Starter Won't Turn Over

[williamgg55]

First post for me. I normally manage to track down my troubles, but not on this one.

 

I have a '99 Suburban, 100K miles with exceptional maintenance. The starter will engage the flywheel but won't turn the engine. It clicks once, but does not repeatedly click as when the battery is low. I removed the starter and had NAPA check it. It operated just fine. They even compared the amp draw to a rebuilt one in stock and they were the same. I checked the condition of the cables and voltage at the starter and everything's fine. It's a dual battery and the main battery is less than 6 months old.

 

There were no indications of a problem brewing. Just pulled it in the driveway and it would not start an hour later.

 

Could the NAPA test be inconclusive since it's not under any load?

Any ideas where to go from here?

[Trucker Mike]

Hit it with a block of wood or something and see if it kicks over. If it does, bad starter.

 

Then JUST to make sure it isn't the batteries, try jumping it.

[williamgg55]

Hit it with a block of wood or something and see if it kicks over. If it does, bad starter.

 

Then JUST to make sure it isn't the batteries, try jumping it.

 

Tried both. Thinking it's a cable, maybe.

[bossier62guy]

Hit it with a block of wood or something and see if it kicks over. If it does, bad starter.

 

Then JUST to make sure it isn't the batteries, try jumping it.

 

Tried both. Thinking it's a cable, maybe.

 

 

Check out the cables near the terminals closely as they are known to have issues w/ internal corrosion. Try moving them around some while attempting to start it.

[cbxeric]

Watch out for sparks at the battery, I've had one explode on me due to a bad connection.

[alaska511]

Hit it with a block of wood or something and see if it kicks over. If it does, bad starter.

 

Then JUST to make sure it isn't the batteries, try jumping it.

 

 

Hey man, what is up with the ID, info and little statements in your sig??

[2000DV4.8]

Hit it with a block of wood or something and see if it kicks over. If it does, bad starter.

 

Then JUST to make sure it isn't the batteries, try jumping it.

 

 

Hey man, what is up with the ID, info and little statements in your sig??

 

 

Some of us hurwt his wittle feelings when we made fun of his clown wheels.

[williamgg55]

OK. So I removed cables from both battery terminals and inspected. Didn't see anything alarming, but just brushed them a bit, reassembled and snugged up good. Voila!! Damn thing started.

 

Guess it was getting enough juice to run the lights and accessories, and enough to engage the starter but not enough turn it over. Who'd a thunk it?

 

Good thing 'cause it's gonna be 109 degrees outside today!!

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Hit it with a block of wood or something and see if it kicks over. If it does, bad starter.

 

Then JUST to make sure it isn't the batteries, try jumping it.

 

 

Hey man, what is up with the ID, info and little statements in your sig??

 

 

Some of us hurwt his wittle feelings when we made fun of his clown wheels.