Engine does not start. No sound at all
 

Can anyone help with this issue?
I just got my truck back from the shop where they were touching up a paint job on my truck bed where they had previously missed a spot. As soon as I get my truck back I am noticing a ticking sound or wierd sound from my engine that I never heard before, but it seemed to go away as the day went on. Now today, I go out to start my truck and the engine does not start. It is lifeless. I thought the battery was dead, but when I turn the key I have all my power windows and radio working, just no engine start or any trace of life. Just a click sound. I was reading my owners manual and tried reseting the fuel pump shut off switch but that did nothing.
Any help
rich
richryan3@verizon.net

truck info
 

To go with my thread above. Its a 2004 FX4 with only 27,500 miles on it.
rich
richryan3@verizon.net

sounds like the starter isnt getting enough juice. trace the leads from it and see if anything is loose or has started rubbing on something. a truck that new shouldnt have a bad starter.

check your connections at the starter.

just had this problem with my girls 85 nissan, pos wouldnt fire, wouldnt even turn over... crawled under there, sure enough there was corrosion all over those connections.

i had to re-crimp the spade that engages the bendix as well.
if you feel daring enough, you can "jump" the starter.

turn the key on position, find the main power lead and the power lead to the bendix. use pliers with a rubber handle (needle nose work great)
if it cranks over, you have dirty connections possibly.

Stater Solenoid fuse
 

Thanks
After I posted my thread, I removed the fuse box and found the Starter Solenoid fuse was blown. I replaced it and as soon as I tried starting the engine I blew that one as well.
I do what you said and post again.
If you know of anything else let me know.
Thanks.

It sounds like you got a dead short in the trigger wire for the starting circuit. You said it was at the body shop... did you get into an accident? You could have a pinched wire or one that is chafed. You could have a bad solenoid.

No luck yet
 

Hey no luck yet.
The truck was in the shop because someone ran into the side of my truck a back in November. Only damage was to the side of my truck bed. They fixed it. and everything was fine. But then i looked underneath my bed and saw that when they did the paint job they missed spots and it already started to rust on the underside, so i took it back to them and they fixed it free of charge b/c it was their mistake.
That was two days ago. I went and picked it up thursday. Then drove top work on Friday. The engine did not sound the same. Not loud, but it just wasn't normal. However it got me to work and got me back. Then it was this morning when I got in, turned the key, and NO GO. Nothing, just clicking sounds coming from my fuse box.
I crawled underneath the truck and stuck a screwdriver inbetween the Starter terminals. I got sparks and it sounded like it wanted to turn. I swicthed the STARTER RELY with the BLOWER RELAY just to see if that was bad, but that relay was fine because my blower still worked.

Any suggestions: summary
Starter solenoid 30A Fuse keeps blowing.
Starter Relay works when I switched it with the Blower Relay
Got sparks from the Starter when I stuck a screw driver inbetween terminals.

rich
richryan3@verizon.net

Did you check ground wire or anything that the starter is touching [like a shield] that it shouldn't. The truck could have been lifted wrong at the body shop and pushed into the starter or wires not attached. Also check the negative battery cable. It can be connected enough to run somethings and not good enough to start.

did you have someone turning the key to the start position when you stuck the screwdriver to the leads? the starter should only have power going to it when you are starting the truck.

would something in the GEM module prevent the engine from trying to start if something bad enough was detected? if you read the original post it says he heard a ticking noise before all this started.

It actually sounds like a dead battery. But if the fuse is blowing then it wouldn't make any sense. I would have the battery checked first just in case it is that simple. It could be enough load on a somewhat dead battery to blow a fuse due to overload.

you can jump the solenoid without the key on

check your relay socket make sure no wires are shorting

There are two power leads to the starter. One is the main 12v power that is wired directly from the battery and sometimes through a fuse. It is likely a 6 gauge wire or so. But the starter B+ terminal is always hot.

The smaller S terminal on the solenoid is energized through the ignition and PCM relays. To check to see if your vehicle will crank properly, simply jump between the B+ terminal and the smaller S terminal on the solenoid. This will simply crank the truck but engine will not start and will not cause any damage to anything. If this happens properly, then you know the starter motor is okay. It does not exclude the solenoid relay. This will draw a couple hundred amps and sparks will fly if you don't make good connections.

You might have a short in the solenoid that is blowing the ignition fuse. There is really noway to check while it is on the truck. The coils in the solenoid are too low of impedance to measure with any regular DVM. If you have a higher quality one try this to measure the coils in the solenoid:

Before doing this, probably is a good idea to remove the battery cable off the battery. Place your DVM in the 2 Ohm range. Place one lead on the smaller S terminal on the starter and the other anywhere on ground. This is the solenoid hold-in coil and should measure around 0.8 ohms. To measure the solenoid pull-in coild place one lead on the S terminal once again and the other one on the solenoid motor terminal. The motor terminal on the solenoid is the same size as the B+ terminal. It will have a strap wire between it and the starter motor frame. This measurement should be around 0.23 Ohms.

starter
 

have checked all relays. every relay is fine
fuse 101 (30amps) starter solenoid keeps blowing. No engine life at all.
Battery is fine. No crimped wires underneath, starter connections are good and tight. I'll try jumping the starter today. Up till now I have been following the 2004 Service Information DVD.

Don't tell me this still isn't sorted....it's probably too late, but maybe you should have taken it back to the shop, possibly they disconnected something or messed it up - I had extensive body repairs done on a car after an accident, and they hung onto it for a long time....of course they ran the battery flat, which I insisted they replace. Unfortunately, they had tried to jump start it or something and managed to fry the alternator, light didn't come on, but it kept draining the battery - I picked up the tab because I was too silly at the time to take it up with them....

Problem Solved
 

Alright Guys
Problem solved. On sunday I tried jumping my starter. It jumped, but didn't shut off. It started smoking and drained the battery before I could get it disconnected. So, since my truck was still under warranty I called and had it towed to the nearest dealer.
They fixed it that day, said the starter was bad. They replaced the starter and solenoid (one unit on my truck) and the blown fuse, which I had already replaced twice before. I asked why a starter would go bad after only 27,000 miles? He said he didn't know, it shouldn't but sometimes they jam up. So any way I picked up my truck and drove home. However, I now notice the slightest whisteling sound when I give the truck gas. Not loud and my exhaust ends up covering it up, but what is it?
Is it the new starter? will it eventually go away? It's probably not noticeable to some but after you have had your truck everyday, it's easy to hear the slightest change.
Any suggestions?