newbie with a big problem!

[boilerbrando]

i have an 02 xlt and my ignition won't turn over. we disconnected the battery and still nothing. Relay #51 is making a ticking sound over and over. We swapped out different relays and nothing. A jump from my brother's ex made the relay stop ticking. The battery reads 12.5 volts and the leads aren't corroded. wtf?

My brother is a member here and i just registered myself. I've seen my brother make some great mods to his truck and troubleshoot a lot; hoping to do the same with my truck via the website. I'm off to search the site, but if anyone has any ideas it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Have you bench tested the starter outside of the vehicle?

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome 2 the forum

 

[Blee1099]

Does the theft light flash at all? I know the 02 has a PATs system, wondering if that is possibly causing your issue. Another thing to do is to find the fuel rail and press in the shrader valve to verify there is fuel pressure.

 

[MadExplorer93]

These are somethings i do to test somethings out, these options are do it at your own risk, but if done right then you have no worries.

This is with key on, but hook wires before turning key on.

One test i used to do on my old chevy truck is take some GOOD battery jumper cables and hook the ground to the ground on the battery and ground other end to engine block or a good ground point and if it turned over then its a bad ground.

If it did not turn over i then tried to ground the wire to the block close to the starter and if it still did not turn over. I then would ground it good somewhere and then take the positive cable and put it on battery positive and run the other end to the postive on the starter (JUST TOUCH IT). If it turned over then its a poor positive connection at the starter.

Now of course you don't have to do this above, look for corroded wires on starter and solenoid if you don't do what i mentioned above.

(NOTE: I don't take any responsibility if you do anything wrong period and/or it causes injury or vehicle damage)

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The other option is take starter out and ground the ground jumper wire to the END on the starter (the end with the gear on it) and then take the positive and touch the positive stud on the starter and that sucker if it works will kick in like a bulldozer (Make Sure to put your foot on it before making contact) also don't hook positive end on it, just touch it for a few seconds only and then take off and do it again a few times for a few seconds, this will tell you its working.

Now from experience some starters work when out, but not enough when in the vehicle under load, so thats why i do the first option i stated about above.

(NOTE: I don't take any responsibility if you do anything wrong period and/or it causes injury or vehicle damage)

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This is with key on:

Maybe a Solenoid issue.... Test this way.

Now you could have a starter solenoid issue too which could be gone or poor contact at wires to it. That is usually located on the left side fender wall. I usually take a screw driver or two if need to be and with KEY ON i crossed the drivers while one was on the postive and the other on the ground. If vehicle starts then its a bad solenoid or bad connection on wires.

You cna use screw drivers or a good thick wire, but i recommend screw drivers as then at least you have the handles to hold onto.

(NOTE: I don't take any responsibility if you do anything wrong period and/or it causes injury or vehicle damage)

 

[MadExplorer93]

On another note, you can take it to a garage and they can test them too.

 

[Russ in CT]

How old is the battery? Just because it reads 12.5 V doesn't mean its good. It could be able to hold 12V yet still not have enough capacity to turn over the starter.

Its like if you took two small 9V batteries and strung them together, more voltage than you need but no way its going to start the truck, not enough amps. Power (watts) is volts x amps, you need both.

You noticed an improvement when trying to jump from your brothers truck. But jumper cables impose some 'restriction', or 'resistance', meaning not all the juice gets to the dead truck (the cables resistance causes a voltage drop). The longer/thinner the jumper cables, the worse it is.

You've got two trucks, why not try swapping batteries? Put yours in your brothers, and his in your truck. See if his truck now has issues starting, and if yours is cured. Won't take long and its a quick way to rule out the battery.

Its also possible you have two issues conspiring against you, so even if his battery doesn't start your truck, if yours doesn't work fine in his, you've still got a battery issue to deal with first.

 

[wisekise]

we thought of that but if by chance he had a fubar'd electrical system and left me with a dead batt. actually, we both would be fubar'd since he works/rides with me! during the jump the voltage increased to 13.38 with heavy duty cables
the theft light does flash and the dash, and exterior lights go crazy
we found online a owners manual and the relay legend said #51 was the police idv or something like that and we dont know wtf that is
we will try the starter and batt sugg's tomm since we finally got a day off, then post results
we'll have to research this pats system stuff though, could it be being tricked into "theft" mode by the batt?
oh and MadExplorer93 thanks for the tips and the disclaimers i tel my bro the same thing when we work on his truck
as usual thanks to all for the help, and keep it coming

 

[boilerbrando]

Got a code reader and a new battery...we'll see what happens

I just came home with a code reader and a new battery. ....well an hour later and after trying the sugg's, apparently the most simple solution was the one that worked...

new battery=working x
thanks for the help, as always it's much appreciated
i'll be back next time i have a dead battery

 

[BrooklynBay]

Thanks for the update! What brand of battery, and type of code reader did you get?

 

[boilerbrando]

Battery and Code reader

I bought an Autocraft Silver (CCA 675).

The code reader was a CodeScout 2500 and the connector was ODB-II. While we had my brother's x there we hooked his up too; neither reported any codes. I couldn't believe how easy it was to use also. A deposit at the auto parts store (O Reilly's) and a couple hours later got my money back with no hassle.

Again, thanks to everyone for their help. The simplest solution worked, but I think I learned alot about my truck along the way.

 

[juggaloscorpio]

are there any auto stores you can do like a loan-a-tool type thing where i can use a code reader for my 95 x??? i mean seriously 150-400 bucks for a code reader???

 

[35Remmy]

JUGG...you can get code readers for 80$ at Advance Auto. Can't remember the brand, but they work great.

 

[Bruno_1993]

Ok, I need some advice From Pro's...

 

[Bruno_1993]

I'm having some problems. My suspention is making all kinds of nosies. I NEED A FULL USHING KIT!!! And i have no idea where to get one?!?! And i want to do some other mods But don't know where to go or where to start, If you can, Drop me a line or E-mail (preferd) Jeffshady@yahoo.com.

Thank's guy's. Any help would be cool.

 

[juggaloscorpio]

will the obd II read the codes for my 95 ex?? i thought obd II was for 96 and newer vehicles??

 

[BrooklynBay]

95 was EEC-IV.

 

[wisekise]

are there any auto stores you can do like a loan-a-tool type thing where i can use a code reader for my 95 x??? i mean seriously 150-400 bucks for a code reader???

you can just "borrow" one for a "minimal" charge on a card that gets refunded when you return it. thats what we did