ok, last week I had some starter troubles, I posted a thread about it, I replaced the starter, made sure that I connected the wires good and then the truck started right up, no problems...

A few days later, I started to have problems again, this time when I turn over the key to the ON position, there is nothing, no noise at all coming from the starter, not even a click, so I was thinking that the starter was bad, I took it back to the store and they bench tested it and the new starter is ok and it passed all the tests several times..

So I put the starter back in, the 3 bolts are tightened good, I connected the thick red wire and the wire from the ignition switch. I went to start the truck and it did start, I started it a few times, On, Off, drive it to gas station and got some diesel, it started, went home, I turned it off, 10 minutes later, I tried to turn it on, but would not start, I hear no noise from the starter, nothing. But then after I turned the key in the ignition a few times, on and off positions, it started, then after that, it started a few times more.

I waited a few hours and went to test it and no start. My truck has 156,000 miles and until now it never had any problems like this.

I cleaned the battery connections, and made sure that they are tights, volt meter said 12 volts on both the batteries on the right and left side.

I checked the starter relay under the steering wheel.

Anyways, I am running out of ideas, what else could there be wrong ?

When the truck does turn on, it runs fine, no problems, no smoke, no power loss, no nothing. I checked my oil level and it is fine too and there is plenty of diesel.

I mean the starter won't engage, so the engine don't even have a chance to start, what could be the problem ?

Could there be something weird happening in the steering wheel where the key and the ignition happens ? I mean this is too weird. It runs all fine, until I stop it and then nothing from the starter.

I don't have any computer read outs and all I have to say is that I am thankful that I own a Honda, best car ever.

 

question

I put the keys in and turn it, but not into the start position, when all the checks show in the dashboard, and they go away...

after the glow plug goes away, I noticed in the dashboard that the battery icon stays lit in the dashboard, I am thinking that maybe the battery is low and there is not enough juice to energize the starter ?

There are 2 batteries in the truck, are both of them used to start the truck or just one of them ? what is the other one used for, the rest of the electrical systems ?

I am thinking that it is the battery, cross fingers...

 

Sometimes what we do with a problem like this is try shifting the shift selector handle to the neutral position then try to start it. If this solves the problem then we would suspect the transmission range switch (formally neutral safety switch) located on the driver's side of the transmission. If that is the case we just replace the switch and adjust it so that it starts only in park and neutral. Let us know if putting it in neutral solves the starting problem.

 

hmmmm, I tried that and nothing, but I did find something weird, the battery on the right, passenger side, the (+) side, where the cable feeds from the other battery, the terminal post seems cracked, like more than 1/2 way!

both batteries are needed to start the truck ? or just one ?

Also the battery icon is lit in the dash, before I start the truck, does that indicate some type of a battery problem ? or does that go away after the truck starts ?

I am attaching a picture from cell phone

thanks

 

question

I put in the multimeter (volts) into the cigarette lighter before I put the keys in, and I get 12.12 volts, then I turn the keys to the, lets see, I think that would be position 4, before the last position when you cranks the starter, and it dropped to 9.5 volts, and after all the normal sounds, it goes up a little bit to 9.64 volts

is that enough to start the truck ?

I am thinking I am going to plug in the charger and trickle charge the batteries

 

The battery cable terminal is made that way. But, I did notice from your picture, the battery cable has much corrosion on it. That must be cleaned or it will destroy the cable. You can wash it off with a baking soda solution or just plain water. Because of the corrosion I don't know if the lower voltage is due to the corroded cable or the batteries are getting tired. In any case the cables have to be clean and in good condition or you could develop a multitude of problems. So much equipment on todays vehicles are dependent on the correct voltage to operate properly.
If the copper in the cable appears corroded away , it would be wise to replace the cable. If they are the original batteries it might not be a bad idea to replace them. Charging tired batteries will work for a short time , but they eventually will need to be replaced. After you get all the connections cleaned and in good condition , a little coating of grease on the terminals will help to keep the moisture and air from getting at them and encouraging the corrosion process. Also, if you are going to replace a battery, you should replace both because the charging system doesn't know which battery needs the charge and it will end up overcharging the good battery.

 

thanks for advice, I will do that with the cables, I charged the batteries overnight, to 11.5 volts now in position 4, and it wouldn't start, so am thinking it must be the cables that are the problem ?

did you see the crack in the terminal post ? that is supposed to be like that ? why ?

 

Ok, something is weird, the starter has a main power cable and a control wire connected to the solenoid, is this right ?

I did a test with the Continuity mode in my multimeter, I touched the passenger size battery + terminal, and the other side I touch the thick red cable that connects to the starter, and I hear a solid beeep, so that's good.

Then I touched the smaller (control) cable, also a solid beep, but the keys are not in the ignition ?

shouldn't this not be a beep ? doesn't the relay cut off the connection, when the key is not there

when I turn the key, then the relay switched the circuit on and the electricity flows to the control wire, isn't this how this works ?

please advice

and if so, what could be causing this ?

 

at this point, I am thinking ignition switch, what do you think ?

I took it out, was easy to find

 

I did the continuity test again, after removing the ignition switch

solid beep on the main thick red power wire

no solid beep on the control wire

thinking it must be the control switch