I went to start my truck today... I put the key in, twisted it (it was already warm) and I heard a "SPRING-CLUNK!" sound, my gauges and radio flashed, then everything went dead. I thought "oh, well, must be a dead battery..." Since I really didn't have the time to find somebody to jump me, I popped the hood and checked the battery connections and saw everything was good. So I went back to the cab, turn the ignition off, turned it back on and all of my gauges came back. It then started just fince, and has for a few times since then. My ammeter is reading "okay"...



What the heck happened? It has me worried.

 

Are you double-dog sure the battery connections are actually connected? (Electrically speaking)

When you checked the battery connections, did you wiggle them?

It's been my experience that when a ride does that, often, actually taking apart the connections, cleaning them down to shiny lead, and putting it all back together good and square fixes it.

Seems the battery acid can get in there with all the other stuff from under the hood, and even with the cable clamps torqued down hard, there's still not a good connection. You hit the starter, applying four or five hundred amps (Hmmmm . . . . . ? How many amps does it take to turn a good Cummins over? ), and that amount of power quickly overloads that particular spot that is making connection, burning it, . . . . . . . . and there you go.


I try to clean them regardless at least once a year.


Hope this helps.

 

I cured the acid getting to the cable and posts by putting a bead of silcon around the posts and case and then putting the felt pads on. I've been doing this for a number of years and have had no acid come up.

I do periodaclly clean the cable connections and post to be sure but they are always bright.

I read about this on a web site about battery maintenance but can't remember the name of the site, try goolge.

Jim

 

No, that's not the problem. I didn't even budge the terminals, the terminals haven't been removed in two months, are covered by "Battery Terminal Cover Fluid Stuff" and are super clean. And this is the first time that I have had anything happen that could be attributed to faulty battery terminals.
I'm thinking that it must be electrical, but it is totally not replicatable...
Maybe I turned the key too fast or something?

Any other ideas?

 

Hey, mine has done the EXACT same thing a few times...popped hood, wiggled cables, and away we go...I'm figuring corrosion and crap up into the cables...hasn't done it in a while tho, but I haven't done anything to it either...hmmm...I can't really help, just wanted to let you know you aren't the only one...good luck!

Brian

 

Sounds like you have a bad connection internally in the battery, when it did start it created an arc internally and welded the bad connection.
Put a good load test on the battery.
Might work forever now or it might die next start.
Be sure your battery terminals are clean and tight.
I like when you are along the side of the road and the tow truck arrives.
The first thing the nimrod does is get a wrench and hammer on the battery post.
Jim.