Why Does a Chevy Truck Won’t Start Just Clicks? (Fix Now)

You are all ready for a nice trip with your Chevy truck on a beautiful morning. Darn! When you hit the key, the truck won’t start. It just sounds like clicking; a single click or continuous click, click, click, click, click.

Why Chevy truck won’t start just clicks? We are here to help you fix this problem right now. First of all, you need to find out what is causing this clicking sound.

Here in this article, we will pinpoint what is causing the clicking sound, and fix it right away.

Why does a Chevy Truck won’t Start Just Clicks? (Causes)

There can be several reasons behind it. It can be something with the battery, alternator, or the starter motor. 

These parts work together to kickstart a vehicle. The battery powers the starter motor. The starter motor or starter relay then cranks the engine to ignite the truck.

In this process, the battery loses power. It is an alternator which recharges the battery and makes it ready for the next start.

Hence, if any of them becomes faulty, your Chevy truck won’t start just making a clicking sound. If the battery or alternator is faulty, the functions of the battery – headlights, stereo, dashboard, or sweepers – may not work.

The truck will make a continuous clicking sound. Again, if the starter motor is faulty, then the functions of the battery should work properly. In this case, you may hear a single click.

Fix A Chevy Truck That Won’t Start Just Clicks: Troubleshoot Guide

When you hear the clicking sound, you need to find out the cause behind it. So, here we are; with a step by step guide you need to follow to find out the problem and fix it now.

Step 1 – Check Out the Battery

If the battery doesn’t have sufficient power to start your Chevy truck, it may cause the clicking sound you are hearing. So, first of all, you need to be sure if the battery is working well or not. 

To check the battery performance, you can turn on the headlights, blower, or stereo system of your truck. If the headlights don’t lit, your battery is drained or the connection is not stable. In the case of a drained battery, you can jump start your Chevy truck to start the vehicle. If the car starts after a jump start, and again occurs the same problem for the next start, the alternator is the issue. Check out step 4 for an alternator issue.

If the headlights are fine, then the battery should be alright. In that case, the issue can be with the starter motor. Check out step 5 for the starter motor issue.

Step 2 – Check Cables and Clean Corrosion

No matter if the battery is alright or not, you should check the cable connections of the battery and clean the corrosion. Sometimes, loose cable connections on the battery terminals can cause this problem.

Open the hood and locate your battery. Remove the cables from the positive and negative terminals. Now clean the battery terminals and cable clamps properly to remove the corrosion. After that, reconnect the clamps to the terminals to establish the connection.

If you are lucky, your truck should start now. Still have no luck? Follow the next steps.

Step 3 – Check If The Battery Is Dead

Your Chevy truck may not start because of a dead battery. An average car battery usually lasts from three to six years. Hence, if your battery is dead, it cannot hold enough power to start your truck.

Most auto part stores should check the battery status for you and suggest if you need a new one or not. You can check the battery voltage by yourself with a multimeter.

A fully charged battery should have 12.6 volts of power. So, purchase and replace your battery if it is dead. Your Chevy truck should go up and running with a new battery.

Step 4 – Check Alternator Issue

An alternator is responsible for recharging the battery. When the battery powers the starter motor to start the truck, it loses power. Then the battery needs to be recharged; and the alternator does this job.

If the alternator is defective, it cannot recharge the battery. So, the battery becomes empty after a start. Hence, if your Chevy truck won’t  start just clicks, it can be due to an alternator issue.

If a jump start works for your truck, and again you face the same problem for the next start, then the alternator is to be blamed. In that case, you need to check up on the alternator at some certified service store. Replace your alternator and the problem should be fixed.

Step 5 – Check Starter Motor Issue

Your Chevy truck may not start because of a faulty starter motor or starter relay. If your Chevy truck won’t start and just clicks for a single time, the starter motor should be responsible.

The battery powers the starter motor, which then cranks the engine to start the vehicle. But a faulty starter motor cannot crank the engine to ignite the vehicle.

Again, you can check the status of the starter motor by switching on the headlights. If your Chevy truck won’t start, turn the headlights on. If the headlights are lit with full force, it means your battery is running alright. That means the faulty starter motor is responsible for the clicking sound you are hearing.

To fix this problem, you can easily change the starter motor by yourself. If you are not comfortable with the tools and parts, you can get professional help. A starter motor costs between 200 to 1000 USD. Let’s follow the below steps quickly to change the starter motor.

• Open the hood. Disconnect the cables from the battery terminals.
• After that, locate the starter motor. Remove any parts to reach the starter motor if necessary.
• Disconnect cable connections from the starter motor and remove it.
• Now, replace the old one with the new starter motor. Reconnect the wire connections with the new one.
• Put back any parts you have removed.
• After that, reconnect the cables with the battery terminals.
• Now everything is online and the new starter motor is set to ignite.

Conclusion

A Chevy truck may not start and make clicking sounds for several reasons. It can happen because of a bad battery. Again, you may face this problem because of a faulty alternator or starter motor. You can easily detect the exact problem by following our step by step guide.

Check the cables on the terminal of the battery, clean the corrosion, or replace the battery if it is dead. If the problem is with the alternator, purchase a new one and replace the old one. Or you can change the starter motor easily on your own. Hopefully, your Chevy truck has come out of coma.

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