Oh no. Now it won't start.

Brook · 03-25-2008, 12:12 PM

We have a 1989 Chevy CK1500. It ran well over 200,000 miles and got tired. I loved the truck and convinced my husband to have a remanufactured engine installed.
Here is where the trouble began. We went to a place that installed engines that were remanufactured from the factory and the new engine is fine(305). We replaced all the sensors, wires, water pump, throttlebody,and new battery. Just about the only thing left to replace is the altenator and the starter.
Now for the problem, Went to start the truck, Turned the key,nothing. Heart sank. Turned the key again, It started. Ok, drove around it was fine. Parked it. It sat there for about a week. Went to start it . Just a very hard click. Tried again,click. Rocked the truck back and forth, nothing. Figured we needed a started. Bought the starter. Went to try one more time to start it and nothing. No click, nothing at all. Battery was completely dead. We charged the battery and the truck started. Could a bad started drain the battery? Any ideas as to what could be the problem. I really appreciate any advice you can give. Thanks

junior3382 · 03-25-2008, 12:23 PM

Welcome to the site:
who istalled the starter? And is the battery grounded? Sounds to me like there is a constant drain on the batt. Now if the old starter is still in and the solinoid is bad, it could back channel a constant drain to the battery as well. There is also a ground for the starter if i remember correctly and if it is loose, that could do it too. Replacing the starter and double checking all the grounds are clean and secure would probably solve this for you. There is a master ground wire, looks kind of like a feed cable in a computer, for the motor itself. Make sure that ground is strong, so that all the grounds that are channeled to the motor are solid too. Sometimes in an engine replacement, that large wire either gets overlooked or is not secured properly. Hope this helps.

keithr0005005 · 03-25-2008, 12:30 PM

i agree first start by checking all grounds.

75K30 · 03-25-2008, 12:30 PM

Welcome to the site:

Brook, I may be looking too far into this, but you had a truck that sat for a while, and ran for a little bit, then it sat even longer and the battery was dead, is this correct so far? You started of with a potentially weak battery and it simply drained. Probably not from the starter, since this would be almost impossible, but if you have left a light on, like the ash tray, or glove box, or even the clock in the radio could have been enough of a draw to completely drain off the battery.
Often times an older battery that is permitted to run a little dry will expose the lead plates and if no longer submerged in electolyte solution will corrode, and this corrosion can build up between the plates and short. This will drain the battery in a hurry. After this occurs, it may or may not charge, but you can always count on a drain here.
You may want to have the battery tested with a load tester, and verify the battery with the battery isolated from the truck. This will tell you if the battery itself is draining alone, or with the help from the truck.
Might be as simple as checking the connections, and you will want to verify that the alternator is actually charging properly. Your drain might just be the normal use of the ignition without ever re-charging tha battery.

Brook · 03-25-2008, 12:50 PM

Thank you for your reply.
The new starter wasn't installed yet. We charged the battery last night. We wanted to get the truck started to get it to a friends place to put it on the lift to change the starter. We will definately check the ground wires as you suggested. I appreciate your help and will let you know how we make out.

Brook · 03-25-2008, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 75K30

Welcome to the site:

Brook, I may be looking too far into this, but you had a truck that sat for a while, and ran for a little bit, then it sat even longer and the battery was dead, is this correct so far? You started of with a potentially weak battery and it simply drained. Probably not from the starter, since this would be almost impossible, but if you have left a light on, like the ash tray, or glove box, or even the clock in the radio could have been enough of a draw to completely drain off the battery.
Often times an older battery that is permitted to run a little dry will expose the lead plates and if no longer submerged in electolyte solution will corrode, and this corrosion can build up between the plates and short. This will drain the battery in a hurry. After this occurs, it may or may not charge, but you can always count on a drain here.
You may want to have the battery tested with a load tester, and verify the battery with the battery isolated from the truck. This will tell you if the battery itself is draining alone, or with the help from the truck.
Might be as simple as checking the connections, and you will want to verify that the alternator is actually charging properly. Your drain might just be the normal use of the ignition without ever re-charging tha battery.

The battery is new. The truck sat for about a week or so, give or take.
I went fool crazy and bought an altenator as that and the starter were the only things left to replace. We checked the old alternator last night and it was putting out 14volts. The belt is new but it was squeeling a little. I'm not sure if it is having a problem holding the tension or not.
If I didn't love this truck I swear I'd need my head examined

junior3382 · 03-25-2008, 01:03 PM

Brook, sometimes, I think we all need to get our heads examined! LOL.

2nd65 · 05-02-2008, 06:53 PM

If you remove the neg bat cable and just scrape it on the terminal you will see a spark if there is a drain. a tiny spark is normal because of things like clock, memory and such. If there is a large spark something is a drain, you can find by removing fuses one at a time to see which circuit it is. If the battery was just charged it will be giving off hydrogen gas and it is explosive so be careful or remove the ground connection at the block or where ever it terminates to check spark. Altenators are wired hot, so if it is faulty it could be a drain. With electrical probs you just have to work backwards by disconnecting and checking. Just remember to label the leads if you are going to remove several.

03-25-2008, 12:12 PM	#1
Brook Full Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 24	Oh no. Now it won't start. We have a 1989 Chevy CK1500. It ran well over 200,000 miles and got tired. I loved the truck and convinced my husband to have a remanufactured engine installed. Here is where the trouble began. We went to a place that installed engines that were remanufactured from the factory and the new engine is fine(305). We replaced all the sensors, wires, water pump, throttlebody,and new battery. Just about the only thing left to replace is the altenator and the starter. Now for the problem, Went to start the truck, Turned the key,nothing. Heart sank. Turned the key again, It started. Ok, drove around it was fine. Parked it. It sat there for about a week. Went to start it . Just a very hard click. Tried again,click. Rocked the truck back and forth, nothing. Figured we needed a started. Bought the starter. Went to try one more time to start it and nothing. No click, nothing at all. Battery was completely dead. We charged the battery and the truck started. Could a bad started drain the battery? Any ideas as to what could be the problem. I really appreciate any advice you can give. Thanks

03-25-2008, 12:23 PM	#2
junior3382 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Currently, I live in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Posts: 3,170	Welcome to the site: who istalled the starter? And is the battery grounded? Sounds to me like there is a constant drain on the batt. Now if the old starter is still in and the solinoid is bad, it could back channel a constant drain to the battery as well. There is also a ground for the starter if i remember correctly and if it is loose, that could do it too. Replacing the starter and double checking all the grounds are clean and secure would probably solve this for you. There is a master ground wire, looks kind of like a feed cable in a computer, for the motor itself. Make sure that ground is strong, so that all the grounds that are channeled to the motor are solid too. Sometimes in an engine replacement, that large wire either gets overlooked or is not secured properly. Hope this helps. __________________ *The Blazer is dead, so I pumped her with lead, laid her to bed, and bought a FORD instead!*

03-25-2008, 01:03 PM	#7
junior3382 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Currently, I live in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Posts: 3,170	Brook, sometimes, I think we all need to get our heads examined! LOL. __________________ *The Blazer is dead, so I pumped her with lead, laid her to bed, and bought a FORD instead!*

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03-25-2008, 12:30 PM	#3
keithr0005005 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 156	i agree first start by checking all grounds.

03-25-2008, 12:30 PM	#4
75K30 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 2,992	Welcome to the site: Brook, I may be looking too far into this, but you had a truck that sat for a while, and ran for a little bit, then it sat even longer and the battery was dead, is this correct so far? You started of with a potentially weak battery and it simply drained. Probably not from the starter, since this would be almost impossible, but if you have left a light on, like the ash tray, or glove box, or even the clock in the radio could have been enough of a draw to completely drain off the battery. Often times an older battery that is permitted to run a little dry will expose the lead plates and if no longer submerged in electolyte solution will corrode, and this corrosion can build up between the plates and short. This will drain the battery in a hurry. After this occurs, it may or may not charge, but you can always count on a drain here. You may want to have the battery tested with a load tester, and verify the battery with the battery isolated from the truck. This will tell you if the battery itself is draining alone, or with the help from the truck. Might be as simple as checking the connections, and you will want to verify that the alternator is actually charging properly. Your drain might just be the normal use of the ignition without ever re-charging tha battery.

03-25-2008, 12:50 PM	#5
Brook Full Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 24	Thank you for your reply. The new starter wasn't installed yet. We charged the battery last night. We wanted to get the truck started to get it to a friends place to put it on the lift to change the starter. We will definately check the ground wires as you suggested. I appreciate your help and will let you know how we make out.

05-02-2008, 06:53 PM	#8
2nd65 Full Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: sherwood forrest Posts: 10	If you remove the neg bat cable and just scrape it on the terminal you will see a spark if there is a drain. a tiny spark is normal because of things like clock, memory and such. If there is a large spark something is a drain, you can find by removing fuses one at a time to see which circuit it is. If the battery was just charged it will be giving off hydrogen gas and it is explosive so be careful or remove the ground connection at the block or where ever it terminates to check spark. Altenators are wired hot, so if it is faulty it could be a drain. With electrical probs you just have to work backwards by disconnecting and checking. Just remember to label the leads if you are going to remove several.