Starting Problems

[blublazes]

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.

[fixitmann]

WHERE did you get battery tested, competent shop or local auto parts house? I ask because it sounds to me like one bad/ weak cell in battery some testers do not pick this up.I just did this same diagnosis four hours ago for a friend.One bad cell in A/C delco 600 cca batt.

[blublazes]

Well I took the battery to autozone originally and they said it was good, just a little low, today i swaped the battery with one out of my mothers buick, truck cranked then died, cranked again and was idleing around 2-300 rpms, not what it normaly does, shut it off and cranked again, same deal, shut it off one more time, fired right up and idled around 5-600 rpm which it usually does, let it sit and idle till it got up to operating temp. Took the old battery to Walmart, which is where the previous owner had purchased it a few months ago, tested battery and said it was no good, so they gave me a new one, so i know autozone was wrong with the battery diagnosis, but i think there is still something screwy wrong with my truck they way it was idleing strange, any suggestions on that? its done this twice to me now and it needs to be fixed. thanks.

[Q101ATFD]

Take it to the lot or dealer where you bought the truck? IF they're respectable, they should be happy to take a look at it (if it's a dealer), or refer you to the local shop that does their repairs.

[blublazes]

well unfortunately thats probably what i'm gonna have to do, I was just wondering if anybody else had experienced something like this and had an idea as to what might be wrong with it? thanks.