Having engine starting issues is terrible & it becomes a nightmare when you’re in the middle of a trip. Like other vehicles, the 2018 Chevy Silverado faces engine starting issues & it happens for various reasons.
If your Chevy Silverado is giving just clicking noises, not starting – you’re in the right place. I will explain why your 2018 Chevy Silverado does not start just clicks.
This issue occurs due to some major issues such as: Battery Fault, Connection Fault & Starter Motor Fault. You’ll know about these issues along with solutions later in this article.
Most Common Causes Of 2018 Chevy Silverado Not Starting
Chevy Silverado won’t start; just the clicking noise is something to do with the battery mainly. Though there are many reasons, I’ll be stating some of the common causes of 2018 Chevy Silverado not starting below:
- Battery Problem: Dead, Drained or The Alternator Is Damaged.
- Connection Problem: Corrosion or Rodent Damaged
- Ground Problem: Faulty Ground Connection
- Insufficient Oil
- Failed Starter Motor
- Failed Ignition Switch
These are the most common causes behind the problem I’m talking about in this article. Let’s see how you can fix them in the next segment.
Why 2018 Chevy Silverado Won’t Start Just Clicks: Diagnose & Fix
If the engine just makes clicking noises but does not start, it just means the battery is not powerful enough to start the engine. Sometimes the battery is the only issue behind & sometimes there are other reasons as – faulty connections, faulty starter motor and so on.
Let’s start with the battery part first.
Battery Problems: Dead, Drained Or Alternator Problem
Drained battery & dead battery aren’t the same things. 2018 Chevy Silverado features a 12V battery.
Testing with a voltmeter, if the battery has 12V instead of 12.4V – it’s a drained battery. A failed alternator often causes this issue as the alternator’s job is to recharge the battery.
If the reading is 10V or less, it’s a dead battery. There’s nothing you can do to return a dead battery to life. All you can do is buy & replace the battery.
Note: You can buy a new 12V Chevy Silverado Battery From Here.
If you don’t know how to check battery life, here’s the step-by-step tutorial:
- Step 1: Get Yourself A Voltmeter.
- Step 2: Configure The DMM To The DC 20 Volts
- Step 3: Connect The Negative Battery Terminal To The Black Meter Lead.
- Step 4: Connect The Positive Battery Terminal To The Red meter Lead.
- Step 5: Check The Voltage Of The Battery.
Check & replace/recharge your battery. If you’re still facing this engine not starting issue, proceed to the next segment.
Faulty Electrical Connections
Visually inspect all the connections related to the battery. If you’re noticing corrosion or heavy dirt on the battery terminal, clean them well. You can use mild regular rubbing alcohol to clean out dirt & debris.
Sometimes, cleaning alone won’t be beneficial. I’m talking about rodent-damaged connections, which must need to be replaced. If you see a connection/wire damaged by mice, rats, squirrels, or any other creature – replace the entire wire/connection.
Faulty Ground Connections
Ground connection plays an important role in preventing short circuits inside the car. It’s basically the battery’s negative terminal, which is connected to the car’s chassis. Due to corrosion or dirt, this ground connection can go bad or faulty.
The engine also has ground connections & the main objective of that is similar to the battery’s ground connection. Visually inspect for dirt & corrosion in the ground connections.
If needed, use a multimeter to check the ground connections. Here’s how you can do it with a multimeter:
- Step 1: Get Your Multimeter
- Step 2: Set The Multimeter To Ohm Mode
- Step 3: Connect The Negative Terminal Of The Battery To Multimeter’s One Side.
- Step 4: Connect Any Other Exposed Metal To Multimeter’s Other Side.
- Step 5: If The Reading Is Near 0 ohm, The Ground Is Fine. If not, It’s a Faulty Ground.
Faulty Starter Motor
If luck isn’t in your favor, you’ll figure out if the starter motor is damaged or faulty. There’s no permanent repair other than a replacement starter motor
- Starter Motor
When the starter motor becomes faulty, the engine won’t start – it will just make clicking noises. Here are the symptoms of a bad starter motor:
- Engine Doesn’t Start; it Clicks.
- Grinding & Whirring Noises From The Engine
Insufficient Engine Oil Issue
Insufficient engine oil is one of the most common reasons why the 2018 Chevy Silverado won’t start but clicks. Check your engine oil with a dipstick & refill with quality engine oil according to the owner’s manual.
Note: Don’t change your oil wherever you like, change somewhere you are legally allowed to change oil.
How To Temporarily Fix The Starter Motor Problem?
If you’re facing a bad starter motor issue in the middle of the road, you can apply the traditional method – hammering the starter. Keep one of your friends/family members in the car & ask them to start the engine.
At that moment, you’ll have to tap or wiggle the starter relay. You can also try replacing the starter relay with the trailer relay & start the engine again. Hopefully, you’ll be able to fix the problem temporarily.
How To Jump Start The 2018 Chevy Silverado: 6 Steps Guide
You can tackle your damaged battery issue if you have a friend with a vehicle down the road. Here’s how you can jump-start your 2018 Chevy Silverado:
- Step 1: Turn Off The Engines Of Both Vehicles.
- Step 2: Take A Red Cable & Connect It To Both Of The Batteries (Dead & Alive) Positive Terminal.
- Step 3: Take A Black Cable & Connect It To The Negative Terminal Of The Alive Battery.
- Step 4: Take The Other End Of The Black Cable & Connect It To Any Metal Part Which is Not painted Or Barepainted.
- Step 5: Start Your 2018 Chevy Silverado & It Should Be Properly Starting Now.
- Step 6: Unpair Both Black & Red Cables Safely.
That’s how you can get help from your help while going on a road trip together.
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
Your Chevy Silverado might have a faulty/damaged battery or faulty connections & that’s why it’s not starting but clicking. Other reasons like insufficient oil and bad starter motor can also cause this problem.
The starter is in the fuse box located on the driver’s side of the 2018 Chevy Silverado. You’ll have to uncover the fuse box to get to the starter.
You can try checking with a multimeter whether or not your fuse is blown or not. Take the multimeter & check if the reading is more than 5’ohms. If yes, then your fuse needs to be replaced.
Conclusion
I hope this article was informative enough regarding why the 2018 Chevy Silverado won’t start just clicks. Now you know everything from causes to fix of this engine not starting issue.
If you have prior knowledge, you can fix all the problems mentioned in the article on your own. However, you can always seek help from a professional if you don’t want to mess with anything.
