Starting Problems

blublazes · February 2, 2008

I have been having strange issues with my 2000 sierra 5.3. I bought the truck used with 75000 miles and have had it since december. When i went to pick it up on the lot they had it on a battery charger because it had been a little slow to crank. Drove it home and had no problems for about a week. Went out one morning, maybe 40 degrees out, hit the key and it cranked then died. Hit the key again and nothing, no dash lights, nothing. Took battery to have it tested, tested out good, they said it was a little low but should crank the truck. Came home charged battery, reinstalled tightly, truck cranked fine and ran fine for about another week. Unfortunately I had a wreck and the truck has been sitting for a while, i went and tried to crank it about 2 weeks ago, nothing, jumped it off, cranked fine so i just let it run for a while. went to crank today, nothing, hooked up the jumper cables and let it sit for a little while, underhood light came on, and door chime started, hit the key and just click click click as i watched the fuel gauge dance like a mexican jumping bean. tried again, nothing, no lights, no chime, unhooked jumper cables and reattached them, tried again, nothing, i think i have more than a low battery issue, but if i am wrong please point me in the right direction.

P.S. sorry for such a rant but its a hard situation to explain in writing. thanks.

Fortune50 · February 3, 2008

I'd remove the battery cables, pull the covers off enough so that you can see the condition of the connectors & wiring. Mine had some corrosion on them, especially on the + cable. I've heard of OE GM batteries leaking out at the cable connections and I think that's what happened to my truck and the cable never got properly cleaned off...I took a wire brush to it and sprayed it w/ battery terminal cleaner/protectant. So far so good...