Grit Dog

So my wife calls and says her truck won't start.
I asked her a bunch of questions and all I got was "it clicks, and the lights go off when it clicks."
I'm thinking something drew down the batteries even though she said none of the interior lights were left on. (But the kids turn the lights on in the back and sometimes it goes unnoticed for however long and the truck still starts.)
After work, I come home and check it out.
Headlights are bright. Truck makes one feeble attempt at cranking over, barely then all it will do is clunk, like the bendix is engaging the starter, but not enough juice t turn it over.
Hook up the jumper cables and it fires right up, as soon as I hook them up.
Pull the cables off, shut it off and re-start it half a dozen times, starts fine.
Check both batteries' voltage with the cables connected and the cables off. Both are reading 14.8+V.
Cleaned up some minor corrosion on the - cables with some Coke, but that wouldn't have affected it since the cables have never been off the batteries until now, the contact areas were clean and shiny.
Has started and run fine for several days now. No codes when it happened either.
Anyone experience this before?

madhat

Our trucks are really touchy to power issues... if you had some corrosion affecting the grounds, that could have done it. I've seen a situation like this before, plenty of voltage to run ancillary equipment, but not enough amps to turn the starter. Check all of your connections, you should be good. You live in CO, so I doubt conditions are harsh enough to ruin your batteries yet.

Grit Dog

Just moved to WA actually, but I don't have some secret code to change my location in the user CP??
AZ was the hardest state on my batteries. Friggin heat killed them deader than the cold. I lost 2 different batteries that were 3 yrs old or less after 2 years in Phx/Yuma!
Truck has always been garaged and the corrosion was really just a small amount on the battery terminal nuts only. The entire contact surface was shiny and tight. Besides it fired right up even before I cleaned the terminals.
Both batteries strong, over 14.8V although I didn't load test them.
Every connection is tight and not corroded. 88k miles and I've yet to disconnect a wire on the truck for anything until I unhooked the batteries.
(Did take one battery out to get at the top shock mount a couple years ago)
Truck hasn't sat idle at all, maybe not run 5 days in the last month.
I know how complex electrical systems can be affected by anything less than ideal voltage, but everything is cherry.
Only thing I can think is one dead spot in the starter motor, but it's started like a champ probably 50x since this happened.

madhat

Yeah, I know about Yuma and the heat... tires and batteries in less than two years!

It was probably just a glitch.

Changing the city and state is in your user CP, then edit details on the top left... if you can't figure it out, let me know, and I'll change it for you.

wellmax

the cables on my old truck, looked good, but when you tapped them with a screwdriver,
a white powder substance started falling out, cables were corroded on the inside and were about to go south.

new cables solved the problem

Bill M.

corroded terminals. built in 06. thats a long time without cleaning the terminals.

Grit Dog

I would normally agree, but as I stated above, ALL the battery terminal connections were/are shiny and clean. Only a very small amount of white corrosion on the neg termianl nuts, NONE on the terminals themselves.
Like madhat, it had to be just a glitch or possibly a bad spot starting to develop in hte starter motor.