Turning Over Problems...

[Explor2Exped]

Lately it's been taking a few seconds for my expy to turn over. It does so very weakly too. The battery is pretty brand new.

When I roll my windows down, my headlights dim.

Should I return my battery for a new one?

Please don't tell me its my alternator.. =\

 

[GAINMOB]

it was my alt...it was going bad and went out...drained my battery...i only have the prob now if i'm starting it frequently...so i'm thinking my batter is bad...it starts great the 1st 2-3 start-ups...then it slows down and gets hard to crank...so i'll be doing the dual battery setup soon

 

[99 Expy]

It sounds like it could be your alternator. Before you start your truck for the first time each day (or whenever it turns over slow), I would take a voltmeter and check the voltage of your battery. With a fully charged battery, it should be about 12.6. 12.06 is about 50% charge.

If you have 12.6 and it still cranks slow, I would look for something farther down the line. If it is much lower than 12.6, I would lean towards the alt or possibly a parasitic drain. The alternator is pretty simple to pull of and you can get it tested at most part stores.

 

[GAINMOB]

him or me...its the perfect excuse to do the dual battery setup...

 

[Thermo]

E2E, first, put a multimeter across the battery to determine the charge of the battery. Like was mentioned, it should be up at 12.6 VDC. If it isn't, then you are looking at another issue. next check is to keep the multimeter connected to the battery, but make sure that the leads are only touching the lead part of the battery terminal. Now, with the help of a second person, attempt to start the truck and watch the multimeter. What voltage does the multimeter drop to? If it is dropping below 11.0 VDC, you have a bad battery. If it is staying up around 12.0 VDC, you have a high resistance somewhere in the battery leads or a battery terminal that is starting to go on you. If you are still running the factory battery terminals, take a look at them. Over time they tend to break and will result in a high resistance connection, leading to a slower than normal roll speed of the engine.

If you need more info, let me know.

 

[Explor2Exped]

The battery is testing at 12.30volts when I turned the key it dipped down to 11.3volts then turned again it stayed around 12.06volts & it clicks once.

Should I replace the battery?

 

[Explor2Exped]

I put in a brand new battery & all it does is click once.

 

[Thermo]

E2E, try this, remove the cover off of the starter solenoid. Using a large screw driver, short between the 2 large posts (make spark a little bit, so, be ready for that). Does the motor turn over at normal speed now? If yes, your starter solenoid is going. If it doesn't, then with the help of a second person, what I want you to do is to measure the voltage at one of the terminals on the starter solenoid as you short them together. Does the voltage stay above 11.5 VDC? If yes, then you have either a bad cable between the starter and the starter solenoid or a bad starter. if the voltage drops below 11.5, then you have a bad battery cable between the starter solenoid and the battery.

Now, I have seen this only one time, but this is what happened. I had a friend that his truck would not start and was only giving him a click. I was thinking it was the battery, but it turned out that his A/C compressor froze and the compressor was preventing the engine from turning over. A simple thing that you can do is to temporarily remove the serpentine belt and see if the motor will turn over then. If I hadn't seen it myself, I would have called BS on it.

 

[Explor2Exped]

E2E, try this, remove the cover off of the starter solenoid. Using a large screw driver, short between the 2 large posts (make spark a little bit, so, be ready for that). Does the motor turn over at normal speed now? If yes, your starter solenoid is going. If it doesn't, then with the help of a second person, what I want you to do is to measure the voltage at one of the terminals on the starter solenoid as you short them together. Does the voltage stay above 11.5 VDC? If yes, then you have either a bad cable between the starter and the starter solenoid or a bad starter. if the voltage drops below 11.5, then you have a bad battery cable between the starter solenoid and the battery.

Now, I have seen this only one time, but this is what happened. I had a friend that his truck would not start and was only giving him a click. I was thinking it was the battery, but it turned out that his A/C compressor froze and the compressor was preventing the engine from turning over. A simple thing that you can do is to temporarily remove the serpentine belt and see if the motor will turn over then. If I hadn't seen it myself, I would have called BS on it.

I shorted between the two post, it sparked but wouldn't start up.

I shorted and measured the voltage & it stayed around the 12's.

I will try the removing the serpentine belt now.

 

[Explor2Exped]

I don't have the right tools to take off the belt.