My 2007 Dakota V6 does not want to start right now. (It is pretty cold here at the moment. -24c to -27C over night and -15C during the day) It does not crank. I can hear one click when I first try and then nothing. The interior lights/fan/radio/gages appear to be working normally. The day before it was just as cold and no problem starting. The battery was replaced about 1.5 years ago.
I tried to boost with my other vehicle and still no crank.
I cleaned/wire brushed the two battery connections and the connection at the fuse block under the hood. I crawled under to tap the starter and solenoid. (I did not attempt to clean the connection at the starter as I am warming up from the cold. The nut does look rusty on the starter) Tried to start but still no crank.
I have not had a chance to try boosting it since I cleaned the connections. (waiting for my booster vehicle to come home).
Any ideas where to look next?
Thanks,
Mark

 

What is the battery voltage?

 

I'm not sure what the voltage is. I have a old multi-meter and it is showing me around 14 Volts just as it sits. (To re-check the meter I checked 4 AA batteries in series and I'm getting 6 Volts; but on a 9V transiter battery I'm getting about 10-11 Volts)

Thanks,
Mark

 

I had the 'Click - no start' issue a few months back (Thread here). The wire from the started to the solenoid had frayed apart. Just something to check real quick.

I put together some alligator clips and wire to get it started, a temporary fix of course. A new starter was the resolution.

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Dakotaff,

I think that I likely have a similar problem as you have documented. My starter does not look quite as corroded as yours.
I just got home and it is too dark (and too cold) to crawl underneath again. I will just get the truck towed to the garage and let them have a look at it and post the results.

Would it have been possible to just replace the cable between the starter and solenoid?

Thanks,
Mark

 

You would have to solder a new wire in place, and there's not much room to accomplish it. Plus that wire is exposed to wind, salt, snow, ice, water, and dirt. Who knows if a soldered wire will stand up to that abuse, I didn't want to find out that the wire came apart again, probably at the worst possible time too.

 

I sort of thought the same thing.
I wonder why this wire was not insulated/protected from the factory.
Maybe I will smear some electrical grease on the exposed cable when I change the oil next time.

Mark

 

I would like to add, in regards to battery voltage, that your battery reading 14 volts with no draw on it doesn't mean that it is good. I would want to know the battery voltage with the key in the start position. You can have 14 volts but no amperage left in the battery, this would show up when you try to crank it over. Your multimeter would instantly drop from the 14V down to possibly as low as 2-3V. A healthy battery while cranking over your engine should still show 11-12 volts.

With the cold weather as you've described I would DEFINITELY check the battery first, before getting ready to condemn potentially more expensive, (and much more difficult to replace) parts.

 

I know that my battery is starting to go. Starts up good when it's warmer then -25 C (-13 F), but colder then that like what i've been getting, i need to make sure i plug in the block heater. If the engine is warmed by the block heater, no issues starting. It is still the original battery from the manufactured date of August 2010 in my truck.

All started last year when it dropped to -50 C (-58 F) overnight over new years. Since that day, I've had to plug it in sooner and sooner. Up to that point, my truck was never plugged in for me and i've never had issues with starting. Earlier this winter, my plug in temp was -35 C (-31 F), but it's gotten worse as I've needed a boost or to plug it in warmer then that. Oh the joys of living in Northeastern Ontario. -45 (-49 F) in winter, +40 (104 F) in summer, and this is without windchill or humidex.

 

I agree completely, the majority of "no crank" issues are a result of a failing battery. If you have the truck in a garage, they should perform a load test on that battery & if they don't, I wouldn't leave the truck there.

When you try to start the truck, the starter takes a very large current in-rush (essentially an electric motor acts like a short circuit until it gets rolling) and if the battery can't supply that, all you'll hear is one or more clicks or nothing.

If your truck will crank with a jump, you don't have a wiring problem. I've found that trying to jump a vehicle with a bad battery doesn't always work very well because of the huge draw the bad battery has on the jumped power source. I've had to remove the bad battery and put a "known good" battery in to get around this issue. If you use one of those portable battery jumper units, keep in mind that they need somewhere around 3 volts or better in the car battery before they'll work (a safety feature so you don't accidentally arc the contacts and cause personal injury).

I understand your difficulties with the temperature, I live in the same general area and am having real difficulties just performing regular maintenance, and on top of that, I'm in the process of moving again