Archived 2006 2500 no crank

[olznut]

All was good last night. Stopped to talk to a friend, turned the truck off, went to crank it a few minutes later, it did what I'll call a half a crank then nothing bit I can hear a slight clicking under the hood, jump start, moving the shifter, checking the fuses, nothing. Any ideas?

 

[DavidC]

Could be starter contacts as quite a few here including me have bought the beefier contacts and replaced. Some with this problem have used a soft mallet and tapped the starter near the connections with success ( I take it you have checked all connections). I have also seen batteries so bad that the starter will not engage with any outside assistance. With the headlights on and visible by you or an assistant try starting. Do the headlights stay on ?.

Dave

 

[olznut]

Everything stays on, we tried tapping the starter. No warning at all.

 

[DavidC]

The clicking is most likely the starter solenoid. The solenoid moves the contacts that allow the high amperage connection to the starter windings. My guess is there is a problem with that contact. Unless someone has a better idea the starter would have to be removed and disassembled to diagnose. Whether you order the contacts before hand is a personal decision as it could also be the windings blown out which then is a rebuild or new starter. I would wait a bit and see if someone else chimes in with ideas.

Dave

 

[B.G. Smith]

Check the cables on both batteries. bg

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

I agree with Dave 100%...and B,G, Smith. Contacts in the solenoid are the most common issue. If your vehicle is very old you may also have brushes that have exceeded their life span as well as the other issues Dave mentioned. I have had limited success in restarting vehicles with bad contacts by cycling the ignition switch from "on" to "start" in rapid succession several times. Also, with extreme caution, if you have a manual transmission, put it in a forward gear (preferred high), depress the clutch, have someone push or get the vehicle moving in forward motion, (pushers clear the vehicle to avoid becoming a statistic), while the vehicle is still moving place the ignition switch to the "start" position while simultaneously dumping the clutch. This would move the starter motor to where the brushes make contact with different rotor contacts or free a brush that may have hung up. These are among some "tricks" I learned from the old school boys years ago. Got us home...most of the time. I was never comfortable at shorting the solenoid contacts with screwdrivers or pliers; I liked to keep my tools functional and looking nice. Still have most of my 50 year old Indestro tools. Come to think of it, I don't believe the Cummins starter solenoid can be jumped.

 

[DavidC]

IF it comes down to starter parts this place has different size kits from minor to major repair including complete units. I would recommend them over your common Chinese auto parts store.
http://www.fostertruck.com/cummins-dodge-denso-starter-complete-rebuild-kit-94-06.html

Dave

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

IF it comes down to starter parts this place has different size kits from minor to major repair including complete units. I would recommend them over your common Chinese auto parts store.
http://www.fostertruck.com/cummins-dodge-denso-starter-complete-rebuild-kit-94-06.html

Dave

Ditto. This is where I got my parts. Very well built and reasonable cost.

 

[olznut]

Big Blue is at the local Cummins specialist now, we'll see what happens. None of my old tricks worked. Not bad for the 1st time it's needed a tow since new and 140k miles. Still cheaper than a truck paynent!

 

[DavidC]

Good luck, let us know the results.

Dave

 

[olznut]

Truck is back on the road, one of the small starter wires became frayed and shorted out according to the awesome shop I took it to. He also found the source of the ticking which was the fuel line hold down on #4 was slightly loose. So wire repaired and lines retorqued only cost me an hour and a half labor, $143.

 

[DavidC]

Glad it's fixed

Dave

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

Fantastic!

 

[olznut]

Btw, I couldn't reply earlier, my phone was having a problem loading the site.