Just bought the truck. Previous owner said that the batteries are only 420 or 450 cca a piece, but they are brand new. Says the starter will "tick" and not engage alll the time due to the small batteries. I replaced one battery w/ an 800cca batt on the pass side, and left the 420cca on the drivers side.

When I go to crank it, the amps go way low on the stock guage. Checked the wires to the starter, they look great and are very tight and seem to have a good connection.

Whats the options here?

 

if you voltmeter is working correctly, the only reason why it would show a drop in amps, there is current being pulled, not sure what the initial load would be on a starter, you should also see a drop because of the intake heater.

must causes of the starter not operating correctly.
bad connections (short in the wires, corrosion around the battery terminals or the starter post)
warn out starter/solenoid
I think they stop selling the rebuild kits for them so I would think you would have to buy the whole starter.

 

Starter is wore out. If you want to rebuild it for a fraction of the cost and have a more reliable than stock starter google Larry B starter contacts. He sells HD rebuild kits.

 

it sounds like a bad starter to me. usually when you get new batteries you get the same ones because if one is different it will cause a draw on the other battery as if your trying to jump start it with the better battery. i would suggest getting another 800 cca battery for the other side and see how that works. and a new starter

 

About how much does he sell them for?

I was wondering how that would work and if that could cause an issue... but my dad who works with electronics says that in theory that shouldn't affect it any if there are 2 batts to pull from. Yes, the batts did say to buy in pairs for the truck.. but it was damn near 100$ for one batt and I couldn't cough up the change to do the other at the time.

But when I go to start it, the amp gauge goes below the actual range it gives you (it doesn't go ALL the way down, but it goes beyond the "range" written in there)

 

You cannot replace just one battery, it will be quickly damaged. Get 2 rated for at least 800 cca. If you cannot afford 2 batteries, put the new one on the drivers side and disconnect the other one. Tape up the clamps real good so they dont short. The grid heaters draw well over 100 amps thats why your voltmeter dips so low.

Larry B is a good source for stater stuff. Your problem likey is just the starter contacts. If you order from there be sure to get the diode to protect your fuel shutdown solenoid.

 

How will it be damaged? Could this be why the truck doesn't start or is it deff. something related to the starter?

 

Damage occures because it will draw down the good one and mismatched battries is not a good idea anyways and no that has nothing to do with your issues... Like I mentioned look into rebuilding your starter. Its 39ish bucks and a new starter is like 400 to 500 for it. Heres the link click it to find the parts and instructions.

Rebuild Kit

 

All I can say is. Dodge Cummins uses a regular 12 volt system just like any other gasoline car uses. And Dodge Cummins isn't one of those converted gasoline engines that use glow plugs that take minutes of cracking to get going in the morning. Which means a regular 12V battery shouldn't be having any click, click, click problems just because it's on the small side; as long as it's not a bad battery, anyway. These trucks don't really need two batteries, even.

So.. what the previous owner told you was a total lie and I'm sure he knew it, too.

 

Starter Contact Wear is a Common Issue !

LarryB's Dodge starting problems solved here.