paul_the_welder

Just makes a clicking noise. Battery is good. Solaniod? starter? checked the cables and the ground leads, everything seems tight.

rbrettctd

Thats what happened when my starter went out, simple rebuild. Id check the solenoid first though.

leper

Jump the soleniod with a screwdriver and see if it turns over.

Remember that just because a battery cable is tight, that doesen't mean it has a good connection. Check for voltage at both ends of the cables.

John Faughn

What testing have you done to tell you that the battery is good ?
A load tester on a fully charged battery is the best , but thats a shop tool .
But the clicking says that its low voltage to starter for what ever reason , or the starter solenoid , try a jump start , the larger contacts on the inside of the solenoid is always a good thing , this site has the parts & starting problems ,


http://www.fostertruck.com/dodge/default.htm

paul_the_welder

well you right , I dont know for sure the battery is good. I put a battery charger on it all night and tried to jump it and it does the same thing. the headlights are bright. Thanks for the tips yall, Ill try checking the cables at both ends and jumping the solenoid.

rbrettctd

It takes a lot of juice to start these trucks. When my old battery went out, everything worked perfect, radio headlights, etc. Just wouldnt start.

John Faughn

Thats the difference between about 10-15 amps & about 800 amps .
That assuming that the charger works , many leave the charger on when starting , that burns out the rectifier in the charger .
When ever I take out any of my diagnostic tools , I check to see that they work before testing , and then testing is the only way to know what is wrong , jumping the solenoid is a kinda test for the battery , starter , ing. sw. , wiring ect , but if it works then many of those parts are still in question [ it starts you know the batteries , cables & starter motor work , but what about the solenoid , ing. sw. & wiring to those ? ] and the same if it does not work
, try the Larry Bs site , lots of help & parts , if that does not get you going , then you'll need to go to a shop or get access to a load tester , at around 800 amp draw from the starter its hard to test with out .
Testing saves money , guessing costs money .

wannadiesel

Sounds like the starter contacts to me.

Check the voltage drop through the cables before spending money.

rbrettctd

Since were talking starters, Ive got an odd story. I rebuilt my starter with new brushes and bearings. Ordered the contact and plunger kit but didnt have time to wait. They werent bad so it was just a precaution. So I ran maybe 5k on the starter like that. Then with the tranny swap I put the contacts and plunger in. Well with all the new copper plus the strength of the new starter solenoid I needed, the starter was running so much power through it, that the contacts were fusing to the plunger and causing the starter to stay engaged while running, and even for 10-20 seconds after killing the ignition. Just thought Id share so someone wouldnt be freaking out too bad if they replace all their copper and experience this.

paul_the_welder

twas the battery, orielly's was the only one that had a 1000 cold cranking amp battery. I wonder why they dident use two smaller batteries in my truck.