Need input on life lesson I learned...

Well, as a new driver, since I'm 17, I found out the first-hand way on what kind of shit can happen! Tonight, its the great celebration of the 4th of july! But tonight there has been a sever thunderstorm rolling through. So 8 blocks from my house, right on a heavily busy street I had to stop at the light. But I'm still a bit new to the clutch. I go to turn, and whattya know! I kill it! I let out the clutch way too fast. I'm pretty good for a beginner, but I still make mistakes often. Haha!

So the damn truck DOES NOT START! I mine like, hoooollly shiit! I'm screwed! My sister gets in the driver side, and I get out to push it. Well, you guess it, all by myself! I dunno about you guys, but these trucks are hell to push on a slight incline! Did I mention the fact that people who were in such a hurry to get home because they could'nt watch fireworks to get home, did'nt even pull over and decide to help me out? NO! They just passed me and went on their way.

I got people honking like hell, yelling out the window telling me to get out the way... So despit that, I get a little lecture from my sister. I told her earlier that I think the ground wire is shit on the truck and it has trouble starting. I felt like crap that I just blew it.

Not till 30 min. did I get the damn thing to start. And trust me you know how your did is when he says, "you should have listened!" Well excuse me, I've got some damn ground wires comin in the mail soon! I never expected it to be this bad.

I'm damn cranky now and still sweatin like hell. It just goes to show you how small of a problem it may be, its actually the biggest of them all!

Heres the scoop, this is what makes this thread Engine forum worthy. I just had to give you the inside details of my night. My fatha tells me I need a new starter selenoid and a ground wire and + wires for the alt. and starter.

Basically, I'm going to just do the BIG 3 tomorrow, buy a new starter and selenoid and an optima yellow top... I think that will take care of the problem QUICK!

I would turn the key over, it has power, it tries to start, but after a while it just dies... everything dims...

sounds like ur alternator is not holding a charge on your battery, no need to replace your battery if its good, and you dont need to replace your starter if it does not whine when your try to turn it over.

Not trying to down you or anything just trying to look out for you and save you money.

I would go get your alternator checked before buying a new battery and such, cause if you buy a new battery and ur alternator is bad then ur wasteing ur money

yea have it all checked befor you buy also check the main fuse under the hood make sure its not messed up and as for peeps yelling at yea yell back and tell them that you can get it moved faster if thay shutup and help instead of yelling

yeah it duz sound like your alternator is not holiding any charge. i myself have been through 3 batteries, and 2 alternators so i know where youre coming from asfor the people do what i do when im stuck or something. if you follow too close ima lay the truck low enough just to pick up pebbles to throw back at em. if you honk at me cuz i take 3 seconds to move from a red light i lay the bitch down and wait longer, and if im pushing my truck and honk at me telling me to move and youre not helping, trust me you will be pushing my truck as i steer!!

man bro, well at least you have a good idea whats wrong with it.

and as they say, "if it aint broke, dont fix it!"
haha, but its true, no need to spend more money if you dont have to... but hey, if you got the money, go for it!

Check your battery cables, sometimes my truck wont start or turn over, thats because my ground cable isnt that geat all the time, but 95% of the time it is, the other 5% isnt...but check that, and make sure the terminals are clean, and then it should be good...

is the starter turning over just fine? it just cuts off after awhile correct? but after it cuts off, are you still able to turn the engine with the starter w/o the starter struggling? if that is the case, then the battery is good, which means your alternator is charging it.

a battery will last only couple minutes when the alternator dies.

if this is the case, do what ^ homeboy says and check the cables. you probably have a break in the wires, commonly it is the ground since it's the most tampered, but it might also be the power wire. check the ground wire first

Well, it was fine when I first got the truck, turn over everytime. But the last few days it would start but it would barely turn over. And then sometimes it would be fine. I suppose I should just get the problem fixed before I just decide to blow my money. I do plan on getting my sound system installed soon so thats why I figured I should just do all the electrical upgrades. I gotta see how much it will all cost though... Not cheap, I know.

Well, when I get the time, I will get the alt. tested. Do I have to bring the alt in itself, or can I just take the truck over to an auto place?

Haha, thats some funny stuff projekt!

Well, once I get my ground cables, and then get the ground cable for my battery, I will take some pics of the wiring just to show you how ghetto rigged this cable is!

I'm not sure how to explain it in order to tell you whether or not the starter is fine. All I know is that the battery has to be fine, cause I have full function of the lights, radio, etc. I go to turn it over and the lights on everything dim out, and the starter sounds like its trying to start it but it just slowly gives up and then even it will just click and thats it.

Then, it wont even make a noise at all... My dad says its the starter selenoid, and he has been telling me that I should get a new starter because when I turned it over like a week ago it would constantly disengage too long after the engine started...

your lights take 25amps at the most to turn on. to start an engine, depending on size and compression, usually is 450+ amps.

it is like saying the Duracell batteries worked on your TV remote, but it won't run your CD player anymore or your flashlight is dim. get the gist bro?

check the wires that are behind the alternator. there should be a grey harness and a single 10gauge wire that has a black rubber cover over it and held in by a nut. check that wire that has the rubber cover and make sure it is tight. that wire is what charges the battery. if it is loose, then the battery isn't getting the juice it needs when your truck is running, which eventually kills your battery over time.

if that is tight, and the harness is connected, then yes your alternator is going bad.

if you're getting a large audio system anyway, then a drycell optima and a new alternator would do you good anyways. FYI, you can get your factory alternator re-wound/re-built to where it has a higher output. the stock mazda 2,0/2,2 alt is 55amps. you can get an alternator shop to bump it up to 90, or so. 90 would be plenty.

a new starter will not hurt either.