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Won’t start, ruined my day, not urgent but would love some help

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GoGoGirl

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That sums it up! I was supposed to be somewhere today to go off roading but couldn’t get her started. Got a ride with someone else and have real bad service here but wanted to get this out.

Put key in ignition, electrical appears normal, all I hear is a clunk under the hood. Starter? Fuel pump?

Truck drove perfectly yesterday. I did however shut her down while still in gear, which I often do to prevent the engine from continuing to run for a few seconds after I turn the key to off. Someone here taught me that trick.

Battery is a month old or so and I recharged it just to be sure. Tests out just fine.

Any ideas? I’m not home to troubleshoot and I’m sure I’m kissing some details.
 
Solenoid on the starter, poor electrical connection at starter, could also be loose/poor battery terminal connection.

How old is the starter?
 
also check batt cables for tight . had my truck loosen up on me few weeks ago fired up moved and shut off . later i got nothing .

but you getting the click sounds like solenoid is working just the starter not rolling over .
 
Thanks y’all.

Best I can say is I heard a solid clunk rather than a click or thud sound. Had to be somewhere in a hurry so had no time to troubleshoot. Battery cables should have been fine, all was well yesterday. I’ll have to check more when I get home.

The first time ever someone was going to show me how to take the Blazer off road, and it’s the one occasion I didn’t have time to try to fix or diagnose anything. Yuck.
 
Check cables for tightness and corrosion.
 
It sounds like a bad connection, weak battery, or bad starter.

I know you charged the battery, but need to make sure it load tests good, not just good voltage on the meter. (If no load tester on-hand, oriellys, autozone, etc will test.)

Verify battery cable connections at battery are clean and tight.

Make sure the ground cable connection is clean and tight.

When you check the positive cable connection at the starter, make sure the solenoid stud is tight into the solenoid, not just the nut tight holding the cable. I've seen the cable be tight to the stud, but the stud was loose in the solenoid and causing a bad connection.

If all else fails, try some "percussive maintenance". I've had starters in the beginning stages of failure that you could smack with a hammer a few times and would let them start again. Either the brushes and armatures going bad or bearings going out. Either way, it worked for a bit until I could get a replacement.

Good luck. Hollar back if that doesn't fix it.
 
Had to smack the starter on my 79 Camaro once in a while. It was a tight squeeze, I was only able to use 2 fingers to hold it with. It was just enough to knock it loose.
 
Yep. It's always funny the looks you get when you crawl out from under a truck in a restaurant parking lot with a hammer in your hand. "Just go on about your business, folks. Nothing to see here."
 
If its an automatic,might be the neutral safety switch ..has to be in neutral or park (and properly adjusted) or no current gets to the solenoid when you turn the key to "start"..
The post mentions the truck being shut off "in gear" to stop it from dieseling,maybe it wasn't put back in park or the switch is not adjusted right ?..
I mention this because I had to "rescue" my sister once when her '68 Ford wagon wouldn't crank when she went to leave a store on her way to my house--that car always dieseled when you shut it off after a highway run,and I had showed her how to leave it in drive when shutting it off..all that was "wrong" was she forgot to put it in park,that was the first thing I did..(she was lucky it didn't roll out into the street too! :eek:)..

I usually crawl under a Chevy that wont crank and jump the solenoid with a remote start switch (or screwdriver ,etc,if nothing else is available)--if it cranks then,its not the starter--its either the solenoid isn't getting 12V in the "start" position due to the neutral safety or ignition switch,bad wire,or the solenoid is bad,or another wiring defect exists elsewhere between the battery & starter..

I have seen the bolts holding the solenoid to the starter nose loosen up and even fall out too,then it sags and cant pull the starter drive into the flywheel,it'll just "clunk"..my 72 K5 did this to me 50 miles from home once,luckily I was able to borrow a few 1/4" bolts from each valve cover just to get it started that fit it!..
 
My 91 was getting ready to lose a starter. Both batteries 12.88 and alt putting out 14.4 but the starter was turning real slow. Drop in a $50 reman from Napa and all is fine.

Maybe you didn't get as lucky as I did with a little warning of what's coming.

Clunk with no spin sounds like the bendix spring is kicking the gear out but the starter is not turning. If it was a light click then I would suspect poor connections or low on juice. Since you said the battery is a month old, charged and tested then I'm gonna put $2 bucks on the starter being bad. You can always pull it and have it tested before you buy a new one.

Good luck!
 
Did you ever buy a cheap amp/volt meter from the last time it was G̶i̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶t̶r̶o̶u̶b̶l̶e̶ being an old truck?
 
Thank you very much for all reading this!

I'm back at work today and will need to squeeze in some time to check this problem during the week.

diesel4me-- that's precisely what I was thinking, but how do I check the neutral safety in this vehicle? I know how in a modern vehicle, strange as that may sound.

I have a multimeter but haven't checked anything yet. This was a surprise condition that really sucked because I had no time to lose and had spent all day Friday packing the darn truck!!!
 
To me anything built after 1955 is "modern"..:D

Like I said before,the quickest crude test to see whats at fault is to jump the solenoid..this connects the battery directly to the starter,so as long as the battery has a charge,there is no corrosion between the battery cable ends and the terminals, and the cables are both good,it should crank over ..if it doesn't then its most likely the starter or the solenoid itself..

To check the neutral safety switch,
I usually first try holding the key in the "crank" position while I move the shift lever slowly from park to neutral,if the adjustment is off it might crank when its in reverse or drive,so keep your foot on the brake..
If it cranks then,you know the switch is not adjusted right ..

You can also use a test light or multi-meter to see if 12V is getting to the solenoid's "S" terminal,that has a thick purple wire on it coming from the neutral safety & ignition switch..put the test light or meter on the "S" terminal, and ground the other end of it ,and turn the key to crank position,the light should light up or the volt meter show 12V..
Bulb is easier to use if your alone..

If the contacts in the neutral safety or ignition switch are bad,or the purple wire has a bad spot in it between the switches and the solenoid,it wont let the ignition switch send 12V to the solenoid..that wire runs behind the engine in the harness and can rub against the engine or bell housing and cause an intermittent short circuit or open connection..
 
If the solenoid only gets like 9V or less when the key is turned to the crank position,it might just click or clunk,but not fully engage enough to get the starter cranking..

Often the battery terminals get a black lead oxide coating on them ,especially the positive one,on vehicles that sit a lot..this stuff is a good insulator,it might let just enough current to flow to "clunk" the solenoid,then it loses connection -- and you have to sometimes scrape it off down to bright shiny lead with a file or knife to allow enough current to pass into the battery cables,the cable terminals need to be scraped out to clean lead also..

I've had a few of the OEM aluminum/copper battery cables turn to white powder in just one spot too,leaving only a few strands to carry the starting current and all the other electrical loads..usually this happens close to the terminals,but can happen anywhere along its length too..
 
If the safety neutral circuit isn’t closed the starter solenoid shouldn’t get any volts.
 
Last edited:
Update! Good news along with more questions.

Engine is a gas 350 with Quadrajet carb. Unknown vintage.

Big questions: based on what you read below, what may have happened Saturday and could I have prevented it? Is this the sign of something needing attention (carb? Fuel pump? Electrical?)

Background: normal cold starting procedure, passed on to me by previous owner and almost always works: press down on gas pedal twice, pull out manual throttle knob about halfway, turn key, truck starts. When engine is warm or weather warm, I can usually turn the key and go without doing the first two steps.

I had the time today to tinker.

1) Tried my luck and got into the truck. Pumped gas pedal twice, pulled throttle knob— uh oh, knob won’t come out! Air temp about 42 degrees, so I thought I’d need it. I chose not to keep trying to pull the throttle knob. Turned the key and she cranked! This is more than it did Saturday! Held pedal to the floor and kept cranking and it started after about 10 seconds. Feathered gas pedal a little as I’ve done in the past after hard starts. I must have been too gentle because it died after about 30 seconds. Suddenly saw a puff of smoke (?) from what appeared to be where the fuel line enters the carb (I had the hood open). By the time I got out to look closer, the smoke was gone. That’s when I noticed the air filter housing is somewhat loose— did the puff I saw come from where it meets the carb?

2) I didn’t see or smell any gas so I figured it was safe to start again. I turned the key and held the gas pedal down and it started pretty quickly. Warmed up and ran like normal. Drove a tiny bit and all was normal. Shut engine off while transmission was fully in park.

So...long story short, vehicle started today with me doing no repair or work at all following Saturday’s inability to start. Odd puff of smoke and lack of ability to use throttle knob were the only two unusual things.

Thanks to all those who read this and guide me!
 
Carb won't affect the starter. Lube your cable.
 
The "no start" situation is a separate issue from the "no crank" problem. The "no crank", when you are turning the key and the starter is not turning the motor, is an electrical issue. Battery, connections, cables, starter, etc.
 
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