okay guys, this may be an easy one for you, but surly not me.....im sorry for the super long novel you have to read::::::::

so i have been having electrical problems with my aftermarket alternator (200amp), battery (yellowtop) and wiring (4ga)....the other night i was reading 12 or so volts on my meter, and it would not start...tried to turn it over and got NO response at all. i jumped it and it fired up and ran just fine. the next day i took it up to get the alt and battery tested and they tested out just fine. the guy told me that i could have some corrotion in the cables (so i re-did all the connections).

this morning i went to start it, and same thing, so i tried to jump it and still got nothing. now im reading just over 11volts and i hear a "click" (just 1) each time from my starter. im have aftermarket 4ga running my alt to my battery, and half of my wiring is upgraded from my battery to my starter (for looks). im thinking my problem is one of a few things (alternator (highly unlikely), my wiring (possible), or my starter/starter relay/starter selenoid). could one of you guys take a stab at this?

 

sounds like the starter is out....I dont know how easy it is to get to, but try the screw driver method...see if you can jump the starter by touching the positive and the ingition bolt together, and see if it starts....if it does, then its probably the silonoid (sp)

Rocky

 

it could be an issue with your battery, the yellow top is NOT a starting battery, its a deep cycle, it is not designed to be used to start, get a 200 amp charge constantly, then turn off. its meant to be drained down and filled back up. the combination of the yellow top and the big alternator may be the problem. I would have used a red top.

this may not be your problem, but its food for thought

 

sounds like either the selenoid or ur wireing is the problem

 

It could be a battery problem.

You're wrong about the yellow top though: it IS a starting battery, according to Optima. It is NOT a traditional deep cycle design at all. In fact, you generally STILL get higher CCA on a yellow top for an application than a "conventional" battery. Read the numbers as they tell it all.

Optima did this so that the batteries could be used in cars/trucks with high loads to allow the deep cycle advantages and still be good for starting.

I have to keep correcting people on this. Go to Optima's site, and also read the references on AGM batteries I posted earlier. There you will find what the difference is between deep cycle and normal batteries and it is all about plate structure. The Optima AGM deep cycle yellow top is fine for starting, and actually better than a conventional battery. The red top is the "premier" starting battery but Optima sells both and recommends both for starting.

So, Optima's red and yellow batteries are BOTH starting batteries, with the yellow top optimized to trade off cranking amps vs. deep cycle capability. This is only possible because the AGM design has such low internal resistance to begin with.

 

but my alt and my battery tested out perfect the other day....and, second, if i try to jump it, it still does nothing....that wouldnt tell you that the battery is dead.

 

well if the battery and the alt are still good, but u try to jump it and still nothing i would say you have either a wiring problem, or you have a starter problem. check your wiring .... then your starter

 

well, i had it towed to one of the local shops (i hate doing business with them, but whatever).....they put in a new starter, and are still having a problem....im thinking its either my alarm (starter kill) or my battery ground (which could be coroted, creating all the problems....im going up there in the morning to disable my alarm, and maybe install another ground to see if it will start.

 

just clean the grounds u dont need to replace the ground and disable the alarm

 

well, its KINDA fixed....at least it starts now

$80 - Towing
$30 - Systems Check
$14 - Ground Cable .....neg battery terminal to starter ground connection
$102 - 1.2 hrs @ 85/hr

what a friggin ripoff....and if fix my aftermarket 1/0 ga ground connection, i bet i can remove the ground cable they ran and it work fine....but we will see when i test it

 

It's not a rip-off when your truck starts now.
I have been a mechanic for XX years, and I'm trying to figure out why you have this overkill electrical system in the first place... Does your stereo really need all this? I tried to look at your website(http://www.jmwells.com), but the color scheme just about gave me an anurism