82 K10 Won't start

[NineLine89]

Hey guys I'm new so I may not be posting in the correct spot. I combed the threads trying to self diagnose before posting this. Anyways truck was sitting for a year in storage. Charged up battery drained tank, filled tank back up, disconnected distributor wire to get the engine turning over without firing to get oil all through the engine. Anyways couldn't get any fuel pumping out after turning the key over for about 2 minutes in total. so I blew back through the line to the tank and swapped out the fuel pump. Went to start it again and click click click engine won't turn over. Before you laugh and ask yes I recharged the optima and even tried jumping the truck off of the car. Same result. Tightened all the wires cane result. I put a New starter in last year that has no Miles on it. Where do I go from here? The clicking seems to be coming from the starter/ solenoid area. Also voltage meter shoots up to 12 to 13 when keys is on. So now I'm lost. Help please?

 

[HotRodPC]

How long did you crank it? Did you burn out the starter with all the cranking?

 

[74 Shortbed]

He said about 2 minutes, that's quite a long time..

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Two minutes of cranking without breaks? I was told you can go fifteen seconds max, and you need to give the starter a moment to rest.

 

[HotRodPC]

He said about 2 minutes, that's quite a long time..

Two minutes of cranking without breaks? I was told you can go fifteen seconds max, and you need to give the starter a moment to rest.

Yep, that's why I suggested burnt up starter. Especially if it was cheaper reman with low quality brushes. Them things would get hot and crumble in a short amount of time when you consider 2 minutes. Not to mention the heat and possibly melting the copper on the armature.

 

[chengny]

Anyways couldn't get any fuel pumping out after turning the key over for about 2 minutes in total.

I'm guessing that when he says, "for about 2 minutes in total" - it indicates the starter was operated in a series of short cycles - that together lasted 2 mins.

Also voltage meter shoots up to 12 to 13 when keys is on.

A fully charged 12 volt L-A battery should actually have a terminal voltage of 12.6, so I guess this wouldn't be considered remarkable.

The clicking sound would indicate that there is power going to the "S" terminal on the solenoid when the key is in the START position. So the control circuit would appear to be functioning correctly.

As is generally the case, it's back to the basics - either a bad starter/solenoid or a problem with one (or both) of the battery cables:

If he is confident that the starter is okay, replace the cables - one at a time. If, after replacing both cables, there is still no improvement...pull and bench test the starter.

If the starter bench tests okay - but the engine still won't crank (and you hear that clicking sound) check that the pinion is able to engage with the ring gear teeth. I think there is a shimming procedure that is sometimes necessary to properly align the pinion with the ring gear.

 

[NineLine89]

2 minutes in total with 8-12 second bursts however it was just working the day before so if that is the case I will swap out the starter does anyone know what starter should actually go on there? I read half the time the part store will sell you a smaller one and it isn't strong enough. The one that is in there now I had to shim as it was not catching. Sorry if my lingo is not up to par i'm a newbie. Rah! Thanks Gents

 

[NineLine89]

Update officially puzzled...

Okay took the old starter solenoid to the parts store to get a new one asked him to test it. He stuck the cables on it and filled the store with smoke..had to laugh. Anyways swapped out the starter. As far as wiring I have the pos battery cable going to the top middle post along with the two red wires (that's how it was before). The purple looking wire I have going to the small post closest to the block. Cleaned all the terminals and wire ends. Turned over the truck click click sound no engagement of the starter. Does anyone have any ideas or advice? Keep in mind I was turning the truck over the day before yesterday and now nothing. Thanks fellas!

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

As a tool, the remote starter switch is one of my favorites in these cases because you can bypass everything and feed power directly to the starter. If you get it going with that, I'd say it's a good chance it's the cables. If you have access to one or are interested in getting one, I'd suggest playing with it and seeing if you can get it to crank properly. Those battery cables degrade over time, and there's a higher than acceptable voltage drop across them, when they do. Another little test that can sometimes get you by for a few more starts on a failing starter motor is the old tapping the starter body with a hammer trick if that's what's failing.

 

[75gmck25]

Have you tried running a separate ground wire from the block to the starter body?

Verify that the starter is grounded to the block and that the positive battery cable is securely connected to the large post. Also make sure your negative battery cable is securely grounded to the alternator bracket or the block.

If you put a small jumper wire between the purple wire terminal and the large post on the starter, that simulates the ignition switch and the truck should turn over. This test takes all other wiring out of the picture and just tests the starter. If you can't make that work you have to figure out why the starter does not operate.

You can buy a pushbutton remote starter switch, but I made one with a few small parts. I bought a round pushbutton 12 volt switch and put two long wires on it (maybe 14 or 16 gauge). I then bought a bicycle hand-grip and pushed the two wires down through it until they came out the small hole on the end of the grip. The pushbutton switch fit down into the large end of the grip and insulated the terminals on the switch. I then put two fairly large insulated alligator clips on the end of the two wires.

If I clip those remote starter wires on the large lug and on the terminal for the purple wire, when I push the button it cranks the engine over. This is very useful when bumping the engine over to check timing, install a distributor, etc.

Another common option on GM cars is to switch to using a remote starter solenoid like they have on Fords. This puts the solenoid connections up on top of the inner fender-well where they are easy to reach. This is fix is usually designed to get t he solenoid away from the head of headers, since the solenoid can get heat soaked and fail to operate when the engine is hot.

Bruce

 

[NineLine89]

Okay so....ya'll might laugh but swapped my battery out thinking it may be bad from being ran down and left dead for 2 years. Also changed the pos and neg wires they were taped and old and bare in spots. Anyways swapped it out and had changed the bad starter solenoid. Turns over like a champ. Having issues getting it running now but I'll eventually get it going. Steel beveled fuel line is leaking at the pump. I really appreciate all the help. I learned a lot from reading your posts and then checking it against my truck. Rah Gents!

 

[HotRodPC]

Okay so....ya'll might laugh but swapped my battery out thinking it may be bad from being ran down and left dead for 2 years. Also changed the pos and neg wires they were taped and old and bare in spots. Anyways swapped it out and had changed the bad starter solenoid. Turns over like a champ. Having issues getting it running now but I'll eventually get it going. Steel beveled fuel line is leaking at the pump. I really appreciate all the help. I learned a lot from reading your posts and then checking it against my truck. Rah Gents!

Thanks for the update. We always like to hear follow-ups of what worked and what didn't and the fix.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Sounds good! Make sure the pre-bent line isn't cross-threaded into the pump. If you need further assistance, just go ahead and repost a new question so it'll be properly categorized and fresh eyes (even if they're the same ones) can give it a look.