Battery or Starter? Please help….she wont start!!

Zeppelin654

Zeppelin654

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Nov 11, 2011
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My batteries are two years old. They are napa batteries that supposedly have 690 cca's (though I don't know if thats at 32* F or 0* F). I didn't run the truck for two months straight (from Oct to Dec when the temps were around 50* F). I fired it up perfectly fine. Lately, I've only been running it twice a week for an hour at a time. Last week it was around 20*'s and it fired up with a little reluctance, but it started. Then, two days later (about 15*'s and not plugged in), I let the grid heater run and tried to start it. It just cranked, but slower and slower until ….nothing. The voltage showed 8 volts and all the interior light went out. I hooked it up to a ford diesel from work for a half an hour to charge/jump it, and the same thing happened….slow cranking and then nothing.

What do you guys think it is? I don't know if the cold killed the batteries, the starter motor is bad, or the starter contacts are bad?

I NEED to figure this out soon but I don't want to have to spend $500 bucks on a new starter motor if its not needed.

Also, I like the AGM batteries, such as Die Hard Platinum and Odyssey. The Die Hard Platinum P1 puts out 880 cca's ($220) and the Odyssey 65-PC1750 puts out 930 cca's ($310). What would you go with? I want something I wont have to worry about, and I don't mind spending more for peace of mind and a quality item. I don't want to spend my money unnecessarily though, as I could use it for the go fast stuff…. (hard to go fast when the truck won't start though….I know:bang).

I really appreciate your insight here. Its a pain when I finally get a diesel (and am ready to build it up right) and now I have to fix all these small things that aren't really cheap and just a pia…..

ANY advice is very welcomed. Thanks

- Dev
 
Sounds like you need to clean your terminals and get your batteries charged up (with a good charger on low) so that you can see if anything else is causing problems. If they are bad for some reason, they should still have some warranty left.

How many miles are on the truck?

Was/is the alt charging properly or at all?

When you're jumping from another truck, there's no need to wait that long. You should be able to start the truck right away if you have good quality cables. Your alt should charge yours back up if everything is working properly.

15F isn't cold at all. There's no need for super exotic batteries until you get way below zero.
 
I believe the alt is working properly. I have no other "drain" on the batteries when the truck is off. I have one ten inch subwoofer, but it has been hooked up for five months with no problems starting before (though the temps have been higher than now). I have an anti corrosive spray on all the connections and they are tight. There is 170,000 miles on the truck. With it not plugged in, could that really be making it that much harder to start? I see vids all the time of people starting their truck in neg temps w/o too much trouble….
 
Here's a vid of whats happening:

At 28*'s F, not plugged in, and letting the grid heater cycle. (notice the voltage and sound emitting from the truck): (fyi, the squeaking halfway through is just my wet boots on the clutch pedal)

dgrimaldi
 
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try for some batteries closer to 1000 cca each. i know when its cold out on either my 12v or 24v it cranks slow unless i plug it in at night. whats your timing at? might be a stupid question but that will make a difference if its cold out.
 
stock timing (14*'s I think?). Maybe I just need a good charge on em and plug it in for awhile, then try her again……idk. It'd be nice to no thave to spend $6-700 bones on new batteries and starter…. Where can I find batteries with cca's that high (and still be decent batts….not some cheapo stuff) Thanks.

Does it sound like the batteries? starter?
 
If jump starting it with a running vehicle with quality cables didn't help than it's not the batteries. So I vote starter.

If there is a local place that can do it you can usually have your starter rebuilt for a decent price.

And a good charger with a float and desulfator can help renew a set of batteries but nothing can make them higher quality.
 
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Auto parts stores have them i paid around 100-120 for the one i put in my brothers dmax. Starter rebuild kits are cheap on ebay.
 
When my alternator crapped out (180,000) it progressively started slower and slower. When running it still had enough juice to power the radio and such. It took a while to jump it because the batteries were so drained current would hardly flow through them.
 
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