still new to the disco and working on vehicles in general**

DII 2003, V8 4.6 SE7

I got in the truck and tried starting it and it wouldn't turn over. There was no excessive clicking, just one loud click for every time I tried turning the key. All the lights lit up/radio turned on/ac started blowing. The battery is about a month and a half old. Tried jumping it, same thing. Took the battery to store, it was drained but not dead. Had them recharge it, put it back into the disco and still nothing. Knocked on the starter motor a few times and it sounded like it wanted to start, like a the initial sound of something beginning to turn but then stopped.

As I tried it more, the juice seemed to become less and less. The first turn of the key all lights were on but by third consecutive turn nothing lit up. Now after waiting for a few minutes all the lights would come back on.

I have checked fuses and relays, all seem to be working. the SM relay on the passenger side fuse box clicks every time I turn the key, even after I change the relay.

What's next?

Thanks

 

Has the starter motor spun at all?

 

As an ASE shadetree mechanic the first thing I would check would be the battery cables. Make sure they are corrosion free and tight. If that fails to cure the problem I would move on to the starter. I don't know if the solenoid is separate from the starter or not if it is then I would try to bypass it and try to start it. If it's attached to the starter then I would pull the starter and have it checked at a local parts house. I may or may not be on the right track so maybe a more knowledgeable mechanic could point you in the right direction. D*

 

After checking voltage at the starter I would suspect it needs a new one.

You knocked it, and it behaved in a different way. Which means it's involved.

Check connections at it, and the battery, fiddle a bit more. Find out it's the same deal, then go get a new one.

$0.50 says that's the issue.

 

It could also be a bad battery cable connection at the starter. Happened to me with my '65 Mustang 40 years ago.

Disconnect the cable, clean the mating surfaces, and reconnect it. Might as well disconnect and reconnect the solenoid connector while you're at it.

If you test and find good voltage at the starter end of the battery cable try checking voltage to the solenoid connector while a helper turns the key. If you get good voltage at the solenoid connector you've narrowed down the options and diagnosed a bad starter.

 

It sure sounds like the starter or the wiring.

I bought myself a D2 starter a while back as a good trail spare and it only cost me 80.00 after the 20.00 I had on my Auto Zone card. I slapped it into my 98 D1 just to test it out and I made the original my trail spare. It's been in my D1 for over a year now and it's an excellent starter.

 

Probably just corroded battery terminals.
If the battery is older the acid leaks up the lead post and causes
green gunk

 

Day before you yesterday we knocked the hell out of the starter and it turned over. It turned over with the old starter not only the one time I did it a few times and then the following morning as well. I got a replacement starter from O'reillys, it was a refurbished one. It was my only option I am away from home in the middle of nowhere. We tested the other starter and it kept tripping the machine so the assumption was that it was bad. Once it was replaced I tried turning it over and nothing. So I went and had the battery, which is a couple months old, tested and it was at 65%. Even though it was recharged a couple days ago. They quick charged it to 100%, I brought it back and still nothing. It seems almost dead after a several successive turns. Where do I begin? I will have to travel home in a week and really need to have something solved. In the morning I am going to change the battery completely to see if its that. However if its not, then what? There is juice going to the starter- I tested that. But when I turn the key there is still just a click. It turned over with the old starter not only the one time I did it but that following morning as well.

 

If you have the tools to get the starter off I would take it to the oldest looking starter and and alternator shop you can find. My local one rebuilds them in about an hour and I've never paid more than 40 bucks even when they had to replace the entire innards.

It sounds to me like your starter solenoid is fried.

 

Where are you? What state?

Do you have a multimeter?

Hook up the multimeter to your battery, crank, while cranking what does the meter do? If your meter drops considerably when cranking or trying to crank, your battery is dead or shot.

Did something happen to your truck before this issue? Overheat, loss of oil etc?

Did you check and double check your connections to the starter?

Have you tried jumping the solenoid?