Gah!....Turn key....<click>
 

Batteries. They've been hard starting for the last month in the blistery cold 73* mornings in S.FL. Today, they are dead. Turn key, wait to start, put on seatbelt, turn to start...click. :yuck:

Hope I can find those Sears Platinums on sale. I think I might have just missed it![duhhh]

You did miss the most recent sale. It was 25 percent off each plus an additional 15dollars off if using online codes. Sears does have a 30 day price policy. If the product goes on sale within 30 days, bring in the receipt and they will adjust your purchase price to the sale price. They typically go on sale again at the end of December. That last sale was a good one and the next sale may not be the same.

Sears does have 2 coupon codes that should apply to an online order which can then be picked up at your local store. Use code SAVE50 to get $50 off of automotive orders. The other code is SEARS2013 which takes an additional $5 off.

Also wanted to inform you of the sears Friends and Family Sale. This should take 10 percent off the cost of the batteries. Here are the details of the sale. Hope this helps!

Sometimes you need a little motivation to get you through the last push of Christmas shopping. The December Family and Friends event is here to help beginning December 8th from 6 pm-9 pm or online December 7th from 8 pm CST to December 10th, 7 am CST. Get up to 15% many items to help you purchase those last minute gifts. These savings can help you add an extra present under that tree this year from Santa!

Shop your way members get an extra special bonus for this fall: qualifying purchases can earn members up to 3% in points, and if you use your Sears Card, up to 10% in points! What an incentive to shop this Family and Friends Event!

FAMILY & FRIENDS in-store Sunday, December 8th from 6p,-9pm and online at Sears.com: December 7th, 8pm CST to November 10th, 7am CST

Event details:

Get Up to 15% off on regular, sale and clearance purchases
Extra 15% off Regular, Sale and Clearance clothing for the family, lingerie and sleepwear, accessories, fine jewelry and watches, footwear, and Lands &lsquo;End shop in Sears.
Extra 10% off Regular, Sale and Clearance cosmetics and fragrances, bed and bath, window fashions, housewares, luggage and ready to assemble, mattresses, recliners, Shaw rug gallery, appliances, Floorcare, tools, automotive, game room and sporting goods, fitness, outdoor furniture and grills, seasonal, Lawn & Garden, Home Services and Parts Direct.
Extra 5% off Regular, Sale and Clearance Home Improvement installed services, Consumer electronics, TV&rsquo;s 40&rdquo; and larger, Toys available online only

Good call, I saw that on the link here: http://www.sears.com/diehard-platinu...4&AID=11042411

I need to get to it though, they expire today.


Just for the fun of it, I checked "compatibility" with the Sears popup thing as you select the item and put it in the cart. It says this battery isn't compatible with my 06 ram slt 2500 diesel??

The group 65 batteries are compatible with the 06 MY. The sears website is not the greatest. Please see my edited post above for the details on the Friends and family sale.

Awesome - thanks! :thumbsup:

Going to pick up the new batteries in a little bit. Cost $389 otd on the website. Looks like the F&F discounts you posted up there are in swing. The Save50 still applied too :)

Well, no dice. Installed the new batteries and still...nothing :yuck:

Guess I look at starters now.

I took it for granted the fix was likely the batteries as they had been lugging along on start up and they were due that I didn't do any troubleshooting for voltage. I feel like a goon for overlooking that.

9 out of 10 times on these trucks you are correct. I guess that pesky 1 out of 10 got you. :(

Tap the starter with a hammer and see what happens. You may have one fo the brushs that is hung up and not fallen all the way down.

Tapping on the starter is a good idea. However, you might want to have it tested at an auto parts store prior to shelling out for the cost of a new one. Be sure to clean all of the cable ends and grounds that you can locate as well. A new/rebuilt starter is not going to be cheap. You can also get a starter solenoid rebuild kit from Genos. They even offer a kit with an installation DVD to walk you through the process.

I will try tapping on it. Least it might indicate it is the problem if it starts after that.

I saw the plunger rebuild kit at Geno's so I'm looking at it instead of $130 minimum for a rebuilt unit. My starter that is on there now is a Denso unit from Japan. I hear they are robust units. So if I can keep it with a relatively easy & inexpensive rebuild, I'd like to do that.

Is getting the starter out of there a simple proposition? Or am I in for a treat?

I did not resistance test my cables while I had them unhooked. I'll pull them all again tomorrow and at least do that. The terminals were pretty corroded. I let them get out of hand as I got lazy. But I baking powdered them then sandpapered the inside of the clamps. I may have to replace the Pside negative clamp as it wouldn't tighten much on the battery post.

Now you tell us about the clamps... LOL. This is likely the problem. The corrosion issue as well as the negatives not clamping down on the new posts is a big issue with these trucks. Once corrosion gets on the cable ends, it tends to creep back under the rubber jacket and works it's way into the stranded cable, causing trouble. You can clean the ends until they sparkle, but I warn you that the corrosion may have migrated into the cable. Also, if the negatives are not clamping down and loose, this also contributes to the no start issue. I recommend you replace the cables as I had to do this on two of our company CTD'S as the cables were not long enough to retrofit new cable ends on and the corrosion had migrated into the wires.

:ugly:


If I got replacement cables, what gauge should I purchase?

Oh! And starter failures do occur occasionally on the third gens but cable corrosion and damaged ends cause much more trouble overall.