Originally Posted by '98R/T

It's an '88 D21, it's been beat to hell and the kid that had it before me didn't do much upkeep on it.

I gave it a little tune up (plugs, wires, cap, rotor) and changed the fluids. Replace the belts and a few other piddly stuff. The truck runs pretty well, very smooth for being 18 years old and having 200,000 miles on it. It idles too high for my liking (around 2K rpm), but I'll mess with that later.

It's been starting/running fine for a couple of weeks now, until just a few days ago. I left work (started without a problem) and stopped at the parts store to pick up a couple things. Got back out to the truck and it wouldn't start. I'd turn the key and the dash would light up and I could hear the fuel pump kicking on, but it wouldn't try to start.

I went inside and got one of the workers to come out with a jump-pack and tried jumping it, but that wouldn't work. With the hood popped, I could hear a single *click* each time I turned the key......sounded like the solenoid for the starter engaging, but it wouldn't spin. The kid I bought it from said that the starter had been acting up, so I went back in and ordered a starter. A couple guys helped me push start it and I drove it home and parked it in the garage.

Next day I pick up the new starter, go home, and swap them out. Turn the key and it does the exact same thing. I couldn't fit another car in the garage the way it was parked, so I got out the battery charger and set it charging while I looked around for bad connections/grounds. Didn't find anything obvious. Just for the hell of it, I tried starting it again and it fired right up. I shut it off and restarted it a few times and it started each time.....drove it around for a bit then parked it for the night thinking the battery must be going south.

Last Thursday I took the battery in to Advance and had it tested....expecting it to be bad and that I'd get a new one. Battery tested good. Went home and put the battery back in the truck and it started right up. I hooked a charger on it over night just to be sure it would start in the morning......we got 7 inches of snow that night so I wanted the 4x4. It started and I drove it to work. After work I went back to Advance to have the alternator tested and it tested fine too.

I went home and checked the ignition switch, ign. switch relay, clutch interlock switch & relay, and cleaned my battery terminals/cables for good measure.

Now it seems to start about 50% of the time (100% of the time if it's on a charger). Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it starts now......but I didn't fix anything, it just started kind of working again. Now I'm worried that it's going to act up on me again and not start at a bad time and I don't know what the problem is.........alternator going bad but was able to pass a test........battery not good but managed to pass a test.......wire grounding/shorting out somewhere along the way. I just don't know.

Anybody had anything like this happen before?