ChaseTruck
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First of all, I probably ought not to be writing this; it’ll probably jinx everything, but maybe it’ll help someone else.
So: the ’93, over the last year, had multiple instances of not cranking when trying to start. CEL present, fusible links fresh. Getting a jump helped every time (at O’Reilly Auto Parts, at the grocery store, at the tennis courts…)., once it cranks, it would start immediately. So, bad battery, or bad cable contacts, right? No, or if anything of that sort, then inconclusive. Battery cables are 1/0, of my making, contacts are tight. I had one 'military-style' terminal get loose repeatedly, but a sheet metal screw can solve that, and it's no longer an issue.
Sometime it happened after sitting for 6 weeks, battery at 12.2V – here’s the culprit, right? Battery is a not-so-old X2 Power, 27F; that thing never ever reads 12.6V (the X2 34R in the K5 does, though...??), at least not with my cheap voltmeter. But the no-crank also happened several times with a fully charged battery (at least that’s what my battery charger claimed), or after driving all day, and no, the voltage didn’t drop when trying to start.
Got to the point that I either didn’t want to take the truck out on trails, or not turn it off all day on the trail.
Blamed the auxiliary electricals (wiring by guess who…) - lights, radios, winch & ARB relays – no difference; current draw with radios (HAM, CB) connected was an initial 110mA, then instantly drops below 10mA and stays there. Disconnecting the entire auxiliary wiring (it’s on a separate fuse block with a single power feed) didn’t affect the bad starting behavior. Sometimes it would start (after taking a second or two to think about it), and other times it wouldn’t. Sometimes with engine up to temp it would start right away, and sometimes not.
Blamed the Sequoia alternator (I’m not too happy about that mod; had a regulator on the first - new - Seq alternator go funky, and it overcharged the previous battery… I'm contemplating to go back to the stock alternator); voltage now sits at 14.4V with the engine running.
Suspected the alarm system; spousal interference prevented removal.
Truck sits in AZ, and I’m not there most of the time. With that, and with the intermittent pattern, collecting data in a more systematic way was a challenge.
Now: there were several instances where just holding the key in the crank position for 3-5 seconds (!) led to the truck suddenly cranking strongly and starting instantly.
Discussions with @richardlillard1 and @twalker9480 led to suspecting the ignition switch; excess resistance there could explain some of that behavior.
Brought the truck to Richard’s shop; ignition switch appeared to have indeed excess resistance. Travis changed the ignition switch (sourced from partsouq), and now the truck starts instantly right on turning the key, without taking a few seconds to contemplate.
I hope that solved the issue; we’ll see (would be good because my other truck - the K5 - is currently down for maintenance, and at my pace of working on trucks, well…) . Anyways, perhaps something to consider for no-crank situations.
So: the ’93, over the last year, had multiple instances of not cranking when trying to start. CEL present, fusible links fresh. Getting a jump helped every time (at O’Reilly Auto Parts, at the grocery store, at the tennis courts…)., once it cranks, it would start immediately. So, bad battery, or bad cable contacts, right? No, or if anything of that sort, then inconclusive. Battery cables are 1/0, of my making, contacts are tight. I had one 'military-style' terminal get loose repeatedly, but a sheet metal screw can solve that, and it's no longer an issue.
Sometime it happened after sitting for 6 weeks, battery at 12.2V – here’s the culprit, right? Battery is a not-so-old X2 Power, 27F; that thing never ever reads 12.6V (the X2 34R in the K5 does, though...??), at least not with my cheap voltmeter. But the no-crank also happened several times with a fully charged battery (at least that’s what my battery charger claimed), or after driving all day, and no, the voltage didn’t drop when trying to start.
Got to the point that I either didn’t want to take the truck out on trails, or not turn it off all day on the trail.
Blamed the auxiliary electricals (wiring by guess who…) - lights, radios, winch & ARB relays – no difference; current draw with radios (HAM, CB) connected was an initial 110mA, then instantly drops below 10mA and stays there. Disconnecting the entire auxiliary wiring (it’s on a separate fuse block with a single power feed) didn’t affect the bad starting behavior. Sometimes it would start (after taking a second or two to think about it), and other times it wouldn’t. Sometimes with engine up to temp it would start right away, and sometimes not.
Blamed the Sequoia alternator (I’m not too happy about that mod; had a regulator on the first - new - Seq alternator go funky, and it overcharged the previous battery… I'm contemplating to go back to the stock alternator); voltage now sits at 14.4V with the engine running.
Suspected the alarm system; spousal interference prevented removal.
Truck sits in AZ, and I’m not there most of the time. With that, and with the intermittent pattern, collecting data in a more systematic way was a challenge.
Now: there were several instances where just holding the key in the crank position for 3-5 seconds (!) led to the truck suddenly cranking strongly and starting instantly.
Discussions with @richardlillard1 and @twalker9480 led to suspecting the ignition switch; excess resistance there could explain some of that behavior.
Brought the truck to Richard’s shop; ignition switch appeared to have indeed excess resistance. Travis changed the ignition switch (sourced from partsouq), and now the truck starts instantly right on turning the key, without taking a few seconds to contemplate.
I hope that solved the issue; we’ll see (would be good because my other truck - the K5 - is currently down for maintenance, and at my pace of working on trucks, well…) . Anyways, perhaps something to consider for no-crank situations.
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