Pulled over, turn key and just hear clicking…

On my road trip and pulled over in Grand Teton NP after driving 500 miles today and 850 miles yesterday. We stopped at a campground and attempted to start the car after 20 mins or so. All it does is click after attempting to start. The ranger here had a jump pack and we tried that but no luck.

The alternator was replaced a week ago so that should not be a problem. I was monitoring the voltage on the drive here and it has been reading 13.2v consistently.

Another gentleman attempted to jump start it with his car but same outcome. They also have a truck with their camper and they are going to come back in the am to try again. He believes the batteries and alternator on his truck should be able to start it.

I am hoping I can get it jump started tomorrow am so I can drive to Jackson to get a battery.


Do you think I have a bad battery or some other issue?


Btw, when you connect the jumper cables to my battery you don’t even see a spark and that is with the other end of the cables connected to a running car.

 

Sounds like a bad starter.
I’d check for power at S terminal when cranking and main power wire on the starter.
If both have power, it’s likely the starter.

I like to use a test light.

Since you hear a click, I bet the S terminal (solenoid) is fine.
But check it anyways.

 

What year is your truck?
I can pull a diagram and tell you what wire goes to the solenoid.

The main power wire is the big one. I should have power at all times.

 

Agree sounds like the starter, try tapping on it lightly with something solid while someone trys to crank it.

 

It is 2008. Unfortunately I don’t have a test light or the ability to check for power at the starter. All I have with me is some basic tools.

The guy who tried to jump start it had a multimeter and the battery was reading around 11v I believe. When I check the voltage with my Veepak adapter and OBD Fusion right now it is showing 9v so I don’t know how accurate it is with the car not running.

 

9v is not going to start the truck. Neither would 11v most likely.
But you’d think it would have with booster and/or jumper cables.

The low voltage maybe from having the key, accessories, and trying to start it.

Tap on the starter and see if it will start. But you are going t need 12.4v or more to get it to spin.
You are going need as much voltage as you can get. Like jumping it from another car.

If it does start, don’t shut it off unless you have to.

 

Assuming the starter is fine, should you be able to start a car using jumper cables with a dead battery? Or must the battery be good but slightly discharged in order for it to work?

 

Typically it will at least try to crank.
I'd tap on the starter while someone attempts to crank it and see, hopefully you will get lucky and get one more crank out of it.

 

One more note regarding the clicking sound. When I turn the key I hear rapid clicking as opposed to a single click.

Does that imply anything? I believe I heard rapid clicking with a low battery before as opposed to a single click.

 

Yea unfortunately that sounds more like a dead battery or bad main battery connection, odd it wouldn't jumpstart though.

 

I've had batteries fail and the vehicle only clicks (extremely fast) when trying to start. The battery is likely dead beyond jump starting and needs replacing.

 

Sounds like the battery might have an internal shorted cell(s) that causes the loss of juice when connected the jump start.

 

take your leads off and clean em along with your battery terminals with a wire brush, re-tighten and try. Check your grounds too

 

Yeah, this was my thought. Taking the battery out of the loop (disconnect positive and connect jumper cable to the positive wire) and seeing if it will start from a jump might pinpoint either starter or battery.

 

I was able to jump it this am. I drove to the nearest auto parts store about 45 mins away. The truck started immediately after shutting it off. Go figure. I swapped the battery out anyway with a Die Hard Silver which is all they had.

I’m probably dating myself here, but who remembers when batteries would last longer than three years??? I know I do.

People are gonna think I’m lying but once upon a time I had an Optima red top that lasted almost 10 years in my Corvette. Things don’t last like that anymore for sure.