Oh no. Truck wouldn't start, towed, what could it be?

Truck in question is an old Nissan pick-em-up 1995 with almost 260K miles. I don’t drive it much any more, but went down to pick up a chair from a friend’s house about 20 miles south. Took Little Spotted Dog along and we stopped at PetsMart.

Truck ran normally, no idiot lights came on. Parked at PetsMart, went in, came out…nada.

No click, nothing, although the accessories worked. Checked under the hood - battery cables clean and connected - well, that’s about all I know to check, really. Nothing seemed obviously loose. Friend came and jumped me - nothing.

So I had my truck towed to a nearby shop that AFAIK is reputable and specialises in import vehicles - I was too far away from home for it to be worthwhile getting it towed home where I could have a gearhead friend look at it. Got a ride home and the shop will look at it tomorrow and call with the verdict.

Both the starter and ignition switch are original - in my experience starters act up for a little while before pooping out, though. New battery earlier this year. I’ve replaced the alternator/voltage regulator twice (they are the same unit in this truck) and both times had the idiot light give me plenty of warning something was up. Also this year: tune up and fan belts.

Best case scenario - a loose wire to the starter or something? Worse case - timing chain? (Although I think they make a noise before going out.)

I sort of hate to think that it might be something horribly spendy; I love my little red truck and have owned it since new. With the miles on it, something really spendy might make me start thinking about replacing it… <sniff>

If you turn the key to the start position and get no response, you have a “no crank” situation. Component failures that can cause this include the ignition switch, clutch safety switch (manual trans) or neutral safety switch (automatic), and starter, and in a few designs a starter relay. While these items often act up a bit before totally failing, sometimes they fail suddenly with no warning. It can also be caused by a faulty or discharged battery, or by poor battery cable connections, though these seem less likely with the info you listed. It’s always possible to have a wiring problem, but that’s rather rare.

With the engine not cranking, nothing involving the engine’s mechanicals, the ignition system, or the fuel system has even had a chance to work. They won’t cause a silent no-crank.

Thanks!

Quick question about the bolded bit above. This is a manual transmission, the clutch and all related parts are original, and the clutch has become intermittently “sticky” over the last year. Meaning, I either have to force it into first gear (which I loathe doing) or turn the truck off, restart, then it goes right into gear.

Connection, maybe?

Otherwise I think the things you list are not horribly spendy or complex, which is hopefully a good thing. :slight_smile:

The clutch safety switch is probably the least expensive of the items I mentioned. It is not related to the clutch mechanism or the operation of the clutch. It is activated by pressing the clutch pedal all the way down, to prevent you from accidentally starting in gear with the clutch engaged and taking out a garage door or the car parked in front of you. :o

If you are sure that the battery is good and connections are good it may be that the alternator has gone bad. If the alternator is no longer charging the battery, what happened will happen. You said 1995 with 260K. Alternators don’t last forever. If that’s the fix it will be pretty straightforward.

I have a 1997 Nissan pickup with probably the same amount of miles, and the same issue last month. Turned out to be the alternator.

Update - the starter finally gave out. They’re charging me about $250 for diagnosing, and replacing the starter.