so I have a 2003 4.6 supercrew.


the other day my truck wouldn't start like the battery had been drained overnight so I figured I may have left a door not fully closed but that wasn't the case...so I jumped it just fine with my girlfriends truck.


I drove to work that evening and when I went to start my truck after my shift it was dead again so I had a coworker give me a jump start.


on the way out the gate the truck acted like it wanted to die while I was driving it and I noticed one of my HIDs was out so I thought that maybe that was the problem as they're aftermarket lights. I got home and pulled the HIDs out and tried to jump the truck again and it acted like it wanted to turn over but wouldn't.


I went and bought a new battery just to eliminate it being a bad battery but then the truck didn't even attempt to turn over...just a click.


any ideas before I drop it off at the shop?


thanks in advance!

 

If it's getting a click the solenoid is working but you aren't getting battery juice to the starter motor. Sounds like loose/corroded electrical connections, positive and or negative. For a vehicle that old it's worth it to go through things regardless. You can spend much more time and TLC than a shop can.

 

Agreed- sounds like a bad ground- clean up and tighten your connections first.

 

thanks for the input guys.


would that cause it to go dead?

 

I'm leaning towards the starter itself. I could be wrong, but I've seen a couple where they would draw a bit of power, thru the small leads. If it's all covered in oil, then I would definitely have that checked. It seems to be a fairly common problem when they get oil covered. We just ran across this very problem a few days ago on my neighbors 3.0, 98 Ranger. The starter was shorting because of the oil. We changed it out and the problem has not returned. The battery is holding power after about 10 days or so.