Bad Key Cylinder?

[wildgoose]

Cold start today…

1st attempt: 2 pumps of throttle and half choke, key buzzer sounded as normal and engine nearly started to fire then quit

2nd attempt: one more pump of throttle and full choke, same result

3rd attempt: key buzzer silent, turn the key and nothing… no starter, nothing… dead

I pulled the key out of the cylinder and notice the cylinder backs out of the column about 1/4 inch. Never seen that before. Hmm.

Re-inserted the key and still no key buzzer but the cylinder will turn. Just nothing happening. It’s like something disconnected in the key cylinder or the column.

I’ve seen the videos on replacing the cylinder… any other ideas?

 

[DoubleDingo]

Sounds to me like a dead battery. I'd charge the battery overnight first, then try it again in the morning

 

[wildgoose]

I would agree but the battery and alternator are both less than two weeks old… I didn’t have eyes on the voltmeter when I tried cranking it, but once she went silent, I noticed the voltmeter is registering zero. Just doesn’t seem likely. Two days ago the voltmeter was reading 14 volts and nothing was left on while it sat.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Possible parasitic draw. I would recommend putting a multimeter on battery to check voltage.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

I would agree but the battery and alternator are both less than two weeks old… I didn’t have eyes on the voltmeter when I tried cranking it, but once she went silent, I noticed the voltmeter is registering zero. Just doesn’t seem likely. Two days ago the voltmeter was reading 14 volts and nothing was left on while it sat.

Or it could have a bad/dead/dying cell... this can happen to fairly new batteries. Had it happen on my truck, on a battery that was about 7-8 months old.

 

[Ricko1966]

Could be the battery cables need tightening,or the positive lead is loose at the starter,one of the battery grounds is loose,fuseable links are burnt. But first guess is clean and tighten the battery cables.

 

[TotalyHucked]

I agree, doubt it's in the column/key cylinder unless something in the column is causing a parasitic draw. Check battery and alternator connections first, then check batt with a multimeter. If the battery is dead, I would take both it and the alternator back to the parts store and have them tested. Once you replace/get the truck fired up, I'd drive it to the parts store and have the starter checked too. I've had more than one battery killed due to a bad starter.