Truck does not start.

[Sierra98]

My 98 Silverado equipped with the 5.7 is not starting I'm lost as to how to troubleshoot this issue. The starter was replaced about 4 months ago because of the same problem. I installed a friends battery and the truck started right up leading me to believe that my battery was bad but the voltage on it checked out fine. I replaced the alternator because when I removed the positive cable from my friends battery the motor would shut off. So have any of you guys dealt with these kind of symptoms? I also checked the cable behind the alternator that checked out fine as well.

 

[east302]

Is it cranking and not starting or just *nothing* when you turn the key?


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[Dinkster]

First off, never remove the battery cable while the truck is running. If your alternator isn't bad, then there's a good chance of ruining it by doing that. With that out of the way, the first thing you need to know is the batteries state of charge. Put a voltmeter across the terminals and check the voltage. You should have around 12.6 ( or at least above 12v). If you have good voltage there then you need to determine if it's a starter issue or a wiring issue. Does the starter click or crank real slow?

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[Sierra98]

Is it cranking and not starting or just *nothing* when you turn the key?


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nothing when you turn the key. It would not start with the other battery if it was the starter correct?

 

[Sierra98]

First off, never remove the battery cable while the truck is running. If your alternator isn't bad, then there's a good chance of ruining it by doing that. With that out of the way, the first thing you need to know is the batteries state of charge. Put a voltmeter across the terminals and check the voltage. You should have around 12.6 ( or at least above 12v). If you have good voltage there then you need to determine if it's a starter issue or a wiring issue. Does the starter click or crank real slow?

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its just doing one click and nothing else.

 

[Dinkster]

Could be a bad ignition switch, bad neutral safety switch, extremely dead battery, bad battery cable connection, bad starter. With the lights on, turn the key, do the lights dim?

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[Dinkster]

Can you tell if the click is coming from the starter area?

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[Sierra98]

Could be a bad ignition switch, bad neutral safety switch, extremely dead battery, bad battery cable connection, bad starter. With the lights on, turn the key, do the lights dim?

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yes the lights dim when I turn the key

 

[magimerlin]

You need to load test the battery.. just cause it has voltage does not mean it has the cranking amps to start it.

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[Dinkster]

Then I would check battery, cables then starter. In that order. Do you have a voltmeter? If your battery is good then you need to do a voltage drop test on the battery cables. This test will tell you the resistance of the cable and connections. So you will put one terminal of the voltmeter on the positive post of the battery and the other on the starter terminal. Set the voltmeter to DC 20v (or any low voltage around that). "crank" the engine and look at the reading. It ideally shouldn't be more than .2 volts but even 1 volt would/should still allow it to crank. Do the same for the negative side, (post to engine block). If there too much resistance, then start by replacing that cable. Of course, this might all not be necessary if you have excessive corrosion on the cable ends (especially if you have the cheap clamp on cable ends). Clean it replace those If everything checks out good, then it's most likely the starter.

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