Help! Truck won’t start! Gas 350

[K5wrench]

You could jump the battery power terminal right across to the starter winding terminal on the solenoid.
But at 400 amps, it is going to arc and melt the terminals and whatever you are using to jump them a bit.
I have done it.
You won't get shocked or anything.
If it is an emergency, it can be done that way.

 

[beags86]

You could jump the battery power terminal right across to the starter winding terminal on the solenoid.
But at 400 amps, it is going to arc and melt the terminals and whatever you are using to jump them a bit.
I have done it.
You won't get shocked or anything.
If it is an emergency, it can be done that way.

Shit, i didn't get the memo it had to be an emergency to do that?!?

 

[89 jimmy]

I also suspect a bad battery here, even if it shows >12v. As mentioned earlier, the battery would need to be load tested. Fastest solution would be to get a new battery. It’s most likely the problem here

 

[K5wrench]

Maybe she

Shit, i didn't get the memo it had to be an emergency to do that?!?

You should see the starter on our LMC snow cat!
The snow blows into the solenoid, melts, refreezes, and "click, thunk" no start with key.
I reach under the big CAT 3208 and jump the starter solenoid.
CLACKITY CLACK CLACKITY.
GOLDEN.

 

[K5wrench]

I also suspect a bad battery here, even if it shows >12v. As mentioned earlier, the battery would need to be load tested. Fastest solution would be to get a new battery. It’s most likely the problem here

Good point.
Cold snaps claim batteries too.

 

[GoGoGirl]

@k5wrench— I tried heating it with an electric heat gun and would try again if you think that’s sufficient. I think low power is around 800W and high around 1700W. Not sure what that translates into with BTU.

I do have a Schumacher 30A charger and that’s what I used last night to charge the battery. What I don’t think anyone has done is a load test. At this point probably going to have to back-burner any ideas of taking the battery anywhere for a test, or getting a new battery. We are seeing snowfall around 2-3” an hour now with about 16” already on the ground, so I’m not going anywhere. I live in a rural area so the roads probably aren’t fantastic either.

Only need to worry about leaving if I’m forced into work. I can “telecommute” perhaps 5% of the time and only for the most ordinary emails and phone calls— we only take home iPhones and not laptops unless it’s a very special day. I’m one of those federal employees whom they label as essential so I need to work without knowing when I’ll see money. It sucks and I’m eating up my savings but there’s not much I can do except sell stuff on eBay or something. Which is probably a great project for me to get started on today! Any audience for tactical gear here? it’s what I have the most of!

 

[K5wrench]

Since your co worker is there now.
While you sit in drivers seat.
You turn key to ignition on while in park, foot on brake, e brake on wheels chocked.
Have them climb under the truck and jump the two largest terminals of the solenoid with a really big ugly piece of conductive metal.
HANDS CLEAR OF RING GEAR!
Truck will start.
A lot of sparks.
But truck will start.

The only way this will not work is if the starter brushes themselves are compromised or the taliban has placed an ied between the ring gear and starter spur gear

Edit, or battery drops below 10 volts while cranking.
Ie, bad battery.

 

[GoGoGirl]

We did that. He could only swing by for 15 minutes or so unfortunately. I feel I was lucky enough to have someone crawl under and know what he was looking at, so any progress today beyond that will be mine.

I have someone coming by from a commercial plow company to at least look at my driveway and give an estimate even if he can’t get someone here until later.

Forgot to say we did try jumping the starter terminals with a screwdriver while he was here. No dice.

 

[K5wrench]

That was nice of your friend to help.
Well, i hope it goes well for you in the mean time.
Keep us posted.
Maybe after the storm passes, a few tests can be made.
First thing I'd do is see what voltage the battery read while the key was turned to the Start position.
Should drop to around 10 volts.
Much less and the battery/or connections are weak.
Much more, and the solenoid or starter brushes are suspect.
Hope you can get a ride to where ever you are going.

 

[GoGoGirl]

Thank you. I will keep the thread updated when I have more info.

I did go try heating just the Bendix area with the heat gun but that didn’t make a difference.

 

[6872xtc]

When you can, look and see if this is the same style of starter as yours.

 

[diesel4me]

Oh,the joys of living in rural New England..
Sucks,doesn't it ?--especially this time of the year..
Its 5 degrees here now,with a 25 mph "breeze"..

I share your grief..
My diesel plow truck is pissing me off royally too--think its electric "assist" fuel pump died,or has ice in it,or the fuel filter might be plugging up,--it will bog out and die if you floor it to pull into traffic or pull a hill now--very dangerous and un-trustworthy..and now there is something very wrong in either the front axle or transfer case--might just be because I put some front tires on that don't match up exactly with the rears,or it could be the 16 years I've plowed a lot of bad storms with it have finally broken something "expensive"--something goes "BANG" when you move it forward or backwards --might be the locking hubs unlocking ?....

I have not even bothered to try to start it in this extreme cold..doubt that it would,even with the block heater plugged in,and if it did start,it would take years off its life the way its running like dog crap till it warms up..so I'm "stranded" at home with no wheels too..

I wish you were closer--I have a half dozen "good used" starters off small & big blocks and solenoids...and I can usually get a truck started ,provided the starter works..One advantage to a standard tranny is you can push start it..but in 16" of snow,that would not be easy..
I had to put two batteries in my truck,they are not new,but only a couple years old,they are not "matched" either like they say is important,but it cranks over like gangbusters now,much better than the ones that were in it 16 years ago when I got the truck..(and one still passes a load test)..

I would break down and buy a new battery,just to get the possibility yours has a dead cell or wont put out 100% under a load,then go for the starter next..do not overlook the battery cables--they can look fine on the outside,but be full of gangrene inside,and not let enough amps get to the starter or ground..my '72 K5 did the same thing your describing,I bought a new battery,put a rebuilt starter in it,it started fine for a week or so--then one morning it died on a hill,and would only "clunk" when I went to re-start it..
I took the positive battery cable off to clean the terminals and followed the cable down to the starter--hidden under the battery tray,I found someone had previously chopped off the side post terminal and did a hack splice job to mate it to part of a top post cable..when I un-wrapped the tape around the lump,all there was inside was white dust and a few good strands of copper..a new battery cable fixed it for good,and that was the only thing wrong with it....

 

[GoGoGirl]

Did my best to get some photos of the starter. It’s not easy as the truck is sitting on a couple inches of snow which cuts into the ground clearance. Hard to get good angles. I couldn’t see anything stamped in the metal or printed anywhere.

 

[6872xtc]

That lets us know that when the engine got swapped, they used standard truck style parts.

 

[diesel4me]

An old school carbed 350 typically had a starter with the two bolts "diagonally" across from each other,the later model ones had metric bolts and threads ,the older ones had 3/8"x16 bolts (both are "special" and have knurled areas after the threads to make them less likely to come loose)...
There are "regular torque" and "high torque" versions too,the only difference between them is the length of the starter motor's case & windings--either will fit and work,the high torque is more desirable for a high compression engine,but also works best only with a strong cranking amp battery,it needs more amps..

 

[tenderfoot]

It looks like the electrical is way to close to the manifold. Or is it further than it looks in that second pic?

 

[GoGoGirl]

It looks like the electrical is way to close to the manifold. Or is it further than it looks in that second pic?

It is too close, my friend observed that. Once it leaves the starter and snakes up a bit, it’s covered in (combustible) plastic loom. Need to take care of that at some point.

 

[tenderfoot]

I'd replace the wires, reroute it and put some heat shielding on it.

I too have had battery cables that looked fine but we're corroded on the inside enough to not let much voltage through. Had me scratching my head for weeks! Replaced the starter, solenoid all kinds of crap. Finally replaced the cables thing fired right up

 

[GoGoGirl]

Ok so I removed the battery a few days ago and brought it in the house. Charged it up one day and let it sit overnight. Next morning I hooked the charger back up and it read 12.2V and “80%” charge (not sure what that’s relative to). A loss of that much while indoors and unused made me suspect the battery went bad. I then recharged it and took it to my mechanic. His battery tester looked like it was from the 1960s! I believe it puts the battery under a 130A load for just a moment. The little analog gauge said the battery tested at the bottom of the “good” range and around 12V. He recommended I trickle charge it for a few days and let me borrow a trickle/conditioning (allegedly) charger. Brought it home just to see what my regular charger said and it read 72% and 12V. So now the battery is trickle charging and we will see where we are tomorrow.

 

[6872xtc]

I gotta say that doesn't look good in my opinion. 130 amp load isn't that much of a load in my opinion. At least when compared to the amp draw when the starter has to begin to crank the engine over.
And only being at 12.2 no load could indicate that it's getting tired. Hopefully it surprises you and comes back.