well, my Ranger's been sitting for about 11 months now and the damn thing wont turn over anymore. i bought an Optima Red Top battery about a week ago with 720 CCA, so that's plenty to get it moving, but i hooked it up, and when i turn the key, all it does is just click once. So am i looking at a new starter or do you think the engine seized since it's been sitting for so long, or maybe, just maybe, since it's approximately 15 degree's that it's just froze up?

oh, and i bought those 'projector' headlights off ebay last night, so i'll finally have something new for the truck!

 

Mine's been sitting for 2 months and it's doing the same. However, mine makes rapid clicking like a relay snapping once my key hits the off position and continues for quite a while.

 

i think its the cold.

 

you think its just the starter?

 

Pull the Rad cap and see if the coolants frozen. Then put a socket and ratchet/breaker bar on the crank pulley bolt and try turning by hand. If it turns, then your probably looking at a starter or related electrical problem.

 

Are the battery cables hooked up good? Usually if it just clicks one, it's a connection being broke. Check the connections.

 

Ok, I had the same thing on my 94 4 banger. The Negative cable from the battery to the Block (connects under the power steering pump on the block itself) had old copper in it and was causing the cable to arc inside the jacket and destroy the copper strands. I bought a new gound cable and connected it to one of the mounting stud bolts for the A/C compressor and she started over PERFECTLY! Check that first, it is cheaper and ALOT easier!

 

Ok, thanks for the suggestions guys. Its like 10 degrees out, and its not supposed to warm up for a good week, so once it does, i'll check all the battery cables, and try moving the crank with a breaker bar. my headlights came today too, so i'm pretty anxious about getting those in. Thanx again guys

 

if u leave a truck for a while your trucks fuel octane will be ****ing LOW. go get the highest octane fuel in your area and mix it with fuel addictives. then add that mixture to your gas tank, they will blend to make a 87-95ish octane.

1 week a truck sits: the octane of the fuel goes down by 1!

EDIT: 11 MONTHS? please drain the fuel and add fresh

 

Well, the fuel won't solve the click problem, lol -- but you should add a gas preservative if you're going to let it sit for sure.

Another common problem is oxidation INSIDE the cable ends. Where the cable is crimped or clamped to the actual ring which goes onto the battery terminals.

Did you clean the inside of the battery terminal rings before you put them on the new battery? Believe it or not, that can also be a problem. When a uniform layer of oxide forms on the inside it acts like a semi-conductor or resistor and you get little current to any load.

To checl for this if you have a test light or meter, touch them to the battery post tops themselves while someone tries to crank the vehicle. If the voltage drops big time, you have a dead battery or an overload condition (like a bad starter or seized engine).

If the voltage stays up on the battery, make a hole in the cable insulation a little way down both the positive and negative cables and test there as someone tries to crank it.

If the voltage drops a lot, you have a connection problem at the battery. If the voltage stays up, your problem is the starter, the solenoid, or the connection at the starter, etc.

 

i didnt read the whole thing i just saw the fact u were trying to start it after 11 months. just hate to see people try to start cars after a year of sitting and drive around like there engine is the same as when they shut it off.