Engine won’t turn over, just clicks. Could it be an alternator, starter or other issue?

Knightrider621

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Hudson nc
Good afternoon all! Long time reader first time posting. I have an 2005 tj. I had to jump start the battery via booster cables. I drove it around for 30-45 minutes to charge battery. Later I go out to crank it. Dash lights and gauges come on but won’t turn over it’s just a single click sound when I try to crank it. I removed battery and took it to O’Reilly’s. The nice gentleman told me the battery was good and wished me good luck. Could it be an alternator, starter or other issue? I’m not sure. It will crank with booster cables no problem. But does not seem to crank otherwise. I’ve also cleaned terminals to no avail. Any insight will be appreciated as this jeep has been the bane of my existence as of late. But every mile has been a memory. Thank you ladies and gentlemen.
 
Good afternoon all! Long time reader first time posting. I have an 2005 tj. I had to jump start the battery via booster cables. I drove it around for 30-45 minutes to charge battery. Later I go out to crank it. Dash lights and gauges come on but won’t turn over it’s just a single click sound when I try to crank it. I removed battery and took it to O’Reilly’s. The nice gentleman told me the battery was good and wished me good luck. Could it be an alternator, starter or other issue? I’m not sure. It will crank with booster cables no problem. But does not seem to crank otherwise. I’ve also cleaned terminals to no avail. Any insight will be appreciated as this jeep has been the bane of my existence as of late. But every mile has been a memory. Thank you ladies and gentlemen.
If you can drive it, most auto parts stores will do free battery/alternator/starter testing all at once. That may give you a better idea.

Do you have a voltmeter? If so, what is the voltage with the car idling (no jumper cables connected)? How about off?
 
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The alternator can't charge a dead battery and it can barely charge a nearly dead battery. Driving around 45 minutes won't even come close to charging it. The reason is the alternator is, yes, powered by the battery. True. It needs to charge overnight with an 8-12 amp bench top charger.

I would also take the battery to a battery specialty shop and have it load tested which is the only way to know the battery's true health. Not an auto parts store, their sales people usually have no clue how to properly perform a load test. Improperly performed a load test will show a bad battery is good.