LBZ: Starter Continuous Click + Glow Plugs

[ippielb]

Batteries were 4 years old, the truck would lose the charge over time. The passenger battery always gets a bath of water/washer fluid from the windshield. It had over flowed the battery a couple times because the battery tray is rusted and it dripped down onto my stainless mud flap and stained it. I drained solution, parked the truck for a couple months. Winter came, and i went to go start my truck and it was dead. I went to boost the truck and it wouldnt even start with a boost. I left the tractor connected to the truck to try charge the batteries. It eventually did start. Drove it up to my shop and i discovered that the passenger battery had froze and split open.

Installed two new batteries, cleaned battery cables, charged the batteries. Left the truck hooked up to the trickle charger over night, plugged in the block heater as well.

Next morning went out to start my truck and move it because we were suppose to get some snow and i didnt want drifts in the yard. And the truck wouldn't start. Brand new batteries, on the charger all night, clean cables.

Good my battery charger with the engine start 300amp start. Hooked it up, let it sit for a couple seconds, tried the key, and the starter just clicks, it turns the engine over a little bit but cannot overcome the compression. So it just goes a dull click click click click.

My truck has 477 on the clock so i figured it would be the starter. So i got a new starter, put the starter on and cleaned the grounds on the passenger side of the block. Went to start it back up and the same thing. dull click click click.

I have tried to jump the ground from the battery to the engine, the frame, and one from the positive battery cable to the battery. Even then it just clicks.

It eventually started, but rough. Which is very uncommon for my truck, it starts in -40 no problem and chugs a little bit but clears up right away.

Anyways, after becoming the definition of insanity, trying the same things over and over and expecting a different result it started... And the engine light was on, Glow plug circuits 1 through 4 are all triggering codes, these glow plugs have less then 100,00 on them. p0671 p0672 p0673 p0674

Is there a ground that is hidden that i did not see? Or is there something else i am missing?

 

[2004LB7]

Are your batteries freezing? You need to test the voltage of the batteries prior and during cranking

 

[ippielb]

The batteries are brand new. I just put them on my LB7, i took them from that truck which has a bad water pump. It turns over the lb7 like nothing flat.

Now they're in my LBZ and it doesn't start. So it is something other then the batteries. Even with the booster on 300amp engine start it will not turn over. It just clicks.

 

[ZeroGravity58]

Try running temp positive cables from the battery to the starter and do the same with the ground. Maybe you have a bad cable.

 

[Chevy1925]

The batteries are brand new. I just put them on my LB7, i took them from that truck which has a bad water pump. It turns over the lb7 like nothing flat.

Now they're in my LBZ and it doesn't start. So it is something other then the batteries. Even with the booster on 300amp engine start it will not turn over. It just clicks.

i would start measuring resistance in the main power wires and STILL test voltage. thats the only way you are going to find where the issue lays.

you either have a real bad ground or some nasty power cables.

there are 2 or 3 main ground lugs on the engine. on the pass side at the front of the block just above the transmission lines and on the driverside at the front of the block just above the steering box. make sure those are CLEAN and measure resistance (driverside is the ground for the driver side battery, pass side is pass side battery). both power cables converge at the starter iirc. again, measure resistance from those as well.

be careful removing the grounds. there are a couple small 14ga wires that are ground for the ecm and other computers. they could also very well be part of your issue as a bad ecm ground will not let it start and cause issues.

 

[kidturbo]

Could be your starter, I smoked one last week in the cold. Would still roll over, but slow and labored. I heard it let go however, trying to start a cold engine with no glowplugs.

Sent from a reclined position using Tapatalk

 

[ippielb]

Try running temp positive cables from the battery to the starter and do the same with the ground. Maybe you have a bad cable.

Did this with negatives of battery to engine and frame. And then positive to starter directly with no change.

 

[ippielb]

Could be your starter, I smoked one last week in the cold. Would still roll over, but slow and labored. I heard it let go however, trying to start a cold engine with no glowplugs.

Sent from a reclined position using Tapatalk

Brand new starter, not reman. Did it first turn of the key.

 

[ippielb]

i would start measuring resistance in the main power wires and STILL test voltage. thats the only way you are going to find where the issue lays.

you either have a real bad ground or some nasty power cables.

there are 2 or 3 main ground lugs on the engine. on the pass side at the front of the block just above the transmission lines and on the driverside at the front of the block just above the steering box. make sure those are CLEAN and measure resistance (driverside is the ground for the driver side battery, pass side is pass side battery). both power cables converge at the starter iirc. again, measure resistance from those as well.

be careful removing the grounds. there are a couple small 14ga wires that are ground for the ecm and other computers. they could also very well be part of your issue as a bad ecm ground will not let it start and cause issues.

I have cleaned the three on the passenger side block, all were clean, but I cleaned the block up. Even more. I will check the drivers side when I get my truck in the shop. I read the harness likes to rub on the wheel liner.

 

[down_hiller]

Use a multimeter to measure the voltage drop in the positive and negative cables.
Put one probe on the battery post and the other on the starter post and have someone crank it while you watch the voltage. It should read close to zero. Do the same with the negative. That will tell you if/where you have a problem with power or ground cables.

 

[ippielb]

Wouldn’t you think it would completely bypass the problem when I jumped from the negative battery to the frame, the other negative battery to the engine, As well as the positive to the starter terminal?

Either way when I get my truck in the shop I will be testing that.

I’ll have to check the driver side ground and ECM wiring on driver wheel well.

Is there something else that would cause all 4 of the front glow plugs to stop working coincidentally at the same time?

 

[Chevy1925]

Unless you have some major mechanical issues, it’s either wiring (big main cables or the start wire), batteries or the starter.

Starter could very well be under a bind from some other issue where it mounts

 

[2004LB7]

Start at the beginning and verify the batteries before and during cranking. If the voltage is good before and during then move to the next item. I bet it is simpler then you think

 

[JoshH]

You need to verify what the voltage is doing while cranking. Get a voltage meter and hook it up to the battery, pull the cover off the starter relay in the fusebox under the hood, crank the truck with the key off by manually activating the relay and see what the meter says.

 

[ippielb]

Sorry for the late follow up. Was cold out here, and we started calving season. Haven't had a chance to look at the truck. But literally did nothing to it, and it is starting every time now.

Still starts really rough because of the glow plugs, unsure why the front 4 glow plugs all stopped working at the exact same time though.