You can diagnose your problem fairly easily, all you need is a buddy to
help you, a hammer, and a $5 test light that any parts store sells.
You said that when you turn the key, you get a click. Have your buddy
sit in the truck while you get yourself in position so you can easily
get to the starter. Have your buddy turn the key and hold it in the
start position and keep it there even after you hear the click. As he
holds the key forward, give the body of the starter a decent whack with
the hammer. If the truck starts, you need a starter. If it doesnt
start, tell him to let off the key. Take your new test light and hook
the alligator clip on the end onto a good piece of metal for a ground.
Then put the pointy tip onto the big wire (positive battery cable) and
see if the light does light up real bright (you can go between the
battery + and - terminals just to see what real bright should be). If
it does, then you have pretty close to the same voltage at the starter
as you do at the battery. If it is significantly dimmer, you probably
have a bad battery cable or you need to clean the connection between the
new battery and the battery cable. If everything is still good, makes
sure that the big and small wires on the starter are on tight. Have
your buddy turn the key while you check at the battery cable again. If
the light dims real bad only with the key forward, you may still have a
bad + cable. If its ok, then go to the small wire. This wire should
light up only when he turns the key to start and you here the click
noise. If it lights, you need a starter. If it doesnt light, then you
need to go back to the ignition switch and check some wiring there.
After checking and replacing starters for years at my job, I could
safely say that you probably need a starter- the whack test works on
probably 3/4 of the starters that I end up replacing. When you hear the
click, it is usually the solenoid getting the signal from the ignition
switch, but something is keeping it from cranking. However, I never
replace a starter without testing it, the small wire, and the cable
first. Occasionally, you'll find a loose wire, or a bad battery cable.
It would just be your luck that you guessed it was a starter and it
ended up being a bad cable that was dropping so much voltage across it
that the solenoid couldnt fully engage the starter because there wasnt
enough voltage, and all you got was a click! So test it all first,
it'll be a good learning experience.
Patrick
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