I hope someone can help. I have a '99 F350 later 7.3 with about 185,000 miles on it. It was used to drive to and from work (20 miles a day). I retired 2 years ago and it hasn't been run regularly. I use it about once a week. About 3 months ago I noticed it was starting as if the batteries were low. I figured the batteries (5 years old) might be losing power from sitting unused because once I ran the truck it would start again as if they were fully charged with no problem. Yesterday after not running the truck for about 10 days, I went to start the truck and it would crank as if the batteries were very low but would not start. I put my charger on it and set it to 40 amps starting mode and the engine started like normal. I turned off the engine, removed the key and left the charger on it for about two hours to bring the batteries back up. When I went to start, all of my dash lights and the WTS lights functioned normally and I could hear the glow plug relay click like normal. When I turned to crank, there was one click from the passenger side near the firewall and nothing else. Total dead silence. There were no accidents/shorts when connecting or removing the charger. DTC codes P1670 and P0541 show on monitor. I have checked the fuses related to starting in both boxes and have found nothing. I have tried starting in neutral, park and while jiggling the automatic shift all with the same result. I removed and again cleaned the battery terminals. The batteries show 12.6 and 12.4 and when the key is turned to crank they only drop to about 11.9 to 12.2. I'm baffled. It started like a champ and after charging nothing. The funny part of this is I was planning on trading in or selling the truck this week and I think the truck heard me.
Out of curiousity, what Amp did you charge the batteries at?
Did you hook the 40-Amp up the second time you tried starting the truck (after the full charge)?
Odds are your 5-year old batteries are pretty worn out. The only downside to replacing them before sale is the warranty does not transfer to new owner.
I made the mistake of leaving the charger still set at 40 amps when it was charging. The batteries were still showing 12+ when disconnected from the truck after charging. I reconnected the batteries to the truck and then connected the charger and tried cranking at the 40 amp setting but the result was the same, just the one click from the passenger firewall side (starter relay?)
First, let me thank everyone who helped with giving me info. I unfortunately, could not get back to working on the truck until today. Life has a way of interrupting your normal plans. The truck has sat for five weeks and upon trying to start today, the starter turned over very slowly as if the batteries were low. Put charger on with high charge/start setting and only got one click from starter relay. Cleaned and reset all battery terminals and batteries showed 12.6-12.8. While checking and wire brushing the starter wires, the main 2 gauge wire came off the starter. Upon closer inspection I found the lug on the wire to the starter had completely corroded. Eureka!! I don't know how many times I had looked at that connection and it appeared totally fine. Now for my question. I am selling the truck and do not want to put a lot more money into it. (Plates have been transferred off but still insured). Is there a way for a new lug to be attached to the wire or do I need to replace the entire battery wiring system? If I replace the wire can I just replace the wire from the battery to the starter with a length of 2 Gauge? All of the replacement wires I've seen include negative terminals, grounds, etc. I'm pretty much ready to put it up for sale as is, as it has been twenty years of solving puzzles, some being expensive ones. What I will miss most is being able to come to this site and see that I was not the only one with a certain problem and being able to find an answer because others took time to lend a hand. Thanks to all.
Wire is wire. The truck isn't going to know the difference. Do a neat job and replace what makes sense to replace. The less connections the better and the heavier gauge wire the better.
You could probably have one made or make your own for less.
You could even just cut the cable back until you find no corrosion and install a new lug yourself (depending on how much slack is available in the existing cable).
Inspect the entire cable to see if there are any other damaged or corroded spots. If the corrosion of the starter lug is the only damage, then if there is enough slack, you may be able to cut off the damaged lug along with any corroded wire and install a new lug with the use of a crimping tool.
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