Dead starter, I think!

Your battery is dead. Jump it or replace the battery.
also your starter motor could be seized in place. The clicking you are hearing is the starter solenoid trying to click the power over to the starter, and rotate the engine. You are lacking the power needed to turn the engine. Try tapping on the starter with a hammer a few times. This may loosen things up

Take care when following these tips.
The click is the starter relay but the starter is dead. If its the type with a solenoid riding on the outside try a jump lead straight on the terminal that has the battery lead on it.
If nothing and there is a second terminal closer to the starter body try that one. If the starter responds with a spin you will probably have to remove it, fit a replacement solenoid or another starter.
Tapping the starter only works if the solenoid is a bit dicky.

Dead battery

Dangerous practice to try & jump a dead battery

The battery cables could be loose at either end or corroded internally

Most likely the battery is worn out, if original to car
since it was new, or the starter solenoid is worn

You do not want to jump any vehicle made after the
year 2000 or your asking for possible problems with
todays electronics.

You need a good battery that has been tested & fully
charged, then only jump with a jump pack,not another car

sounds like you need a new starter if the battery is charged and it wont turn over just click
you also might want to clean the terminals on the battery that will also give you just a click

hope this helps you
bob

If it clicks it could also be the starter solenoid. The starter is attached to the bell housing/torque converter housing where the transmission attaches to the engine block. Follow the battery lead, it usually goes straight to the starter solenoid.

The starter is bad or the battery is dead. If the battery is fully charged then the starter needs replaced. The solenoid inside of it is clicking

Hi there,

That clicking noise is your starter solenoid. There can be different causes, the most common is the battery. I will explain what is happening.

Your starter needs a lot of power to turn your engine. That much power would melt your ignition switch in no time if it passed directly through it. So what happens instead is your ignition switch actuates another electric switch called a solenoid. The solenoid is a really HEAVY DUTY switch.

Inside it are two copper contacts that look like the head of a bolt only rounded. The battery is attached to one, the starter to the other. Hovering above them on a spring is a copper clad disk attached to an iron core. The iron core is inside an electro-magnet.

When you turn your key (in a perfect world), an electromagnet is activated that yanks the disk towards the contacts (Making a single decisive healthy CLICK). When they connect, the circuit is closed and the starter turns over. OK.

When things go wrong:

Low Battery:

• The solenoid requires power to actuate.
• The starter takes a lot more power to turn the engine.
• When the battery is low, there isn't enough power to do both.
• You turn the key, solenoid engages (CLICK)
• Power goes to the starter
• The starter tries to turn the engine
• The draw from the starter drops the available power below the minimum needed to keep the solenoid engaged.
  
• The solenoid disengages
  
• The starter is no longer drawing power
• The additional power allows the solenoid to re-engage (Click)
• Repeat the process for as long as you have the key turned. (CLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK)

That's where those clicks are coming from and why.

The remedy:
Short term - Jump start
Long term - Charge or replace battery.

There can also be a problem with the solenoid. Specifically, with that copper clad disk I mentioned earlier.

When that many amps are drawn from a battery there is heat and sparking which erode the copper plating. There comes a point where ther disk can no longer 'Complete the circuit'. It then needs replacement.

How to tell the difference?

If it's the battery, a jump start will work.

If it's the solenoid, a jump start will have no effect.

I wanted to explain what was happening rather than just saying 'dead battery, replace it'. That way you can judge for yourself whats going on.

I hope you can find the time to rate this response.

Best regards
Mike

Three possibilities I think:
First is weak battery. There may be enough juice to light the gauges but it takes power to turn an engine.

Second, bad solenoid. The solenoid is a relay which closes the high current circuit that delivers the cranking power to the starter motor. If you hear clicking in the engine compartment (not the starter) when you turn the ignition switch on it is probably the solenoid engaging and disengaging. However if the battery is weak it won't turn the starter motor. If the solenoid is clicking look at the battery first. The solenoid could be bad but the clicking indicates it's trying to work and there just may not be enough juice to turn over the engine.

Third possibility is the starter motor itself is dead. You have to answer some questions for yourself. Is this an old,neglected car or one that has been taken care of? I would be looking at battery. Can you jump start it? If yes then weak battery is the likely problem. If the car and battery are relatively new and in good condition you should suspect the charging system, that is, the alternator. Did this happen all of a sudden on a car that was running fine recently or has the car been sitting idle for weeks/months.Eliminate the easy stuff.
Clean battery terminals?
Good battery connections and ground?
Try jump start - if yes then follow up battery/charging system. If no start then try to hear for solenoid clicking. If jump start does nothing -figure the solenoid first. If it sounds like solenoid is kicking in but engine does not turn then the starter is looking a little guilty. Jump starting will answer a lot of questions. If the car is really dead then the car that is jumping may have to be connected and revved up a couple minutes to juice up the dead battery enough to turn the starter over. If it turns over a little during the jump start but just barely then you should figure your battery is bad.

It would be hard to guess but a simple diagnostic would be to use a 12v test light and see if the starter solenoid recieves a 12 v signal while turning the key. If it lights, the starter should turn over. This also gives you the oportunity to check and verify all electrical connections at the starter including the large orange fusible link wire at the large battery terminal.

the starter should be replaced. The solenoid is kikcing the pinion out but there is no contact being made to turn the starter motor. I have the exact same truck and before i changed the starter used the old starter tap trick. Tap the starter casing with a hammer and it should start turning again. hope this was helpful for you. Good luck.