PLEASE HELP! Stranded at work and no idea where to start looking to get home...

My 2002 Avy z71 usually runs great. Starts right up, no hiccups, gets me where I'm going, rinse and repeat as necessary...

Today I went to start her on my lunch break and the engine turned over a few times (seeming kinda bogged down by the strain of starting) and then fired up after a few seconds of trying. The weird thing is that the Service 4WD light came (and stayed) on leaving no lights on at the 4wd selector switch. I turned her off and tried again. The second tie produced the exact same results. Third time it just turned over and turned over til it just stopped with a loud click. 4th time it started begrudingly and the Service 4wd light came on a third time.

I drove it two blocks to get some lunch and stopped at the gas station to check the engine bay. Got back in and all it would do it a click and just barely try to turn over. The electrical meter in the key "on" position reads just under 12 volts if that matters, so I don't think its the battery. Fuel pump and starter are both less than 3 months old.

My boss came out to the gas station and tried to jump it off with his brand new F150 Raptor. No dice. Still just one revolution (turn over) and a click... Try it enough times and it stops even trying the turn over and just clicks.

I then disconnected the battery and reconnected it after 5 minutes. It still acted really bogged down and finally with me flooring it, it finally started. It ran rough and kept trying to turn off at idle. After keeping the gas moderately pressed for about 2 minutes it ran fine. Got it back to work and parked it. Now it will just barely turn over again...

Where should I start? Is this a common problem on these? *** Also worth noting is that the last time I started it, and the whole trip back to my office, the Service 4WD light stayed off.

UPDATE: It's been about an hour... I just went and tried to start her again... At first I had power inside the vehicle and outside lights. Tried starting it a couple of times to no avail (just rolled over once, or not even once and a faint click). Then the only electrical that would work was the horn and the two green turn signal lights on the dash stayed on (as did the turn signals themselves outside the vehicle). Asfter ten minutes the power in the vehicle came back on. i tried to start it... no go.. back to just the horn and the green turn signal dash lights again....

A bad ignition switch can be the source of numerous electrical issues...

Sounds like a bad battery to me, mine was doing the same thing. You should have at least 12.6v to turn over the engine.!

wyotonka said:

Sounds like a bad battery to me, mine was doing the same thing. You should have at least 12.6v to turn over the engine.!

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I agree. I would start with the battery. If that isn't it I would look at the ignition switch; it's a known problem area when things start acting wacky.

Check your battery cable connections, negative and positive, at both ends. Also check at the starter too, since that was recently replaced. A loose connection there could cause all of your symptoms.

Likely one of three issues... Somewhat common on ALL vehicles...

Most likely battery cable... Check for corrosion and proper torque. If you just did a starter swap and disconnected the battery it is possible it is something simple here.

Could be battery too but from your symptoms I am almost thinking you got a junk starter. If the solenoid sticks it will do exactly as you are mentioning. Some starters will have a dramatic draw on the engine and can possibly create power if the solenoid is sticking engaged so the starter is in constant contact. Ie electric motors become electric generators if turned over by exterior source. I have had this happen to me before on a brand new "budget" starter...

While you have your meter out, when you finally get it jumped again, make sure the voltage rises +2v or so once engine is running to do a simple check on the alternator.   Although, if the alternator is original, it might be getting weak like mine did.   After 12 yrs of life, My factory alternator started fading away over the course of a year until it was obvious there was subpar performance and I replaced it..   It always charged the battery enough to start, but when I finally replaced it, I was like holy cow, the starter is now turning 4 times as fast...   there's a difference between having a battery thats charged just enough to start vs fully charged... LOL

a weak alternator can also cause aberations in your idle... having a charged battery is essential to proper operations.

smgbad have you resolved you issues?

JVZL1 said:

smgbad have you resolved you issues?

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Hasn't been back on line since posting this thread.....

Sorry I never replied guys. I need to fix my notification settings on here. Didn't think anyone responded after my last post. Turned out to be the negative battery terminal needed a good cleaning. 

Glad you finally made it home from work.  Must have been a long shift... lol