so i got the truck started by jumping it, fired right up, but befor ei jumped it i tried it and it still made all the weird noises, but i drove it enough to get the battery charged, i put my load tester on it and it said twelve volts, flipped the switch to test it and it said about 10.4 volts?

 

10 volts is so-so on a load test, i wouldnt want it any lower than that though....maybe check the condition of your ground wire on your battery and where it goes to the frame??? kinda sounds like a bad connection to me

 

where does it ground to? also my battery terminals are as tight as i can get yet the can still be pulled off by hand

 

Ground is on the driver side frame...just trace it shouldnt be too long of a run.....you might need to get new terminals if you can pull them off by hand...and make sure the posts are clean and all that fun stuff

 

Yeah, 10.4V = toast. I can't remember the exact numbers, but anything under 11V is junk. It goes something like 12.61V = fully charged, 12.2V = 75%, 11.8V = 50%, 11.2V = 25%. Don't take that as gospel, but it's somewhere around there. It's possible to revive a battery at around 30% charge IIRC, but 25% and under, forget it. The risk of the plates touching is too great, () and the electrolyte can't change it's make up anymore.
As for the posts, the ones that aren't threaded are crap IMHO. Luckily, you should be able to unscrew them from the studs. Those lead nubs just thread on and off the studs underneath, usually.

 

X2 and interstates do thread off IIRC

 

i dont see how the thread on? its a top post interstate battery and its 2 months old

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

could it really be a bad battery?

 

I had a problem with my truck starting up and stalling after a warm start, and I noticed the ground from the pass. side batt. to fender was bare, I replaced the ground wire, and seems to have fixed the prob. im not positively sure since the problem was so far apart in happenings, but do u or anyone think that could have been my prob. I remember seeing a ground from the body to hood being just a bare wire before on some cars can a ground be just a bare wire and be ok?

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

I have had brand new batterys be bad, brand new starers, and recently a brand new a/c compressor was bad, it does happen...

 

yeha grounds can be bare its not a big deal till it hits 12v positive then your arc welding

and i had the same problem with a loose ground on my old gasser, idle or very slow speeds and it would kill the engine cause the alternator couldnt sustain the needed voltage to supply fuel

and for dmc, with some batteries those posts have threads on the bottom of them that screw down into the battery plates

if you grip the top post with a pair of channel locks and go counter clockwise it should come loose, but like i said im not sure if they are removable...i've just seen ones that do..just be careful

come to think of it some of those posts would have an almost hex nut at the base you could get a wrench on to break loose

have you checked to make sure your ground is clean on frame?

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

Also I agree sometimes new stuff just fails....interstate has at least a two year free replacement IIRC.

 

dmcgreene, when you tested your battery, was it still hooked to the truck or did you unhook it first? If it was still hooked up that reading on the battery was false, you need to isolate it first to get a battery reading.
I'm wondering if your solenoid is worn out. When you turn the key to start it, do you hear a click? If so then the solenoid is good and we can look further afield. But start with the battery and see if it's really good or not. As the other guys said, new stuff goes bad too.