I seem to be having a small problem when starting my truck. I will either get just a click or a partial crank over if that makes any sense. Eventually it does catch and start but it has taken me for than half and hour a few times to get it started. I am sure the click is the solenoid on the starter probably has a bad spot or something. Also the battery is a 650cca battery which just seems a little small for turning over the 360. I have been looking a the Powermaster 180 ft.lb. starter (9613) and think I may go with that for the replacement. I dont have a few hundred $$$ to spend on a high performance battery right now but I did find a 800cca battery at one of the local auto parts stores. Thats where I sit for now. If anyone has any other ideas please feel free to chime in. Thanks in advance.

 

Bad starter solenoid contacts... A bad spot in the armiture (sp?) would require the starter motor to be removed and turned by hand a little bit to rotate it off the bad spot. But bad contacts would intermittently not carry enough amperage to roll the engine over. I`m trying to remember if you can flip the contacts to get a new contact surface... This would require disconnecting the battery, removing the battery cable from the starter, loosening the nut under the battery cable a bit (don`t take it all the way off), push the stud in and rotate it 180*, then reassemble. That gives a fresh surface for the contacts as it only contacts one half of the button on the bottom of the stud. Try that once see what it does.

As for your battery, do you live in a cold climate? 650 cold cranking amps seems sufficient to me, unless you`ve bumped you compression ratio... Though if it`s more than five years old it is probably getting weak. I haven`t seen many batteries live more than 7 years, but then again I mostly work on AG equipment.

 

my daughter's 4runner did this. when trying to start it, it would make one solid clunk sound from the starter where the solenoid tripped, but it wouldn't spin the starter nor the engine. you could try it a hundred times, and it might spin 10 of those times.

battery was good, connections were all good, and the lights didn't dim very much at all when it would clunk, so it wasn't drawing any significant amperage.

i removed the starter and tested it on the bench with a battery. clunk, but no spin. took it apart to inspect the brushes. brushes were good, but the slots in the armature were gummed up with brush residue, which was causing it to short. i scraped the slots clean with a small screw driver and bench tested it and it was like new again. saved $150.


now - if you have a fluttering click and your headlights go out when trying to start it - then you have a dead battery....

 

Yes I do live in a cold climate. Highs today in the low to mid 20's and over a foot of snow. Great place to have a 2wd right lol! I will give both of these suggestion a try this weekend my dad has a heated shop where I can work on it. Thanks again for the input. I will definatlely get back to you all and let you know what happened. Thanks again.

 

First thing to look at is where the NEG batt lead anchors to the frame. Make sure you have a clean, tight contact piont. Just had that happen to me. Power was at the starter and would click sometimes turn over. The bad ground was causing low current draw. You can have power all day but without current your dead. Just a quick electrical lesson for those who dont know. =)

 

Cold enough then... It`s noon here and 12*. The 650CCA battery should be enough though, but there`s no kill like overkill lol.

Anyway, I would highly suggest NOT disassembling your starter unless you have a replacement on hand... It is almost impossible for a home mechanic to reassemble a chrysler starter. Jerks put the brushes in the front of the starter instead of the rear. I personally won`t touch a chrysler starter, I go directly to my rebuilder for those.

Oh and x2 on checking your ground.

 

I see all of these threads with "cold weather". Hell, I would love to have 20 degrees! After a winter in Alaska, 20 degrees brings out the t shirts and shorts... We have hit -61 so far this winter. Sorry, just had to say it.

As far as the clicking. Have you gotten your battery tested yet? A bad/low voltage battery would cause clicking, and if it could build enough volts, would crank over. Take a wire brush to all the terminals/contacts too. You can also try cranking it (if the battery is good) and tap the starter with a hammer or the end of a screwdriver, if it cranks then the starter has something going on. Just my .02