Starting issue

[1Salty Dawg]

Would not start this morning lights bright not even a click. Tried to jump for about 15 mins and nothing. Everything pointed to starter. Disconnect battery put in new starter fires right up. Tuened it off and tried to restart and nothing. Disconnected battery and reconnected and fired right up. Thoughts? Thanks 1999 , 4.0 auto. not engine mods or anything.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

It sure sounds like either a bad battery connection or your battery is on its last legs.

1) Use a 4-5$ wire battery brush (available at auto parts stores) to clean your battery posts and the inside of your connectors. Reinstall the connectors and then firmly tighten them around the posts. Check that they are tight enough that they can't be moved around on the battery posts even with considerable hand pressure. If you can't get them tight let me know and I'll give you a simple fix that will get them tight again.


#2 if the above didn't take care of it charge your battery overnight (not just a couple hours) and then take it into a battery shop so they can perform a 'Load Test' on it which is the only test that will show the battery's true health. A load test can't be done on a battery that isn't fully charged.

 

[1Salty Dawg]

new battery and alternator 4 days ago. BUT since I posted I have turned it on and off it 4 times with no issues. I don't get it.

 

[1Salty Dawg]

Ok its doing it again.

 

[broganobrien]

I know this is old;

Did you check the starter relay? It may be failing intermittently and not sending the signal to the starter to engage. No clicking means the solenoid isn’t engaging either. Sometimes the starter motor will burn out but if the connection is good you will almost certainly hear a click/thud of the ring gear getting pushed out.

Change the relay with a known-good relay of the same type in the power distribution box in the engine bay. If that fixes it, get a new relay.