# I have a battery that is fully charged but won't start my plow truck I did a test on the alternator and it's good and charging, the starter is good also the only way it will start is by jumping it with my second battery or jumping it with my car **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2025, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618 "2025-03-15T17:24:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eagle12426](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@Eagle12426](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eagle12426)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/1 "2025-03-15T17:24:40Z")
My truck battery is fully charged but will not start my truck unless it is jumped. The alternator is good pushing out 12-14 amps the starter is good. Any thoughts on what it is? ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/2 "2025-03-15T17:27:54Z")
Your battery is bad and can’t generate the cranking amps required. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/3 "2025-03-15T17:27:55Z")
Might you have a bad ground connection on the NEG side of the battery terminal, the starter, or the starter solenoid? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/4 "2025-03-15T17:30:02Z")
How old is the battery? Seems like the culprit since a jump starts the truck. And you meant volts, not amps, right? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/5 "2025-03-15T17:45:39Z")
Yea, probably the battery. I’ve mentioned this many times before, but battery testers are really cheap now, and will pay for themselves many times over. [Here](https://www.amazon.com/KONNWEI-100-2000-Automotive-Alternator-Motorcycle/dp/B08MPXGSGN/) is one for $30. I have it, and it works great. ---
**Author:** ![Eagle12426](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@Eagle12426](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eagle12426)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/6 "2025-03-15T17:52:29Z")
Ok yes AMPS sorry about that! All the connections are very good! The negative is grounded very well. I have a second battery in my plow truck that is grounded. I have used it to jump my truck along with the wife’s car and it starts right up. The second battery is for my plow but have used jumper cables to start the truck with it. I also have a Cole Hurst Battery Isolator so when the truck is started it gets charged and it charges both of them. The alternator is a 153 AMP ALTERNATOR. The load tester reads between 12-14 Amps while the truck is running. When I hook up the load tester it reads that the battery is at around 13.5 Amps. Yes I have tested it separately from the plow battery. I think I gave all the information about this to clear up any other questions unless I forgot something. Thanks for everyone’s help. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/7 "2025-03-15T17:58:15Z")
How old is the plow truck and what type of battery connection is there? While it could be the battery what has also happened to me is corroded terminals, for which you can get a battery terminal cleaning brush at Amazon, Walmart, auto supply stores: > **[Amazon.com: Schumacher Electric BAF-BI Battery Terminal Cleaning Brush for...](https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-BAF-BI-Terminal-Cleaning-Brush/dp/B0060YHP62)** > > Ensure your batteryEnsure your battery is at operating at peak performance with the Schumacher BAF-BI Battery Terminal Cleaning Brush. Featuring a durable, compact metal case, this pocket-sized brush includes stiff chrome bristles that easily remove... ---
**Author:** ![Eagle12426](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@Eagle12426](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eagle12426)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/8 "2025-03-15T18:04:27Z")
The terminal connections are good and not corroded I even have them coated with the RED stuff to prevent corrosion. Yup done that!🙂 Ok well I’m going to get another battery. This one has a 5 year warranty on it. It’s a NAPA LEGEND PREMIUM 34/78 battery. Thanks for everyone’s help. I’ll let everyone know how it turns out! Thanks again have a great day and be safe!! ---
**Author:** ![Eagle12426](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@Eagle12426](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eagle12426)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/9 "2025-03-15T21:48:29Z")
Sorry to be a pain in the but and for this being so long with asking a question again. I just went over to NAPA the young lady noticed my battery that I was talking about on here had a bulge on the side she said it was because it was frozen. I asked a few questions about that and had gotten another one. This one is the LEGEND XDT with 800 CCA it has a round sticker on the top and side of it with 2/25 on them. I said all that because of my next question. I have a good charger and it can show the PERCENTAGE of what the battery is before it starts to charge. Just for the heck of it out of curiosity I put the clamps on the new battery and I was really surprised that the battery was at 60%! Should a new battery be that low and come like that from the factory?? I’m really amazed that it would be like that. Like I said, I was just curious to see if it would be 100%! Any thoughts on why it would be that low. Thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/10 "2025-03-15T22:13:28Z")
What’s the manufacture date on the new battery? ETA: depending on … a number of factors … a battery sitting will discharge at a rate of something like 1-5% per month. Your battery was probably born in China. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/11 "2025-03-15T22:24:49Z")
> [@Eagle12426](#): > > This one is the LEGEND XDT with 800 CCA it has a round sticker on the top and side of it with 2/25 on them. Did I miss this? If this is the manufacture date, then I would probably have expected a bit more charge on the battery when you got it. But that also assumes your gizmo is reading correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Eagle12426](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@Eagle12426](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eagle12426)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/12 "2025-03-15T22:26:51Z")
The batti just got from NAPA has a circle sticker on it with this in it: 2/25. The girl picked out the March and the number 5 from the long information sticker that has all the information on it. The CCA 800. Like I said it was at 60% when I put the charger cables on it just to see what it was at. What are your thoughts about it? ---
**Author:** ![Eagle12426](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@Eagle12426](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eagle12426)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/13 "2025-03-15T22:31:05Z")
David yes the gizmo that I use is a Viking automatic charger. I have used it on my wife’s car and it is on the money. I compared it when I went to ADVANCE AUTO with my wife’s car and it was reading correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Eagle12426](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@Eagle12426](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eagle12426)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/14 "2025-03-15T22:33:10Z")
Also since I’m new to this site I don’t know how to post pictures of what I’m asking or talking about. Still trying to figure it out. How do I do that to show pictures? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/15 "2025-03-15T22:33:50Z")
I mean … my gut tells me that’s a _little_ lower than I would have expected, but … what do you feel like doing? You could go back to NAPA and sweet talk them into putting a few onto a load tester for you so that you can pick the best of the bunch. But the state of charge on purchase doesn’t really correlate with how the battery will perform for you. Me? I’d run the one you brought home and just keep an eye on it. Did/does the sticker look like this? [![](https://d3j17a2r8lnfte.cloudfront.net/alb/2024/4/medium/1n2-Tev27eVuPLVRDLYud7hb.jpeg) ](https://d3j17a2r8lnfte.cloudfront.net/alb/2024/4/medium/1n2-Tev27eVuPLVRDLYud7hb.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Eagle12426](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@Eagle12426](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eagle12426)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/16 "2025-03-15T22:36:49Z")
Y E S THAT’S IT EXACTLY!! In the round sticker it has 2/25 The girl picked out the March and the number 5. My date of purchase. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/17 "2025-03-15T22:39:21Z")
I’d throw it on your charger, top it up, and then hook it into the truck. I’d bet you’re just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Eagle12426](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@Eagle12426](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eagle12426)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/18 "2025-03-15T22:40:32Z")
Ok you asked me what I feel like doing. Well I just paid $209 for it with the old battery that they took. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/19 "2025-03-15T22:42:55Z")
I was late to the thread but were you grounding your jumper to ground or to the negative terminal on the battery. ---
**Author:** ![Eagle12426](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@Eagle12426](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eagle12426)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618/20 "2025-03-15T22:45:39Z")
David that’s exactly what I just did. It’s taking a bit longer for it to charge up since, I have it at the 8 amps so it charges fully at a slow rate. When it’s finally charged this charger will automatically keep it at a full charge until I disconnect the clamps. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-battery-that-is-fully-charged-but-wont-start-my-plow-truck-i-did-a-test-on-the-alternator-and-its-good-and-charging-the-starter-is-good-also-the-only-way-it-will-start-is-by-jumping-it-with-my-second-battery-or-jumping-it-with-my-car/1015618.md?page=2)