The truck has been sitting since last August it will not start?

Tiny
207DAB
  • MEMBER
  • 1993 CHEVROLET 1500
  • 233,300 MILES
I'm in Maine so the truck did sit all winter idk if that makes a difference at all. The truck is a 1993 chevy c1500. It did have a dead battery so I hooked the jump pack up to it and had it on there for quite a while. I could hear the starter doing its trying to start thing yk the clicking or whatever you want to call it so pretty sure it's not the battery. It's been sitting with like almost a full tank of gas. I heard that I should get some carb cleaner and take my air filter off spray some in there then try to start it and if it runs then stops after a few seconds it's because the gas is no longer good, but should I do that? Because I've herd people say they have let stuff sit longer and it run fine any, and all advice is appreciated.
Wednesday, May 21st, 2025 AT 9:24 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 15,233 POSTS
Replace the battery. It likely froze over the winter and is internally damaged. With a fully charged battery you can try to start it. If it has ethanol fuel in it, you might want to remove the fuel line and bypass the pump to pump out the fuel at the bottom of the tank as the ethanol likely absorbed moisture and the pump would pull the mix out. Take out a gallon or so. Then dump in some ethanol free if you can get some. The brakes are probably rusted some and will need some driving to clean them up. Then run it a bit and change the oil.
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Wednesday, May 21st, 2025 AT 7:44 PM
Tiny
207DAB
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Is there some way I can test if the battery did without just straight swapping the battery I mean I know if I put a multi meter on it, it will read low regardless but because i can hear what i assume is the starter spinning and doing its thing when i turn the key. so i don't think it's the battery and i had it hooked up to my big ass jump pack (link to the jumper packs Amazon page--> https://a.co/d/0fqvGxn ) and honestly I can't remember what I put in it for gas last either the cheap or the expensive gas.
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Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 AT 12:18 AM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 15,233 POSTS
Sure, pull the battery and have it load tested. However, if it sat through the winter with a dead battery it froze. That damages the plates inside. Your jump pack is acting as the battery nut it's trying to supply that voltage while the bad battery is pulling it down. If it was actually charged and at full power the starter would engage, and the engine would turn over and run. I've had cars set for 2-3 years, stick a good battery in them so all the circuits get full voltage and the start up without any real issues. If you want just grab a meter, attach it to the battery in the car, now connect your jump pack, Next have someone hit the key. What voltage do you see? FYI the battery has 6 cells in it that each produce about 2 volts. That is why a fully charged battery reads 12.6 volts. Say you measure it and see 11.8, that is a very low battery, measure it at 10 volts and that is one bad cell (shorted or damaged) Every 2 volts is another cell. The average starter motor will spin at 6-8 volts, but it won't start an engine.
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Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 AT 1:04 AM

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