1998 TACO WON'T START/ CHECKED EVERYTHING

My son's 1998 Taco won't start. It won't turn over. Not even a click. We installed a new battery, had the satrter checked as well as the alternator.
We took the truck to a battery vendor for a free test. He said our new battery had a dead short in it. We got a refund for that battery even though the battery tested fine out of the truck. Purchased a new battery from a different vendor and installed it. We have the same problem.
We can jump start the truck and it starts just fine. I am ready to pull my hair out trying to figure this out.
Any help or ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Steve Alejos
smagohawks@cox.net

 

Battery cables?

If not those, it IS NOT a battery issue. Do you have anyway to test the alternator when the vehicle has been dead or have you been driving it someplace to get a test? This might cause it to read as working normal when in reality something is happening when the car is off/has been sitting for a few hours.

Does it start sometimes? Or never? Sometimes starter issues are hit and miss.

 

how do your battery cables look.are they corroded,is the cable end green or caked with a powder.that goes for both positive and negative.its possible they have a short from the terminal to the wire.when you hook up jumper cables you have just added a new ground and more battery power to over come a bad terminal,which has simply added more resistence.start with the basics.then move to the expensive parts.

 

obviously you didn't check everything.

You said it doesn't crank over, not even a click. You said you can jump start the truck. How many batteries did you try? just that one?

Aside from that I would also guess cables. A shotty connection somewhere that's not getting enough juice, but might get the boost from a jump to push through said shotty connection.

 

yup sounds like a bad ground...

 

Is the battery dead when you try to start it? Check it with a volt meter. If it is some thing is staying on drawing power this maybe why it starts with a jump. Did it start when you replaced the battery first off or did it still need to be jumped?

 

Replace the ground cable.

 

I'd imagine it's either corrosion on the cable leads, or just a bad connection.

When you jump it, do you put both leads on the battery (of the dead truck), or the negative lead on a ground (like you're supposed to)?? you might have a bad connection on your (-) battery terminal.

Clean all the leads real good, put some of that jelly on the terminals, and reconnect. If there's rust on the terminals, replace them (easier than trying to remove the rust).

 

Gentlemen,
Thanks for all your help and ideas with this problem. I discovered that the new battery terminal we bought from the parts store was not making good contact with the positive post. Why the system showed a dead short is beyond me. The terminal we bought is solid brass with gold plating. The hole is not concentric. It is oval which made it not have good contact. I bought a Toyota terminal, put that on and it works fine.
Again, Thank You for all the great ideas and help.

Steve Alejos