Battery and starter question

[jollyjerry]

I replaced my battery and starter two months ago. When I went to go start it the other day, I heard a click, but the start motor didn't spin. I put the battery on the trickle charger and got it up to 12.6V, but two days without any driving it was down to 12.3V. When I have the key to on, the battery reads 12.0V.

I have a few questions:

Is it normal for a battery to discharge this quickly?

Did I burn out my starter motor by pushing through too much current with a low voltage battery?

Can I test my starter motor without pulling it out?

 

[SAATR]

That's not normal, no. Voltage is rather low, but should still be enough depending on what it reads under a load. Check your connections and see if you have voltage at the power wire post on the starter. If it's the same as what you read at the battery and the connections are tight, try to jump it off of another vehicle. If it starts fine with a jump, then the starter should be OK and you probably just have a crapped out battery, despite its age. If it will not start with a jump, you likely have a starter or cabling issue. If it fails to start with the jumper cables on, check voltage at the starter while trying to crank it. If it drops very low ( less than 10V) while trying to start, and you have good power at the battery, then you either have a faulty wire or an issue within the starter.

On the other side, if you try to start it and the voltage doesn't drop, you may have a faulty solenoid.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[jollyjerry]

Thanks for the reply. The battery is still under warranty, but unfortunately the starter isn't. I'll grab a remote starter switch and run through your tests.

 

[jollyjerry]

Quick update. Took the battery out and charged it. The multimeter read a healthy 12.9V. When I put the battery in and tested it against the posts, it was down to 12.35. I wire brushed the posts, but the positive terminal still doesn't look great and feels greasy. Truck started right up though and I tested various grounds and the alternator and they seem ok. Going to take the positive post out and clean it more thoroughly.