S.O.S.!!! Can anyone help with my electrical dilemma?

[85Stroker]

Hello bd and everyone,
Due to the weather I finally got some time to work on my truck, and I actually got someone to at least help me do a little testing, so here is what we did, and the results.

Test #1) Starter Ground Circuit test-we took my voltmeter and set it to the lowest DC setting, connected the black lead to the negative battery terminal and red lead to the starter case, tried turning engine over, meter reading was .02., which I believe is correct.

Test #2) Starter Power Circuit test- connected red lead of meter to positive battery terminal and black lead to battery cable post on Starter solenoid, tried cranking engine,, meter reading was .05. Which I believe is also acceptable.

Test #3) Starter Control Circuit test, connected red lead of meter to positive battery terminal and black lead to "S" post on Starter solenoid, tried cranking engine over, the guy assisting me said the meter read between .10 and .14, so am I correct to believe this is the "problem" circuit???

I hope this is useful information and can help with where I go from here!? If you have any questions just ask. I'm hoping I explained things correctly and in sufficient detail.
Thanks again for all the help and giidance!!
85Stroker

[bd]

Did the starter crank or attempt to crank during the tests?  Was cranking labored (i.e., sluggish and slow)?

[85Stroker]

I charged the battery just prior to doing these tests, and yet when I went to crank it over, during the first test, it barely spun at all then each time I tried after that it mainly just clicked.

[85Stroker]

The battery was showing good voltage before the first test, and attempt to crank it over, I didn't check the battery voltage after each test but I have checked the battery before and it always showed it had good voltage, it seems that enough voltage is just not getting to the starter to be able to spin the gear reduction starter.

[85Stroker]

I don't know if this will help but here are a couple pics of my starter and wiring.

[MIKE S]

You say the battery is fully charged by taking a voltage reading only. You need to do a load test. I have seen many bad batteries that had good voltage but very low cold cranking amps. Remember new doesn’t mean good. Take the battery to an auto parts store and have them do a load test. Don’t have them run bolts into the side post for the load test. Make sure they use the proper side post lead adapter.

[85Stroker]

Thanks for the input Mike, a friend of mine has the equipment to do a load test, and he tested my battery and it passed but I know what you mean about " new batteries" that's why I had him load test it.

[MIKE S]

You also said that when you jumped it it started right up. So when you hook up the jumpers, are you attaching to the side posts or does this battery have top and side posts.

[bd]

The battery was showing good voltage before the first test, and attempt to crank it over, I didn't check the battery voltage after each test but I have checked the battery before and it always showed it had good voltage, it seems that enough voltage is just not getting to the starter to be able to spin the gear reduction starter.

So, connect your voltmeter across the battery and measure the voltage for a static baseline reading.  Leave the voltmeter connected to the battery and attempt to crank the engine again.  What does the battery voltage measure while cranking?  Post both measurements.

What type of load tester does your friend have?  Is it a handheld capacitive load tester or does it have an adjustable carbon pile with separate ammeter and voltmeter?

[85Stroker]

My friend is also a farmer and he has a lot of equipment so he has a shop that's fitted with all the best equipment, it is not a hand held, it's actually pretty sufisticated. @ Mike, My battery has only side posts, I connected the jumper cables directly from battery post to battery post on both vehicles and it fires right up.
@ bd, I will try that the first chance I get and post the results.Thanks again, I really appreciate it !!!!!!

[MIKE S]

If you connect battery to battery with jumpers and it cranks normally and you are 100% sure your battery is good then I would say that you have a problem with not getting a good connection from your battery terminals to your cable. Make sure your side post bolts are not too long and bottoming out. Pull off the cables from the battery and inspect that nothing is interfering with contact. Like the insulation cover on the terminal if not centered could be keeping the terminal from making good contact. If in doubt pull of the insulated ends and reconnect and try.

[bd]

This ^^^^^.  But don't neglect the battery voltage tests I mentioned if the foregoing doesn't correct the issue.

[85Stroker]

Ok, so if the bolts bottom out it can actually cause a problem??? I was not aware of that and that could be the issue because they are kinda long. I will check it for sure, and follow your other advise as well, thanks so much!!!

[bd]

Actually, bolts that are too long can cause several problems.  They can punch out the back of the lead plug leading to acid leaks, they can reduce clamping force that results in inadequate contact between the cable and terminal pad, they can open the battery connections to fluid penetration that results in corrosion.  In addition, the bolts should be designed specifically for side terminal batteries (image).

[85Stroker]

Well holy crap, that may be my problem, I put a longer bolt with a nut into my side posts because the regular "correct" bolts were only grabbing a couple threads and were stripping them out. When I get out of the field tonight I will check that and see if I'm bottoming out, dang I wish I would have known that but live and learn!