'96 Suburban 6.5TD K2500 4wd won't start

[Stan Shaw]

I am a new member, hopefully someone can help me...

I bought a '95 Suburban about 6 months ago, and it has been reliable since I bought it. About 2 weeks ago, I drove it home and parked it. Two days later (after a major rain storm perhaps related?) the Suburban wouldn't start, not even an attempt to turn over. Just a quiet clicking sound....

I cleaned both sets of battery terminals, after finding one was corroded. The problem persisted.

I found one battery was low, and dropped just when a door was opened, so I replaced both batteries. The problem persisted.

Not having access to this forum next, I decided it was likely a solenoid/starter issue, and so replaced the starter/solenoid. The problem stills persists.

I checked fuses, and reset all the relays in the panel. The problem still persists.

Can the alternator somehow be involved?

Help!!

[FarmerDale]

Assuming normal mileage on a '95, I would look at replacing the battery cables also. Some members have used welding cables to help carry the load for cold starts.

I recently had the crossover cable replaced (positive to positive), and the cable was nearly corroded through near the end.

Just continue to go through connections and grounds under the hood.

[rjschoolcraft]

The cables could be corroded well down beneath the insulation. Mine were. I had to replace them. I used Delco replacements, but the welding cable is also a good idea. Check voltage at the starter terminal while someone is turning the key. If you don't have at least 9.6 volts at the terminal, the cables would be suspect since you've changed everything else.

[kowsoc]

Another suggestion is the engine grounds. I had a problem with the grounds from each battery where they are bolted to the intake....they tended to loosen probably from the expanding and contracting of the aluminum. If one gets bad, the cranking speed will be much slower. Lose the other and there will be no cranking at all. Try cleaning and re-torqueing these.