Okay so a while back my battery light kept coming on and off....i got a brand new red top and i took it to several spots where they told me alternator was good....no draw...everything was cool....but every now and again i would go to crack my truck and click...nothing....radio works windows work everythings good....battery connections are good....sometimes it doesnt do it sometimes it does it alot.....im thinking maybe i got a bad ground somewhere, or some wire somewhere is not making the contact it should...because always after a little bit, it finally cranks....i was pulling out of a parking lot and my truck hit a big bump....(slow almost like the frame twisters some offroad places got) and bam truck shut off.....so please help i dont know what to do, i dont know where to check and ive tryed following the wires to find something but cant find the main ground(my blazer had one on the side of the engine block) so i dunno guys please help if you can....and pictures would be even awesomerrrrr thanks

 

also should i post this in the electrical section?

 

No, but I will move it.

 

Did you follow the battery ground cable to where it is bolted to the frame or engine? I would take it off, scrape it clean and replace it, even if it looks good. Also, wiggle the cables at the connectors and make sure they are good.

 

i tryed to follow the ground and i didnt see where it went to the engine....theres a ground on the frame rail right by the upper control arm....and i cleaned that up just for "giggles" and nothing....i cleaned the battery terminals and the starter connections

 

i was told by someone else to replace the ignition switch, that these trucks had bad ones and that a new one will make it better work again, does this sound right? because i hit the bump and the truck died? so i thought maybe a wire came loose or something.........

 

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web..._541477375___#

This guy right here, what do you guys think?

 

sorry to be such a pain guys...but this is my only life line..... like all i got is this right now, and im sitting here checking it every 5 minutes seeing what you guys say, what part i should buy and replace before it gets dark.....go or no go on ignition switch......(if i had alot of money i wouldnt care id just buy it....but $20 might as well be 1million)

 

Did you try putting the truck in neutral and then starting it ?

Did you check the fuses for the starter motor relay ?
This should be cab fuse panel fuse #21, but verify with your owners manual.

This the fuse that supplies power to the coil on the starter motor relay on the firewall.

If the fuse is good, meter to the small wire on the starter motor relay, while turning the key, this should have power on it, while the key is in the run position.

 

Yea ive tryed starting it that way and ive checked all the fuses.....i mean the truck has power fine when it finally catchs.....i mean i could go out right now and run the radio and roll the windows down.....and show good volts but it wont start.....it use to eventually start after endless clicks clicks clicks.....but now she gave up on me....

 

And..... starting it in neutral didn't work ?

It really was a question ( not a suggestion ) in the post above, with a reason, to see if the DTR ( digital Transmission range ) sensor was having an issue in park, but not in neutral.

We are talking about right at this moment, where you turn the key and nothing happens, or is it now clicking ?

I did not need all the fuses check, just that one fuse checked for power on both sides. Since you have power on both sides of the fuse, do you have power to the starter motor relay coil wire, while having the key in the start position ?
- I put run position before, that is incorrect.

Don't need to know about what happened before, or what else works, just the results of these diagnostic steps ( actual results, not visual verifications of all items ) at the moment.

Just focus on the trouble shooting going on at the moment.

 

No starting it in N did not work.
Yes when i turn the key nothing happens right this moment.
Sorry for the "extra" info.

but i took the starter off to clean all the connections really well, and then i figured id go get it tested to be double sure, so i go to autozone....passed the tests, but for the last option, which i think was the little thing on the starter(the starter solenoid or whatever the smaller round thing is) for the test it came up N/A, so he did it again, with same results everything passed but the last one said N/A, haha he then ran it a 3rd time and all passes. The only thing tho when he was testing it,it got hot quick,normal? and it was getting slower..(i could hear it spining), and so he walks in the back and talks to "jim" he didnt hear or look at anything and he said my starter is bad......soooo im going to get it re-tested somewhere else just to be sure, and if it is bad has anyone rebuilt their own starters? is there a thread on that?

 

Hows anyone here rebuilt their own starter? if so can i get some details?

 

Don't try to mess with it. Go to the parts store pay the money and you can even have a lifetime warranty.
It's not worth your time trying to re build it.

 

I certainly agree with this advice, but I'm bothered by how the truck got stopped in the first place. A bad starter is not going to kill the truck when you hit a bump. So, I think there's something else wrong here, and, if the starter was starting the truck before, I think it still should.

Dgsm, you talked about "clicking" at one point, which sounds like low voltage to the starter relay and then, you said "nothing" happens when you turn the key. How are the connections to the relay? And, now that you've cleaned the connections to the starter, is there any improvement?

But finally, why would the truck shut off from hitting a bump? This sounds like a faulty ignition circuit to me. It could be in the ignition switch, which could explain everything. I know this happened to me in my Honda way, way back. I had to drive it to the dealer's holding it "towards the start position" as I remember to keep the engine running. The switch itself was replaced as part of a recall.

- Jack