No Crank Suddenly

[Maggrett]

After a short drive today, the Ol Ranger would only give one click and no start. The battery is at 12.6v, changed the starter solenoid since the old one was showing .01 volts when cranking. Then tested the starter wire at the starter and got 12.4 volts. Brought the starter to Advance Auto and it was working there. Hooked the starter directly to my battery when I got back and only the positive wire began smoking, but nothing else.
I'm stumped! Any clue as to what is going on?

 

[RobbieD]

You likely have a bad main cable, or a bad connection with one of the battery to the cable terminals. It can be either positive or negative.

 

[Maggrett]

Thanks for the quick reply. Battery cables are new. I was getting full charge down the main starter cable with ignition. Also hooking up the starter directly to my battery with jumper cables had no effect' yet it worked at the shop. I don't see how it could be my battery cables' but I will reinspect tomorrow when I get back on it.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Battery voltage showing does not mean the current is passing thru as it should. The magic smoke getting out shows this. Definitely check cable ends and just into the insulation. I had a battery cable hanging on by a few threads that showed battery voltage but starter was slow.

 

[Maggrett]

Ok' gotcha. That will be my main focus of troubleshooting. Thanks so much to both of you for your expertise and time!

 

[RobbieD]

Just remember; that sadly these days "new" doesn't always mean "good".

Good luck!

 

[SenorNoob]

I know meters vary, but a good battery should be 13.2...

 

[Maggrett]

Alrighty, so we were all correct. There was a portion of the starter main wire that was frayed and probably contacting my oil pan. Remedying this did not fix the no start issue though. I got a new started (free from warranty) and the truck started right up. I have no idea why my old starter tested OK at Advanced Auto. It was dead as a doornail. Anyway, thanks for everyone's help! Buck is again on the road.
P.S. Yes, my battery was reading 13.2 after a quick charge. Thanks SenorNoob

 

[RobbieD]

Thank you for letting us know what it was.

Glad that it's fixed, and good job!

 

[4x4junkie]

As well, glad to hear you figured it out.


One little tid-bit here though:

I know meters vary, but a good battery should be 13.2...

12.8V resting voltage is actually the standard for a fully-charged 12V lead battery, but can vary between 12.6-13.1V depending on type (AGMs tend to be at the higher end of that range, deep-cycle storage types at the lower end). Anything higher is probably a result of surface charge after charging (the battery should be allowed to sit disconnected overnight before testing it's state-of-charge voltage).