck started pretty much immediately the first three times on the same day.
Over the course of the next week as I am getting the break in miles, I've been having trouble with the truck not starting/battery not charging and starter acting like the solenoid is stuck, single click then nothing.
So, I do some alternator testing, it is showing my battery is good and is staying above 9v when/if it cranks, it will hold a charge at 12.5v over night so I don't have a drain.
But, the alternator is not charging the battery, voltage stays pretty much the same even when truck is running, around .1-.2v difference.
Took the positive lead off the battery while the truck was running and it died immediately (which I have now learned can damage modules) but shows that the alternator is not charging, so I bought and replaced the alternator.
Still having the starter issue where it clicks once and then nothing, I swapped the starter relay with a different one and it started right up, I took the 2 prong plug off of the alternator (pcm/voltage regulator leads) and the truck started idling a little better and there was a whine inside the alternator that went away? As well as the same issue of the battery is not charging with the alternator...
Now after switching the same relays back and forth the starter is still single clicking and not cranking/starting at all.
Lights on dash stay on, so I know it isn't the battery, plus I've tried jumping it, kept a meter on the battery to test voltage drop....nothing indicates battery at all.
During one of the single "clicks" I saw sparks shoot out from roughly where the starter is, I was on top of the engine bay testing the battery voltage at that time. Got under the vehicle and traced every wire I could down there, no burning smell, no burr where metal had fused to the wire at a short, no burned casing or melted plastic, the battery lead and ignition lead on the starter are nowhere near other metal and again. No burned areas or loose anything.
There is a single "metal" plate at the back of the AC compressor that is not bolted down as when I got the truck the rear bolt was missing from the compressor and the hole appeared to be rusted as well as the threads on the block, the plate itself does not look like a ground strap either, it looks more like a mounting tab to keep the harness from moving.
From you guys that know a lot more than me and have had a lot more experience than me.
Is that metal tab at the back of the AC compressor a ground?
Could the sparks thrown from the starter area potentially messed up the PCM? Or the pulling the positive lead off the battery?
I don't want to keep throwing parts here and a PCM is 300$+ and still could leave me with a potentially bad starter or bad ignition switch (I am about to go test starter by jumping the ignition wire to 12v battery see if the starter engages)
If the starter is bad could it prevent the battery from charging or am I SOL and have to spend 200$ on a starter as well as replace the pcm?
Went with a slightly aggressive Camshaft, new heads all the way around, new rocker shafts/arms, hellcat lifters, 180° thermostat, 3.7l electric radiator fan, mechanical fan delete, replaced all bearings, rings, head bolts, cam bolt, hell cat oil pump, etc etc..
Had a little trouble starting the truck the first few times as the battery had been placed on the concrete shop floor for about a month (yes yes...I know I'm an idiot and didn't pay attention lol)
So, jumped it off, truck started pretty much immediately the first three times on the same day.
Over the course of the next week as I am getting the break in miles, I've been having trouble with the truck not starting/battery not charging and starter acting like the solenoid is stuck, single click then nothing.
So, I do some alternator testing, it is showing my battery is good and is staying above 9v when/if it cranks, it will hold a charge at 12.5v over night so I don't have a drain.
But, the alternator is not charging the battery, voltage stays pretty much the same even when truck is running, around .1-.2v difference.
Took the positive lead off the battery while the truck was running and it died immediately (which I have now learned can damage modules) but shows that the alternator is not charging, so I bought and replaced the alternator.
Still having the starter issue where it clicks once and then nothing, I swapped the starter relay with a different one and it started right up, I took the 2 prong plug off of the alternator (pcm/voltage regulator leads) and the truck started idling a little better and there was a whine inside the alternator that went away? As well as the same issue of the battery is not charging with the alternator...
Now after switching the same relays back and forth the starter is still single clicking and not cranking/starting at all.
Lights on dash stay on, so I know it isn't the battery, plus I've tried jumping it, kept a meter on the battery to test voltage drop....nothing indicates battery at all.
During one of the single "clicks" I saw sparks shoot out from roughly where the starter is, I was on top of the engine bay testing the battery voltage at that time. Got under the vehicle and traced every wire I could down there, no burning smell, no burr where metal had fused to the wire at a short, no burned casing or melted plastic, the battery lead and ignition lead on the starter are nowhere near other metal and again. No burned areas or loose anything.
There is a single "metal" plate at the back of the AC compressor that is not bolted down as when I got the truck the rear bolt was missing from the compressor and the hole appeared to be rusted as well as the threads on the block, the plate itself does not look like a ground strap either, it looks more like a mounting tab to keep the harness from moving.
From you guys that know a lot more than me and have had a lot more experience than me.
Is that metal tab at the back of the AC compressor a ground?
Could the sparks thrown from the starter area potentially messed up the PCM? Or the pulling the positive lead off the battery?
I don't want to keep throwing parts here and a PCM is 300$+ and still could leave me with a potentially bad starter or bad ignition switch (I am about to go test starter by jumping the ignition wire to 12v battery see if the starter engages)
If the starter is bad could it prevent the battery from charging or am I SOL and have to spend 200$ on a starter as well as replace the pcm?