Weird electrical problem, can someone pin this down? (1 Viewer)

[Boone]

Took the 80 out today and went down into a wilderness area. Lots of slush and snow on the ground and about 50 or so miles of pretty bumpy dirt roads. Stopped at an iced up waterfall to take some pics with the chicky, got back into the truck and it wouldnt start!!! scratched my head for a minute and tried it again and it fired right up. Wrote it off as a fluke and went on to the next stop. Again got out, the truck was off for about 20 mins and when i got back in it would not start. This time it stayed off. when i had the key in the on position everything acted normal and all the gauges told me that everything was ok however, when turning the key to the on position everything would go dim the starter solenoid just clicked etc... it acted like it had a dead battery. I am pretty sure this is not the case, i replaced the battery about a month ago just because it was time, no issues then. Luckily a good samaritan stopped by and i had them open their hood so i could attatch my jumper cables (since it was acting like a dead battery) The truck fired right up and got me home.

Does anyone know what this might be? All the symptoms say that it is a dead battery but the volt gauge reads fine and the battery is new. Never had any alternator problems or anything but i guess that could be an issue?

Help me out

 

[dropthattaco]

Sounds like starter points to me. The battery is probably fine, but the added juice available from the extra battery pushed through the burned up points.

 

[unclebilly]

Clean and tighten your battery connections before you go any further.

 

[Corbet]

And the connections at the starter. Sounds like a simple bad connection somewhere along the line to me.

Good reading for you from the FAQ: https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-...es-faq-item-recommend-keeping-copy-truck.html

 

[AustinCruiser]

Starter contacts. I just went through the same problem. https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/449754-7-42-starter-rebuild.html

 

[Boone]

Yeah i was kinda thinking it was just a bad connection but wanted to see what others might say about it. Luckily i have tomorrow off so i'll be digging in then. Unfortunately things like bad connections can be a pain to track down.

 

[jeph]

X2 for starter contacts,

 

[Pin_Head]

I hate to be contrary, but it acts like a bad battery. The lights dim when you hit the start switch, indicating that the starter is getting juice; just not enough to spin it. Since jumping it did the trick, again more evidence for a bad battery. Could also be a bad battery connection.

 

[Tools R Us]

First check starter contacts, sounds like the standard symptoms.

 

[CJF]

Which rig??

 

[Boone]

1997 80 series no mods that are important to the thread.

 

[psfpilot]

Once the starter contacts are ruled out, it might be worth having the battery load tested.

 

[ybhc]

It may seem really simple and dumb, but I've gone chasing non-existent wiring problems because of it before, and I see no mention of you having done it.

Pull the battery terminal clamps off, and check for buildup. It can happen pretty fast, so even though your battery is new, its worth the 2 minutes it takes to check.

 

[Boone]

clieaned all the contactsand plugs and everything on the starter which worked like a charm. Thanks everyone.