Okay, I've looked through the threads for about 45 min and most people can at least crank their trucks, so I'm not sure of my problem.

I've had in the past 4 months a few times of my truck not starting. I get in, cab lights turn on, radio fires up, i hear one click from the fuse area and then silence, the radio turns off, no clicking from the motor starter.
First time, I hooked the charger to it, 5 min later, it fires right up. It goes three weeks without an issue, then the same thing, but this time I had to jump it because I was at work. That was on a friday, I went on a trip, so didnt have a chance to check the battery. Its been working up to now, about a 2 month span. Now this weekend, I run out to my parents shop, mess around for a few hours, and the trucks dead again. One click from the fuse area, radio off, silence.

I tried to charge, no luck, tried to jump, no luck. I ended up leaving the charger on for an hour or so, fired up fine. my voltmeter says around 13, the gauge on the truck before and after start shows about that from what I can tell. In that time i cleaned the posts of the battery, shows some corrosion, and clamped everything back down.

The battery was about 2.5 years old, nationwide brand. I took it back in there today after having to jump the truck again, they said it tested okay, but its been charging for 45 min on the drive home.

Do I just swap out the battery? or is there another way to test? I'd like to fix it right the first time rather than replace piece by piece and spend 500 or more. I might need to get the motor replaced in the next few thousand miles from what they tell me, so i'd like to not spend money on stuff that will get done anyhow.

Thanks!

 

Make sure all connections are clean and tight, both at the battery and the starter. Get the battery and alternator load tested at a parts store.

 

Can they test the alternator on the vehicle or will I need to remove it?

Thanks!

 

It can be tested either way. They have a handheld tester they can use in the parking lot to test both the battery and alternator.

 

just a thought, sometimes a bad fuel pump relay will get stuck on after the key is off and drain the battery. I have seen this also on older trucks including the ABS pump staying on after key is off.(2003 & older) Make sure nothing is running when the key is off before walking away from your truck.

 

I have this happen if I lock the car a certain way and then try to unlock it a different way. Its hard to explain. But, if it happens again, try locking it with the key fob, then unlock it with the key fob and try to start it up. That works for me. Its part of the security system.