starter or?

[kwrank]

so i have what i'll call a dead key situation--turn key to start, everything comes on as normal except for the starter itself--nothing at all. when it first happened, i cleaned all the terminals and it started, couple days later, nothing, but after sitting 20 mins lit right up. this became the scenario until one morning no dice. have charged battery, cleaned connections again, still nada. i know there's a lockout on the auto trans, park or neutral makes no difference. seems odd the starter would just up and die, so before i take it out, i want to eliminate all else--thanks ahead of time, k

[matthewh]

Far left field, but how is the bushing for the zbar that the shifter rod is supported on the frame? If that bushing is gone or the cab has really settled, this will throw off the reading in the truck. My old plow truck the bushing went bad, and the zbar fell out, causing park to end up actually reverse on the indicator.
Hose clamp kept the rod in place, and the indicator worked as noted.
Like I said, far left field, but worth a quik look

[burnt_servo]

if you jumper out the relay on the starter , does the started turn the engine over ?

[cmauz61]

could just be a crap battery... my truck did the same thing about a year ago. charger said the battery was fine and charged (my charger works fine to this day too).. all lights would come on fine like you describe, but it wouldn't even attempt to turn the motor or engage the starter. I put in a new battery and its never happened again. just my .2 cents

[kwrank]

good ideas here, but no change yet. as far as jumping the starter, we're talking small post on starter to positive side of battery? if so, nothing there, either. put a wrench on the bolts holding starter in, they are not coming out easily...12 pt socket is at store 35 miles away, will grab some spinach as well...thanks, k

[kwrank]

so i got starter out and apart, no obvious signs except for wear at contacts in solenoid, and a couple of the brushes are quite small--everything on armature side stuffed with graphite, will compare price for rebuild kit vs new unit and roll from there...any other things to consider?

[cmauz61]

if its not the stater, its the battery like mine was. tested good but not enough to turn over the big diesel!!! hope you get it figured out.

[kwrank]

i did try another battery after reading your post, no go. i have seen that situation once before, but didn't think of it until you mentioned it. the inside of the starter looks pretty bad, but i won't know for sure until it's all back together. seems odd that it would die without a moan or groan...

[matthewh]

Any chance its a bad ground? Either at the block or within the lead terminal clamp itself?

[kwrank]

so i did the starter rebuild kit--contacts, plunger, brushes, and it practically tips the truck over as it spins the motor with just the slightest touch on the key. ready for another 200k! i did check the ground cable on the block, and it was the cleanest of all...

[Douglas]

So nice when you figure it all out and make the repair...
cheers,
Douglas

[cmauz61]

Happy you got it all figured out and it cranks hard now!