I went out to start my truck, an 82 6.2L. I turned the ignition to the on position, glow plugs warmed up like usual, everything seemed ok, hit the key to start it, i heard a small thud noise like the starter gear engaged to the flywheel, but nothing, doesnt even try to turn it over. So i try again, nothing. I got the battery charger out and hooked it up, charged at 30 amps, so the batteries must have been dead. let them charge up, tried again, same thing..nothing. Everything electrical seems to work fine except it wont start. So i hooked the battery charger back up, charging at 30 amps again! something is draining these batteries fast. btw they are two everstart MAXX 1000 cranking amps each, and less than a month ago I just cleaned up all the terminals on them. The starter is pretty new, still even looks brand new. however the ignition switch is old and never worked right. wont go to accesory position, and its hard to get from off to on position, and you can pull the key out while its running. Any ideas what may have caused this? never had this type problem before.

it sounds like the solenoid on the starter is shot. The thud you hear is probaly (sp?) the solenoid pushing the starter gear into the flywheel gear. The problem is that the solenoid also works like a relay and has a copper disk that sends the voltage from the big starter wire into the starter motor itself. This disk can get covered with carbon or other crap preventing it from conducting electricity.
To check this, put a meter on the big wire going into the solenoid. You should get 12V. If not, the problem is the battery connection or the wire going from the battery to the starter. Next, look for a copper metal strip that is coming out ofthe solenoid and goes into the starter motor itself (see my crappy picture). Put a meter on this and measure voltage while cranking...you should get around 10V-12V. If not, the solenoid is fawked. You can take the solenoid apart and clean the contacts and even flip the copper disk over so it doesn't have all the arc marks on it. If you are getting 12V on this little copper strip, the windings in the starter motor are shot.

Good luck,
Mike

edit: forgot picture... :rasta:

Hey thanks man thats a ton of help. Does that also explain why the batteries keep going dead even when nothing electrical is turned on? I dont see what would be causing that.

No, it doesn't explain a drain on your batterys. Are you sure the batteries are going dead or are you assuming that because of the current draw from the charger? Try this little test...Turn the headlights on and try to start the truck...do they get dim or stay the same? If they go dim, something is goofy with the battery (something draining it, bad connection, or bad battery). If the lights stay bright, it's something with the starter (or wire going to the starter).

Well, turned out the contacts in the solenoid were burnt pretty good. flipped that disc over, cleaned it up a bit and it works again like new. I have one battery thats bad, is why they keep draining. Thanks again for the quick replies.

I'm glad it worked for you! It's nice to get lucky once in awhile!

FWIW, I've had these solenoids fawk up after deep water. To get my heep to start, I would have to have someone turn the key (so the solenoid would push the gear into the flywheel) and use a screwdriver to short the big wire on the starter to that copper strip.

Well, turned out the contacts in the solenoid were burnt pretty good. flipped that disc over, cleaned it up a bit and it works again like new. I have one battery thats bad, is why they keep draining. Thanks again for the quick replies.


if you have the factory setup with both batterys in parelell, yes a bad battery will drain its partner

the best way for this setup to work properly is to have both batterys exactly the same model and age