electrical/starting issue

[chicagodiesel]

Okay, first things first. Truck's 12v...previous owner, either way, that's the way it is.

Truck started right up. Glow plugs on for a two seconds, cranked, turned over, and fired. Drove a few miles, shut it down.

Attempted to restart a few minutes later. All interior displays dimmed significantly, no cranking, just a winding sound, like something spinning but coming from under the dash (NOT THE STARTER). Bad ignition switch? Don't have the starter relay hooked up anymore as it isn't needed with a 12v system and 12v starter.

Any ideas? Grounding out somewhere? How should I go about looking for the problem. I think I am just going to replace my glow plug relay (as it might be getting stuck on) and my ignition switch....see where I end up? Please any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[corelokt]

Bad battery connections. Clean, tighten, check for cracked claps. Clean the grounds. Clean at the terminal blocks. Check your fuseable links. A long shot. Check to see if something fell onto the injection pump and shorted across a terminal there, happened to me.

 

[Warthog]

Without knowing how the PO "rewired" the truck, it is hard for us to diagnose your problem.

My first thought was the starter relay, but it has been removed.

Start with the basics. Make sure your battery/batteries are fully charged and load tested. Without knowing the condition of the batteries, you are p!ssing in the wind.

Then check allthe battery connections and grounds.

Then you have to start testing. Try jumpering the starter.

 

[chicagodiesel]

Thanks. I have replaced all terminal connectors previously. Batteries were tested about three weeks ago. I'm going to dig around under the dash to make sure relay has in fact been removed. It seems like it is grounding out or something is stuck on pulling a large load. I say this because the headlights will barely come on when the key is turned to on. The rewire the PO did is a mess. Winter just wasn't the time for a rewire project for me, now it seems its necessary.

 

[Warthog]

I was just rereading some of your old posts about electrical issues.

Yes it sounds like it is time to figure out what you have and how to fix it.

Good luck.

 

[mistaken1]

Thanks. I have replaced all terminal connectors previously. Batteries were tested about three weeks ago. I'm going to dig around under the dash to make sure relay has in fact been removed. It seems like it is grounding out or something is stuck on pulling a large load. I say this because the headlights will barely come on when the key is turned to on. The rewire the PO did is a mess. Winter just wasn't the time for a rewire project for me, now it seems its necessary.

A battery can go bad in just a few minutes from one good start to a no start.

You may have short in the wiring or the short may be internal to a battery.

Checking them again is rather simple. If you have two in parallel remove one to see what happens. If the truck acts the same swap batteries to see what happens. It is possible for both to be bad although more likely only one would go bad.

 

[Ferroequinologist]

I believe the title of your thread, needs to be stenciled on the dashboard above the gauges of every single CUCV.

On a more helpful note, if they rewired her to be 12v, look for the civi diagrams and use those, they will be closer to what's there now.

Opps, just read the posts that popped up before mine. I see they made a mess of it.

I would check the batteries again first as others have said and work your way back from there. Just like if something doesn't work in your house, you start at the meter and work your way to the toaster you can't possibly miss the problem.

 

[corelokt]

Find yourself a door open or seatbelt buzzer. Wire two alligator clip leads to it. Charge your battery and disconnect the ground. Place this between the ground and battery negative. It will buzz if there is a heavy short. Since you can hear it, it makes finding out what makes the short go away much simpler.

 

[chicagodiesel]

Well, seems the starter relay was still hooked up. I cut the purple wires from it and connected them directly together. Oddly enough the glow plug relay had gone at the same time. Switched that with the st-85 and I am running again. Thanks for all the advice. Strange how something can run with an incorrect setup for 9 months and 5000 miles. Should have not believed the PO had set it up the right way. Regardless for $25 and an hour of work I'm again running on borrowed time!