Last night my truck barely turned over but it did start. I was going to visit somebody in the hospital so I went for it not knowing whether it would get me home or not.I came home in the passenger seat of a tow truck.

It wouldn't turn over fast enough to start even with a jump. I put both batteries on a charger overnight and same thing today but worse. I found a loose ground and fixed it, still won't spin fast enough. My first thought is starter but it's a couple months old. when I do try to start it it kills the batteries almost instantly. Both batteries are good 1125 cranking amps. The starter was new not rebuilt. Is there anything else it could be? I really don't want to crawl my crippled fat butt under there!

EDIT:
When I turn the ignition on I hear 4 or 5 clicks (usually only one) and the usual buzz and the dome light goes dim and flickers then comes back on. Do I still have a bad ground?

 

What's the condition of the battery cables? Have they ever been replaced? Does the positive cable that goes over to the other battery and down to the starter look black/dark where they connect at the battery post?

The clicks and the dome light flicker is normal.That's the glow plug relay,pulling high amps to feed and glow the plugs.

 

maybe I never noticed a dome light before because it's always above and behind me but this time I was reaching in from the outside. I cut off the ends of the battery cables clean them up real well and put new ends on about 2 months ago they are solid.

 

new starter does not mean much if it was a cheap starter.
i put one of those DB electric starters that everyone swears by in my 88. it worked fine for 3 months. then one day left me stranded at the fuel pump dead as a ship on the bottom of the ocean.

 

NOT THE STARTER! I just replaced the starter and same thing.... 6 or 7 clicks the dome light flickers and goes out then come back on and the batteries are seriously discharged. I'm lost! I swear it used to click only once when the glow plug selenoid powered up.It doesn't turn over at all. it did the night it wouldn't start and wound up on the tow truck so it's worse now.

 

It was from NAPA, NOT THE STARTER! I just replaced the starter and same thing.... 6 or 7 clicks the dome light flickers and goes out then come back on and the batteries are seriously discharged. I'm lost! I swear it used to click only once when the glow plug selenoid powered up.It doesn't turn over at all. it did the night it wouldn't start and wound up on the tow truck so it's worse now.

 

Can't tell for sure from the pics.....are those cable lugs soldered in addition to being hammer crimped? I'd be looking at every cable connection, and checking for voltage drop while cranking. You have classic symptoms of voltage drop, assuming good battery and starter. Also could be happening at the relay.

 

First what relay?
Yes, the cables are soldered & hammer crimped. Well I also have a bad steering column. It might be in there. I ran an extra ground on both batteries (can't hurt). Because of my sloppy column I had installed a push button start a long time ago. Just for fun I went straight to the selenoid on the fender and jumped it. It turns over but slowly and the starter is clicking intermitantly so II'm losing power somewhere. I'm checking and rechecking conections for the 50th time and replacing the selenoid because I have a spare. I know where a column is but really don't want to do it until I locate the problem.

 

First what relay?

I may have misspoken, (I have an 86 6.9 and 91 7.3) Without going out to look, I believe they each have a relay on the passenger's fender well?

ETA, I was referring to the solenoid as a relay. Your response indicates bad connections or cables.

 

Jumping the solenoid eliminates it as a problem. And nothing in the steering column/switch handles any high current. With a helper and multimeter, you can check for voltage drop on the main cables, maybe a 15 minute job, as they are all pretty accessible. With the high currents involved in cranking, it doesn't take much resistance to create a voltage drop. V X A = W (power). No easy way to measure cranking current, but methodically checking all cables and connections will probably turn up something.
Also, jumping the solenoid, can also mean you are just bypassing the steering column switch. If you jump a small terminal to a large, that is what you are doing. If you jump across the two large terminals, your jumper would be carrying high current, and would probably be the highest resistance in the circuit.
Did you jump the solenoid to activate it, or to bypass it?

 

I jumped it to activate it I think. Large pole to large pole.

 

it sounds to me like either the alternator is on it's way out, or one battery is bad.
disconnect the batteries, and charge each one separate.
at least 8 hours 2 amp slow charge each.
then let them sit unhooked for 12 hours or so, and load test them.
if the batteries test good, hook back up and see what happens. if it cracks rite off have the alternator tested.
if it slow cranks/ does not start it is either a bad cable, bad connection, or bad starter.

 

Thanks.
I followed this logical list and the truth was revealed. BOTH batteries (Optima 31DMs) were toast, which was highly suspect. The passenger's side was completely gone and the driver's side had one dead cell. I replaced both batteries. After I got it cranked I immediately saw that the volt meter in my dash was pegged so I shut it down. I found that the voltage regulator had crapped out agin and fried my batteries. The last time this happened a year ago the passenger side battery was actually boiling and the casing was soft when I pulled over. Amazingly it survived that ordeal.... OPTIMA!!! Because this is twice the volyage regulator has died I ask if anyone can tell me if there is a reason for this other than low quality parts.

 

There are a lot of crap parts out there. Cheap chinese knock-offs, especially places like the da 'Zone. If you buy the cheapest part, it is going to fail sooner than later. I suggest a 3G upgrade and be done with it.

 

I generally trust Napa Fleet and Napa Premium which is what I bought this time both the starter and the voltage regulator. It's also what I like about RockAuto they tell you which are the economy, standard, and heavy duty parts.
I will get to the 3G upgrade "some day"