Possible starter or fuse issue.

[cj80cruiser]

Been a while since posting in here but still view the forum from time to time. Nice to see so many new members.

Anyway, to the issue. I took my kids to have lunch with their mom today. She was running extremely late so I turned the truck off and the kids and I listened to the radio while we waited for about 30 minutes. Mom still wasn't on her lunch break so I decided to take the kids with me to home depot for a few odds and ends to work on the house.

Tried to start the truck in the parking lot and got nothing. Realized while sitting there I had left my lights on so I thought crap! Ran my battery down. About this time Mom calls and we go eat lunch. No big deal, when we get back I'll just jump the truck off with moms car, I thought.

Fast forward about an hour and I'm hooking up the truck with jumper cables. Truck still wont start. So then I'm thinking maybe it's the starter. I tap on the starter several times and still nothing.

I've got the issue narrowed down to either starter contacts or starter fuse. I changed out my starter contacts about 50K miles ago and hope I dont have to pull that thing again....pain in the butt to get out once disconnected. Am I missing something?

I really need to get a multimeter and learn how to use it. I'm sure a few youtube videos could teach me.

 

[cj80cruiser]

I figured out my problem and it was neither my starter or my starter relay(fuse). I guess I ran my battery down enough that my alarm lost connection. Didn't even think about that until after I'd been at home a couple hours and started this thread.

I'm finally going to buy a multimeter and learn how to use it. What should I be looking for when buying one? Trying to find something in the $80 or less range.

 

[gamefreakgc]

I figured out my problem and it was neither my starter or my starter relay(fuse). I guess I ran my battery down enough that my alarm lost connection. Didn't even think about that until after I'd been at home a couple hours and started this thread.

I'm finally going to buy a multimeter and learn how to use it. What should I be looking for when buying one? Trying to find something in the $80 or less range.

Not really much to a multimeter. My $19 cheapo one works great, even has an elastic strap so I can have it on my wrist, freeing up both hands.

You just want all the usual suspects, DC voltage, DC amps, but also the AC voltage is nice if you do your own home repairs like I do. I find myself using it all the time. If you buy one from an auto parts store then you'll know it'll have all the DC functions you'd need for auto repair.

 

[IBallEngineer]

Not really much to a multimeter. My $19 cheapo one works great, even has an elastic strap so I can have it on my wrist, freeing up both hands.

You just want all the usual suspects, DC voltage, DC amps, but also the AC voltage is nice if you do your own home repairs like I do. I find myself using it all the time. If you buy one from an auto parts store then you'll know it'll have all the DC functions you'd need for auto repair.

For the novice, DC amps is unnecessary, it's the OHMS(continuity) that is invaluable.

:der:

 

[KidVermicious]

I paid $5 for my multimeter at Harbor Freight, several years ago. It doesn't have several of the high end features my mechanic friends' meters have, but it's got everything a novice needs for basic troubleshooting.

 

[cj80cruiser]

I found this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF3OyQ3HwfU) last night and bought the same one from amazon for $25.

 

[jeremyc74]

I found this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF3OyQ3HwfU) last night and bought the same one from amazon for $25.

That video gave me a good laugh.

"Get one with a digital display, not that old analog crap." :loco:

I'm an electrical engineer and I keep an old analog meter around because they have their advantages, but for what you're doing he's absolutely right. It's a pretty good video. :thumb:

Do yourself a favor though. Get in the habit of ALWAYS plugging the red lead into the V socket. It will be pretty rare that you'll need to move it to read amps, and if you try to read voltage with it in the amp socket you'll blow the fuse every time.

 

[cj80cruiser]

Not really much to a multimeter. My $19 cheapo one works great, even has an elastic strap so I can have it on my wrist, freeing up both hands.

You just want all the usual suspects, DC voltage, DC amps, but also the AC voltage is nice if you do your own home repairs like I do. I find myself using it all the time. If you buy one from an auto parts store then you'll know it'll have all the DC functions you'd need for auto repair.

I looked at some from Home Depot but I was afraid their selection was more geared to home use. Autozone would have been a good place to find one though I'm sure.

That video gave me a good laugh.

"Get one with a digital display, not that old analog crap." :loco:

I'm an electrical engineer and I keep an old analog meter around because they have their advantages, but for what you're doing he's absolutely right. It's a pretty good video. :thumb:

Do yourself a favor though. Get in the habit of ALWAYS plugging the red lead into the V socket. It will be pretty rare that you'll need to move it to read amps, and if you try to read voltage with it in the amp socket you'll blow the fuse every time.

That video was pretty good. It helped me decide pretty easily which multimeter would work for me at this point and the cost was way lower than I expected.

 

[gamefreakgc]

That video gave me a good laugh.

"Get one with a digital display, not that old analog crap." :loco:

I'm an electrical engineer and I keep an old analog meter around because they have their advantages, but for what you're doing he's absolutely right. It's a pretty good video. :thumb:

Do yourself a favor though. Get in the habit of ALWAYS plugging the red lead into the V socket. It will be pretty rare that you'll need to move it to read amps, and if you try to read voltage with it in the amp socket you'll blow the fuse every time.

I wish I had an analog meter in some cases. Diagnosing a lean condition I had to count voltage spikes in a 10 second period (8 is normal) and my poor little digital one couldn't keep up fast enough.

 

[TheDurk]

I wish I had an analog meter in some cases. Diagnosing a lean condition I had to count voltage spikes in a 10 second period (8 is normal) and my poor little digital one couldn't keep up fast enough.

If you work on old stuff, DMM's (short of a Fluke or other high-end equivalent) are no good for diagnosing generator/regulator circuits. Too much noise so they freak out. I use the analog VM built into my battery load tester. Perfect scale 0-16 Volts. Something everybody should own. $22 on Amazon Prime.

I'd say half of all electrical problems end up being a craptastic battery or fubar'ed charging system. This thing checks both. Mine is older than many of the posters on here.

 

[jeremyc74]

I wish I had an analog meter in some cases. Diagnosing a lean condition I had to count voltage spikes in a 10 second period (8 is normal) and my poor little digital one couldn't keep up fast enough.

Yeah, there's something to be said for analog when it comes to fine details. I carry a Fluke in my tool bag when I'm traveling, and even that isn't as fast as the old analog meter I use on my bench at home.

If you ever decide you want a really nice analog meter, you can pick up a Simpson 260 on Ebay for pretty reasonable money. It used to be the benchmark for portable meters. We used these for lab work for decades, and I still love mine.

 

[IBallEngineer]

If you work on old stuff, DMM's (short of a Fluke or other high-end equivalent) are no good for diagnosing generator/regulator circuits. Too much noise so they freak out. I use the analog VM built into my battery load tester. Perfect scale 0-16 Volts. Something everybody should own. $22 on Amazon Prime.

I'd say half of all electrical problems end up being a craptastic battery or fubar'ed charging system. This thing checks both. Mine is older than many of the posters on here.

Mine isn't that old, only because I used to use the crap out of them and wore two out. But I've used my "hand warmer" since the before Reagan's 2nd term.

:hug: