2008 Escalade - rapid clicking no start

[Mordechai]

Hey guys. Really feel stuck.

Already tried new OEM positive and negative battery cables, new oem starter, new battery, new ground cable from firewall to back of head on drivers side. Mega fuse cleaned and tested good. Cleaned frame behind bumper where battery grounds. Tried to jump start from a good running car. No dice.

I was able to start it once by hooking a ground cable from battery to starter directly but it doesn't work anymore. Mightve been a coincidence.

Any ideas where to go from here?

Thank you

 

[Doubeleive]

Hey guys. Really feel stuck.

Already tried new OEM positive and negative battery cables, new oem starter, new battery, new ground cable from firewall to back of head on drivers side. Mega fuse cleaned and tested good. Cleaned frame behind bumper where battery grounds. Tried to jump start from a good running car. No dice.

I was able to start it once by hooking a ground cable from battery to starter directly but it doesn't work anymore. Mightve been a coincidence.

Any ideas where to go from here?

Thank you

rapid clicking generally means low voltage (to the starter), so do a "drop test" on the starter cable (which you have not yet replaced per notes above?)
if the voltage at the starter (while attempting to start) is 10.5v or less, then the starter power cable is bad or battery is low voltage. or it needs to be cleaned at the contact points

 

[swathdiver]

Hey guys. Really feel stuck.

Have you verified that the battery is not discharged?

Put a voltmeter to the battery and measure its voltage and cross that with the ambient temperature outside to get an idea of the battery's state of charge. If it's below 65%, it's no good. Since it is new, you may just need to put it on a tender overnight to charge it up.

 

[Mordechai]

Have you verified that the battery is not discharged?

Put a voltmeter to the battery and measure its voltage and cross that with the ambient temperature outside to get an idea of the battery's state of charge. If it's below 65%, it's no good. Since it is new, you may just need to put it on a tender overnight to charge it up.

Wouldn't it start when jumped with another running car in that case?

 

[swathdiver]

Wouldn't it start when jumped with another running car in that case?

Not necessarily. A good ground connection is critical and hard to get with many cables and a discharged battery needs the donor car to be revving the engine well above idle for a few minutes.

 

[Mordechai]

Not necessarily. A good ground connection is critical and hard to get with many cables and a discharged battery needs the donor car to be revving the engine well above idle for a few minutes.

So is the battery toast? This is after trying to crank it a few times

 

[swathdiver]

View attachment 448279
So is the battery toast? This is after trying to crank it a few times

Well, that little doohickey says the battery is good but discharged. At 11.69 volts is definitely dead.

Do you have a battery charger or tender? If you need the car for work tomorrow, charge it at 10 amps and it should be ready around midnight.

 

[Doubeleive]

do the drop test if the voltage is good as I noted already then it's something else, it's a troubleshooting process to find the problem.

 

[Doubeleive]

Well, that little doohickey says the battery is good but discharged. At 11.69 volts is definitely dead.

Do you have a battery charger or tender? If you need the car for work tomorrow, charge it at 10 amps and it should be ready around midnight.

the battery is low now but the drop test still needs to be done (with a good charge)

 

[Mordechai]

Well, that little doohickey says the battery is good but discharged. At 11.69 volts is definitely dead.

Do you have a battery charger or tender? If you need the car for work tomorrow, charge it at 10 amps and it should be ready around midnight.

I don't have a charger. Just a jump pack that has jumped diesel semis and another car to jump off of. I'm guessing that isn't enough because it does the same thing with both of those.