Help me start this bitch!!!!

[Big Blzn]

So, my blazer has taken a back seat to a major yard renovation the last 6 months. It has been parked in the garage with a dead battery but every 6 weeks or so I would charge the battery and run it for 5-10 minutes each time.

Today, I got a new battery and now she wont' start. All the crap like the radio and other chit fires up like there is enough power. I can hear the starter solenoid click (or something engage)and then what sounds like a high-pitched wheez or whine. The motor does not turn over and there is no rapid clicking noise that I hear on some car/trucks that have dead batteries. All fuses seem to be good and can't find any loose wires on or near the starter.

However, since the battery is new and is the type that the cables screw on to the side of the battery I had to use a jumper cable between the blazer battery cables and the battery posts on the top of the battery (battery has both types of connections) because my current battery screws need to be replaced. Could the connection I have be good enough to power up the radio etc but not be good enough to power the starter????
thanks

 

[4xcrazy]

Crawl under it and check the starter while someone hits the key....

 

[toomany]

I'd start by getting the battery connected properly. The starter is the biggest draw on the electrical system. Bad connections don't make it any easier for it to work.

 

[4xcrazy]

so you're saying you have side post connections, right? are they tight and clean? if so, they should be fine, if you can move them when they are suppose to be tight, then yeah, maybe an issue, but i have still been able to start mine with somewhat loose cables on the burb, not good for them, but can work.

Make sure the connections are clean, and as tight as you can get them, and yes, you can power up lights, radio and everything else with a shotty connection.

The "whirring" sound you are describing to me sounds like a starter solenoid issue. Without being there though, hard to determine over the internet.

 

[Jessie James]

Sounds like the solenoid is stuck. Whack it with a hammer and try again, or replace it.

 

[Big Blzn]

The starter was newly installed just before the blazer went dormant 6 months ago. I replaced it when I replaced the flexplate at the time. Gonna get the correct bolts for the side "post" cables and tighten them down good and see what happens. Thanks so far fellas.

 

[bailey9r]

If your hearing it whine then the bendix isn't meshing the gears (starter gear and flywheel gear) together. either battery isnt charged up? bad connection as mentioned or more likely rust or crap is sticking the bendix. I would put a charger on it and try it a few times (should pop loose) and if not then go under with a screew driver and pry at the gear to "break it loose". doesnt take much.

 

[bp71k5]

I've had both a loose connection and a bad battery cause the same thing. You might check the voltage on the battery posts to be sure it's fully charged in addition to checking the connections like was mentioned.

 

[K5dreamer]

If your hearing it whine then the bendix isn't meshing the gears (starter gear and flywheel gear) together. either battery isnt charged up? bad connection as mentioned or more likely rust or crap is sticking the bendix. I would put a charger on it and try it a few times (should pop loose) and if not then go under with a screew driver and pry at the gear to "break it loose". doesnt take much.

and we have a winner. if you are hearing the whine of the starter spinning, then your battery, and connections are most likely fine. if the starter gear is not extending and meshing with the flywheel youd get what youre describing.

Other possibility, you lost teeth off the flywheel, and so the starter gear is extending into nothing but air. first step is to remove the inspection cover and look up in there, if you see missing teeth on the flywheel, use a breaker bar and socket to rotate the engine manually till there are teeth for the starter to bite into. then hit the ignition and it will likely fire right up.

If there are teeth on the flywheel, stay under there (with proper eye protection of course) and have someone try to crank it, watch and see if the starter gear extends. if not, hit it with some white lithium grease and use a screwdriver or prybar to pop it out and work it back and forth to lubricate it. then attempt to start, should pop out and fire right up.

Id do electrical diagnostics last, not a whole lot complicated about swapping a battery to screw up.

 

[chalet2506]

Tighten the battery connections and whack the starter with a hammer a couple times - that's where I'd start.

 

[Yo]

 

[diesel4me]

Hammers used to work fine on OLD GM starters that had feild windings--but whack a permanent magnet gear reduction one once and you'll be in line at the parts store for another one,after the magnets bust into a zillion peices...ditto for many winch motors and starters on small engines,heater blower motors,etc..

I'd guess the starter has a sticking bendix drive or has low voltage due to a bad cable or ground by the description given..hard to diagnose anything without being there though!..

 

[Big Blzn]

Thanks for all the replies fellas. Finally got the new/correct side post cable bolt things and got a good battery connection and it fired right up. Smooth as silk and very quiet with the new flexplate and new starter.

Thanks again.