Ok, so me and my buddy did some welding on the exhaust today. I disconnected both battery terminals and connected the ground from the welder to a bar that connects the step bar to the frame. We welded exhaust, put termials back on, all lights came on but it acted like the battery is dead. We jump started it, barly, then battery voltage gauge read good, drove it for 15 mins and shut it off and wouldent start again. Try to jump it for 20 mins and it would click and sometimes act like it was about to turn over. I pop started it, drove it for 20 mins shut it off and was completly dead again, would just click. Put battery on charger and it said battery had a full charge, but will not start. So is it prolly the starter? Iv only had the truck for a week but it hasent acted wierd the whole time. The welding we did was not near the starter but is it possible the ground we did from the welder fried the starter?

 

Possibly. I've welded on mine without the battery disconnected and it was ok. And probably much closer to the battery and starter than you were. Starting problems can be a real pain to trace down. Trace the wires off of the starter. Maybe you just have a fried wire.

 

but would it click if a wire it fried. Also, the starter kind of makes a whining noise when im under it

 

also, when the battery carger was hooked up, the guage was up to about 16-17 volts!

 

since it started on it own once, and sometimes clicks, it sounds like a dead battery. the easiest place to start is to pull the battery out and run a load test. or maybe swap in a known good battery, and take yours out of the circuit. a really dead/grounded out battery can sap all the life out of a good one.

if that's ok, then check all your fuses and relays. follow the voltage through the starter relay? down to the small control wire at the starter. it should have 12v there when you turn the key to start (testing this requires a helper) check for constant 12v on the bit wire at the starter.

if all that's ok, pull the starter and bench test it.

 

ok i will put another battry in it, but would a battry just go dead that fast, its been fine. And after i drive it it still want even crank over. The starter will click once then nothin will hapen. Every time i try to start it, it will just click once then nothin will happen.

 

sounds like a bad connection..clean the battery clamps and make sure there on there good..

 

When welding on a truck it is always best to hook the ground to the piece being welded. Hooking the ground to the bar which was bolted to the frame of the truck allowed the electricity from the welder (AC current on some welders, 36v DC on others) to travel throughout the truck. It could've blown anything. I once saw a guy blow out EVERY light bulb on a truck with a welder.

 

fried the solenoid on the starter?

 

That's what I was going to say, if you don't have a wire brush then lightly scrape the terminals and the battery posts with a pocket knife and get them shiny before clamping them down.
Yep, you are basically making whatever metal that is inline between the welding gun and the ground part of the circuit and that ain't good. You've got plenty of 5-40A fuses/relays that can pop when you run 125A through them from a welder. Also, the PCM isn't designed to take that much current.