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The K3500 wouldn't start!

Avery4jc

Avery4jc

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I went out to the truck this morning to go to work and nothin'...

The battery was so dead the power door locks and windows would barely work and the engine wouldn't turn over... the starter would just click.

I put a volt meter on the battery terminals and it read 14.2V :confused:
So that's kind of puzzling as to why it would read that high yet not even crank over or power the accessories...

So I jumped it off the C2500 and it fired right up w/o any hesitation.



It sat all day and when I came out from work it fired right up like nothing happened.



I'm really puzzled by this. My dad said his old Dart used to do that and the only thing he did that would prevent it was keep the battery terminals and ground wire clean... you guys have any ideas?
 
one thing that played with me was the ground wire on my 99 burb, also just because a battery reads a certain voltage does not mean it will provide it under load.


long story short the burb did the same thing..just or gigles go to a parts store and ask them to test it under load and test the alternator.

check the ground cable for corrosion as well as the terminals.
 
Ok so hypothetically speaking if it was the ground cable or corroded terminals then why would jumping it let it fire right up? If it's a connection problem I'm not sure how it would make a difference...
 
Sounds like you left something on and drained the battery. When you started it and ran it, it recharged the battery. You should have had someone turn it over while you were testing the battery and the voltage most likely would have dropped alot.
 
That's what I thought too but I didn't leave anything on. I put my brake controller in yesterday which sucked up some juice (testing, playing with the settings, etc.) but I didn't think enough to drain it down this far.

I'll clean the terminals and check the ground then go from there.
 
Coupla possibilities. One is that the battery is going dead, i.e. will float high if unloaded. Turn on the headlights and check it with a meter, see if it stays anywhere near 14V (should drop to ~12.5, any lower than 12, you have battery issues.)

HOWEVER, I betcha it's the cables. Check the battery end of the cables for tightness and corrosion -- take them off, wirebrush 'em, put 'em back on. I spent a week fiddling with a truck with bad connections. Dome light would work, but as soon as I cranked it the lights would dim, not enough juice to turn the starter. Stayed dead for a few hours, then went through the same business.

I assume that some gunk (highly technical term) got into the connections, and when heated up from electricity flowing through, caused enough resistance to stop the connection. Wait for it to cool off, and go through it all again.

Cleaned the connections and voila, fixed. Cheap, simple.
Also look for any indications of green crap on the cables -- if there's any, replace them, as the only way to tell for sure is to cut the cables up :haha: at which point it's moot.

Oh yeah: Your dad's right. Remember that -- us old farts know more than you do, contrary to popular belief :haha:

-- A
 
I'd check your volt meter. Most automotive batteries have 6 cells at 2.1V each. Total should be 12.6V give or take.
 
Have the battery and alternator tested at your favorite parts place. I've had this happen twice in the past few years. Truck wouldn't start and acted like no juice. Put the meter to the battery and it indicates full. Charge the battery overnight and the same deal. Jump it and start right up...then won't start again a short while afterwards.

Both times it was a dead cell in the battery. As stated above just because a battery indicates full or high charge it doesn't mean it can provide it under load. Both of my batteries that this happened to were old(ish).
 
Avery,


I assume you drove the truck somewhere. It could be a simple connection problem as well as anything.Things bounce and can correct themselves. Give everything a once over. If it happens again then start looking for problems. With as news as your truck is just try the simple stuff then let us know ;)
 
90's GM trucks like ours are notorious for having corrosion issues at the battery cables. Pull them off and peel back the rubber from around the connector and clean them very carefully. You will need to do this periodically especially if the truck sits at all.
 
jac6695 said:
90's GM trucks like ours are notorious for having corrosion issues at the battery cables. Pull them off and peel back the rubber from around the connector and clean them very carefully. You will need to do this periodically especially if the truck sits at all.
Click to expand...
Even when it doesn`t sit, it should probably done periodically.

Like everyone else said, check the cables, had a similar issue with our 99 burb too, took me forever to figure out....
 
jac6695 said:
90's GM trucks like ours are notorious for having corrosion issues at the battery cables. Pull them off and peel back the rubber from around the connector and clean them very carefully. You will need to do this periodically especially if the truck sits at all.
Click to expand...

Precisely, hell mine cut off on me 2 or 3 times on the interstate going 80, coast over to the emergency lane and it would start right back up. Turned out the cables were junky at the battery.

Speaking of cleaning them I should probably check mine being that the thing has been drivin 1200 miles since the begining of November :rolleyes:
 
Avery4jc said:
Ok so hypothetically speaking if it was the ground cable or corroded terminals then why would jumping it let it fire right up? If it's a connection problem I'm not sure how it would make a difference...
Click to expand...
Because you are borrowing another ground from the vehicle being jumped off. Even a simple battery charger can provide enough ground to let something start that has grounding issues.

I agree with everyone else....you've got a bad ground and/or dirty cables.

Also, you can buy yourself a decent battery load tester at Harbor Freight for not that much money. I use mine constantly.
 
When you peel the rubber back, just go ahead and cut it off. The rubber is a place that really helps corrosion, and it hides it really well. This was a pretty common practice with GM side post type battery's in the shop. Makes it easier to clean, as well as to find problems before they occur.
 
lectric80 said:
When you peel the rubber back, just go ahead and cut it off. The rubber is a place that really helps corrosion, and it hides it really well. This was a pretty common practice with GM side post type battery's in the shop. Makes it easier to clean, as well as to find problems before they occur.
Click to expand...


I have to disagree


always best just to leave the rubber on , its not near as effective if you peel it back some or remove it..
 
I pulled the ground strap and everything on the positive post and went to town with a wire brush and post cleaning tool...

I inspected all the ends and checked the insulation down the ground strap and everything seems to be good to go. I reconnected everything and rubber coated it.

We'll see if it makes a difference... besides that one day I haven't had any other issues.
 
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