Truck wont start after new starter

[boolinhemi]

so once again something's going wrong with my truck. Came out the other morning to leave and the truck would not start. I figured it was a bad starter because when I had someone feel it when I tried to crank it all it did was click. everytime you leave try to start the truck you just hear a clicking noise.I got a new starter and installed it and the truck still won't start. I don't see how it could be the alternator because normally a bad alternator will make the truck stop running if you remove the battery cable, and that didn't happen because I tried that after I accidentally locked myself out of the truck while it was running. I unplug the battery because the hood was open already and it didn't make the truck stop running. luckily I had an extra key fob inside and I got into the truck. does anyone have any idea what could be wrong? I'm sick of having problems with this truck when I got a brand new motor less than two weeks ago. The battery is working and is new, everything electrical in the truck works.

 

[05singlecabHEMI]

so once again something's going wrong with my truck. Came out the other morning to leave and the truck would not start. I figured it was a bad starter because when I had someone feel it when I tried to crank it all it did was click. everytime you leave try to start the truck you just hear a clicking noise.I got a new starter and installed it and the truck still won't start. I don't see how it could be the alternator because normally a bad alternator will make the truck stop running if you remove the battery cable, and that didn't happen because I tried that after I accidentally locked myself out of the truck while it was running. I unplug the battery because the hood was open already and it didn't make the truck stop running. luckily I had an extra key fob inside and I got into the truck. does anyone have any idea what could be wrong? I'm sick of having problems with this truck when I got a brand new motor less than two weeks ago.

have you checked the battery? maybe a bad cell
is it turning over? or is it just one loud click?

 

[boolinhemi]

have you checked the battery? maybe a bad cell
is it turning over? or is it just one loud click?

the battery is brand new and I disconnected and reconnected it several times and nothing. Everything inside the truck works, the a/c comes on, the radio comes on everything electrical is working fine. It won't turn over. It just makes a clicking noise and before I put the new starter on, that click was coming from the old starter. The new one doesn't make much noise.

 

[05singlecabHEMI]

the battery is brand new and I disconnected and reconnected it several times and nothing. Everything inside the truck works, the a/c comes on, the radio comes on everything electrical is working fine. It won't turn over. It just makes a clicking noise and before I put the new starter on, that click was coming from the old starter. The new one doesn't make much noise.

did you check all connections? maybe a bad ground. check relay.
Turn your headlights on then try to start it and see if the headlights dim.

My truck kind of did the same thing. though it was very obvious. every time i turned the key my entire truck went dead. I had a bad battery connection.

 

[Masimus]

Yep, I had a similar situation and it was a bad ground cable coming from the battery to my block. I replaced all the ground cables and connections and everything worked perfectly and hasn't given me a problem since.

My truck would randomly die. It would restart first try sometimes, other times it would click once or twice and then nothing.

 

[brandonjansen]

If the starter is clicking it's definitely a power problem. I'd start by rechecking your battery. Have load test done on it to make sure it is still working properly. It's not likely that it's the culprit seeing as it's new... but you never know. From there check the main power wire running from the battery to the starter, it could be shot which would mean the starter isn't getting enough power to turn over.

 

[boolinhemi]

I'm trying to check all the connections but I don't see anything wrong. Where is the starter relay located?

how can I test my alternator to see if its good with the truck not starting? Every last thing that I look at saying how to diagnose a bad alternator step 1 or 2 is turn the car on. Nobody seems to have any information on how to diagnose a bad alternator when the car is actually not starting

 

[05singlecabHEMI]

starter relay will be located in the engine bay fuse box. if you look in the manual that came with the truck it will tell you exactly which relay it is.

you could check the voltage of the battery. if its low then either the alternator could be bad or something else is pulling power.
but you can pull the alternator off and take it to pretty much any auto store and they will usually check it for free and i would take the battery at the same time to get that tested aswell

 

[boolinhemi]

Oh you mean the ********* square fuse? I checked all the fuses that were translucent. But you can't see if the ********* ones are blown or not. How can I check this? Or could the parts store check it for me? I really don't wanna tow this thing back into the shop over a fuse or bad ground wire.. but I don't see how it'd be a ground or something because they just put in a new motor, I mean wouldn't they clean up the connections before they laid it in?

Anyone have some tips for getting an alternator out of a truck with a 20s 35s and a 3 inch body lift? It looks like I'd have to remove the radiator and ac

 

[boolinhemi]

I changed all the fuses associated with the engine, transmission, ignition, starter solenoid, and starter relay, and nothing new. Truck still won't start. How could this be a bad connection or ground when they just put a new motor in? It seems it would be pretty standard procedure to clean off all connections and grounds and remove any dirt or grime when you're putting a new motor in.

 

[brandonjansen]

It's not the alternator. It has nothing to do with starting the truck, only keeps it running and charges the battery once it's already running. That's why it can't be tested unless the truck is running.

If a new motor was just put in I almost guarantee it's either a power connection or ground that was missed or not fully tightened. It sounds to me like the mechanic stuff is a little over your head so I'd recommend taking it back to the shop that put the engine in and tell them to check over their work since they missed something.

 

[justin13703]

There is a very simple way to narrow this down. Have a friend with a good battery come over. Remove the battery from their vehicle, install it in your truck. If it starts, then your battery was low and is either bad or dead. If it doesn't, then there is a starter or wiring issue with your truck. You have to determine this first to start to narrow this down otherwise everyone is just guessing. The alternator has nothing to do with starting the engine so before we start questioning the alternator we need to be 100% on the battery.

You can't just assume that just because it got a new motor that everything is fine. That actually makes a wiring or connection issue a bigger probability.

And the ********* square fuses are relays not fuses.

 

[sbarron]

" they just put a new motor in?"

I think this is KEY!!! always go back to the last thing you did. Likely the original problem was something was not put back correctly or properly tightened. Someone missed something.

Start by testing the battery as mentioned above. Try a different one.
bench test the starter. Is the Bendix engaging and more importantly, disengaging correctly? It's possible that when you changed the starter, something didn't quite line up correctly and now the Bendix is jammed. If you had then fixed the original problem, you still wouldn't know.

The only way to trace these things down is by SYSTEMATICALLY checking and eliminating problems. You'll only fix it by luck going about it haphazardly.

 

[Masimus]

Just because it should be the way it's done doesn't mean it is. Like it was said above, there's a good chance a ground wire wasn't tightened all the way, or a new connector wasn't used, etc.

Unless you physically do the work yourself, NEVER assume something was done.

 

[boolinhemi]

No the mechanical stuff isn't over my head I'm actually very mechanically sound just don't have time to install a motor. I will check the starter wiring but I'll probably end up taking it back in, they should fix it

 

[boolinhemi]

Tried to jump the truck off with another running car, and it didn't start so this rules out the battery being bad right?