Page 1 of 1

My Van stranded me tonight...

Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:13 am
by fear4fun
All I get is a click. My assumption was a dead battery, but jumping it didn't help, still only a click. Plus, all the lights work and aren't dim, and the volt meter reads over 12 V.

Any ideas? Starter maybe? I had to leave it where it was and will be getting it towed up to a shop tomorrow for a diagnostic. Would be nice to have a few things to try prior to shelling out tow money.

Re: My Van stranded me tonight...

Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:24 am
by jessef
Check the ground wire on the engine and on the battery.

At the positive battery terminal, there is a small fuse box that holds 3 large amp fuses. Check them. I had the solenoid one blow and the same symptoms as you. Good battery. Just a click.

Re: My Van stranded me tonight...

Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:30 am
by TardisDeli
Check your battery connections again you may have 12 volts ,but are you getting 275 Amps to the starter motor ? Give all the major battery cable connections a good cleaning with a wire brush, if you don't have a brush at least try scrapping the connections with a knife. Also by the way you sorta need to change your time to daylight savings time. Cheers Jay Tardis Deli

Re: My Van stranded me tonight...

Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 3:01 pm
by almac
jfarsang wrote:Check the ground wire on the engine and on the battery.

At the positive battery terminal, there is a small fuse box that holds 3 large amp fuses. Check them. I had the solenoid one blow and the same symptoms as you. Good battery. Just a click.
wish they had "smart glow" fuses that size... i've been using smart glows in my regular and aux fusebox for over a year. they are 'da bomb'. :-)

Re: My Van stranded me tonight...

Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 5:52 pm
by fear4fun
Yup, def the starter. I tried the hammer on the starter and it helped, but didn't allow me to start it. Could for sure tell that batteries were good and you could hear the solenoid on the starter click. Got towed on to The Battery Exchange he pulled the starter out and says the inside is totally burned up. He's on the hunt for some internal parts so couldn't finish it today.

Thanks for all the help! This site and all of its users are such a great resource!!

Duane