likearolingston

Hello everyone,

Well, I know this is a subforum for pickups, but since, let's face it, the suburban and the silverado share a lot of parts, I thought it might be smart to ask y'all for your opinions on my suburban. Here's the issue:

My beloved Suburban, Old Reliable, has not been living up to her name lately. Incidentally, she's a 1988 2500 with a 350 and 4 Wheel drive.

So here's the story. I came back to Fairbanks, Alaska from a few months away recently. Old Reliable, who usually starts no matter the weather, would not start. Turns out the battery was frozen. It was 30 below, afterall. So I thawed the battery out, took it to Napa, and had it charged. Battery came back charged and was diagnosed as working fine.

Plugged her in to Old Reliable. She has those screws that screw into the side of the battery, rather than clamping onto the terminals on top (What's that all about?). Lights, etc. all worked, but when I tried to start the engine, nothing. Well, not nothing precisely: I popped the hood, and could hear the starter click, like it was recieving a signal; but no cranking.

So what is happening here? Any help anyone can give would be very. . . helpful. It would be nice to have my wheels back, given that it's 30 below.

Thanks!

Jay

likearolingston

I guess I ought to mention she has an aftermarket remote starter installed by the previous owner.

alaskan84

whats the age on the battery? Is it possible that the battery took a decent charge, but doesent have enough power/cca to actually turn the motor anymore?

basilkies

It's not uncommon to find mechanics that don't really know how to operate their battery chargers to determine the batteries ability to work and hold a charge. Cold weather will pretty much kill a bad battery in a day. The temperature of the battery actually will determine how much charge it can hold. A warm battery will hold a larger charge. So when your battery gets old and holds less charge in reserve, it may work on a nice 70 degree day and go dead the next morning in 30 degree overnight cold.

You could try putting a 60 watt light bulb under your hood near the battery and give it a few hours, then see if you battery will turn the starter over. If it does, that means your battery is effectively wore out. Yah, you heard it right. It means that your battery won't hold enough charge in cold weather.