Starter problem, need help.

MadMazda · 10-03-2006, 03:18 PM

Ok, so i was out late lastnight and my crew and i decided to go TPing. when we pulled up to another guys house to get the TP, I pulled into his driveway and turned off the truck. (including lights, radio, EVERYTHING is off) after about 2 min. of aranging people in cars, i go to start it back up, i put in the key, push in the clutch and brake, (sloped driveway),turn the key, and... Everything powers off, brake lightsturn off, clock, everthing goes off. Surprised, i trn the key back and pull it out. i opened the driver door and the overhead light slowly came on(as opposed to its usual instant brightness). so i got back in, made sure clutch was in, etc., and the same thing happens. turn the key back to of and the overhead light slowly krept back on. i assumed starter fuse went out, after some consutation to the owners manual as to which fuse was controlled the starter, i removed it to look at it. (it was one of those big cube grey ones)its hard to be sure, but it seemed to look ok. so i thought, "hey maybe its the alternator, maybe it wasnt working on the drive over" the battery seemed to be dying by now cause overhead light was slower and slower to come back and it flicked a lot. so we hooked up cables and gave it a second. after a minuite or so,(overhead light came on instantly) i tried to start it and all i got was a rapid clicking sound. it wouldent turn over. finally, we called off TP run, pushed the truck in neutral and poped it into 1st to get it to start, then i drove it home and hooked the battery up to a tricklecharger. (btw, the battery is an Optima 6pack). figured a slow 12v charge overnight coudlent hurt. and also, if this helps any, the indash clock reset. any suggestions are appreciated!

bobcat5544 · 10-03-2006, 10:21 PM

You have a bad battery

MadMazda · 10-03-2006, 10:27 PM

well, we have had many Optimas before, and from our expeirence, its unusual to have any problem with one. Also, could six "packs" of the "six-pack" design of the battery all fail at once?

bradrhale · 10-04-2006, 08:26 AM

not every battery from any one manufacturer is going to be perfect. anything is possible. as much as those batteries costs, i would hope that it is still under warranty

gmctrucks · 11-12-2006, 09:41 PM

Also check your cables for a bad connection or dirty gunk. ACID GUNK.

scottie · 11-13-2006, 07:50 PM

i dont suppose you got a DMM (digital multimeter). if you got one or know someone who does and knows how to use one, it would pinpoint your problem. i just got one made by Blue-Point it the thing works wonders when you know your way around it.

mazdaman · 01-21-2007, 09:52 AM

sounds like that you have a bad ground some where.. either on the frame or your engine block. I would take a look at them, even if you put a new battery in and those are not fixed you going to have the same problem

10-03-2006, 03:18 PM	#1
MadMazda Full Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 15	Starter problem, need help. Ok, so i was out late lastnight and my crew and i decided to go TPing. when we pulled up to another guys house to get the TP, I pulled into his driveway and turned off the truck. (including lights, radio, EVERYTHING is off) after about 2 min. of aranging people in cars, i go to start it back up, i put in the key, push in the clutch and brake, (sloped driveway),turn the key, and... Everything powers off, brake lightsturn off, clock, everthing goes off. Surprised, i trn the key back and pull it out. i opened the driver door and the overhead light slowly came on(as opposed to its usual instant brightness). so i got back in, made sure clutch was in, etc., and the same thing happens. turn the key back to of and the overhead light slowly krept back on. i assumed starter fuse went out, after some consutation to the owners manual as to which fuse was controlled the starter, i removed it to look at it. (it was one of those big cube grey ones)its hard to be sure, but it seemed to look ok. so i thought, "hey maybe its the alternator, maybe it wasnt working on the drive over" the battery seemed to be dying by now cause overhead light was slower and slower to come back and it flicked a lot. so we hooked up cables and gave it a second. after a minuite or so,(overhead light came on instantly) i tried to start it and all i got was a rapid clicking sound. it wouldent turn over. finally, we called off TP run, pushed the truck in neutral and poped it into 1st to get it to start, then i drove it home and hooked the battery up to a tricklecharger. (btw, the battery is an Optima 6pack). figured a slow 12v charge overnight coudlent hurt. and also, if this helps any, the indash clock reset. any suggestions are appreciated! __________________ Not to be confused with MadMax

10-03-2006, 10:27 PM	#3
MadMazda Full Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 15	well, we have had many Optimas before, and from our expeirence, its unusual to have any problem with one. Also, could six "packs" of the "six-pack" design of the battery all fail at once? __________________ Not to be confused with MadMax

11-13-2006, 07:50 PM	#6
scottie Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: South Florida (Palm Beach), originally from south of BOSTON Posts: 644	i dont suppose you got a DMM (digital multimeter). if you got one or know someone who does and knows how to use one, it would pinpoint your problem. i just got one made by Blue-Point it the thing works wonders when you know your way around it. __________________ im a straight shooter with upper management written all over me

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10-03-2006, 10:21 PM	#2
bobcat5544 Full Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 27	You have a bad battery

10-04-2006, 08:26 AM	#4
bradrhale Moderator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 2,963	not every battery from any one manufacturer is going to be perfect. anything is possible. as much as those batteries costs, i would hope that it is still under warranty

11-12-2006, 09:41 PM	#5
gmctrucks Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Houston,Texas Posts: 1,719	Also check your cables for a bad connection or dirty gunk. ACID GUNK.

01-21-2007, 09:52 AM	#7
mazdaman Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 6	sounds like that you have a bad ground some where.. either on the frame or your engine block. I would take a look at them, even if you put a new battery in and those are not fixed you going to have the same problem