99 GMC C1500 5.7.

Dead as a doornail. Tried jumping it, nothing. Engine won't turn over or click.

Lights come on, and seem to work fine.

Any suggestions?

Check cables/ends, especially the ground.

What he said ^^^^

Also check and see if it has a starter relay.  I can't remember if my 98 does or not.  Also try and move the shifter to N and try it.



 

Make sure the cables are bolted tight to the starter.  I once drove 2.5 hours to pick up my father for the same reason, the wires to the starter were loose.


 

If the above suggestions don't work, crawl under the truck with a hammer and give a few light whacks to the starter motor solenoid.  Mine used to get stuck sometimes, and a few smacks would knock it loose.

Is there anyway you can hook a charger to the truck instead of jumping it? You can get more power to the batteries that way.

Also if that does not work start checking fuses. Lastly crawl under the truck and tap on the starter with a hammer while someone tries to turn it over...

Ha. You snuck it in while I went to go get coffee!

My 04 Canyon started doing this once in awhile. Its the Passlock passive theft system bullshit they have installed. Not sure if your truck has that though. Basically, if the truck thinks its being stolen, it shuts off the fuel supply. I guess it has something to do with the key. Its supposed to reset itself after ten minutes and let you start the truck though.

OK tried starting in neutral, nothing.

Pulled out the starter and took it to Autozone to have it tested. It passed.

Checked cables from battery, they all seem tight.

Getting frustrated

tight does not mean good.
turn on your head lights and try to crank it over.
if they dim, then you don't have enough power. if they don't then probably starter circuit somewhere.

bad battery, or bad cable if you don't have enough power.

cables can look fine, but I have burned out 2 or 3 ground cables in the past for no reason I can see. They just stopped carrying enough current from the battery to the block.

If it has been cold try wiggling the shifter. Sometimes in the cold your neutral safety switch will not be engaged unless you work the shifter a bit. I have no experience with GMC trucks but this happened in my jeep.

-load test your battery or replace, Your battery can be so weak from being drained that it has failed, if a battery is dead enough, jumping won't allways work.

-Check for voltage at the "S" terminal at the starter.  
-Us a meter to make sure the starter is grounded well.  

- If the starter has diodes on the "S" crank circuit check those useing the diode check function on your meter.  The diodes are for flash suppression, if they're bad you usually can remove them without hurting your electronics.  But they are there for a reason .  I had to bypass one when I had a no-crank condition off road at night.

-nothing at the "s" terminal.  Remove the "S" wire and check for voltage when trying to crank.
-trace wire back to fuse box or relay box.  make sure it has no opens.
-check your fuse/relay box to make sure it's hot.
-deos the crank relay (if you have one) click over?

Sounds to me that if you are without a 12v test light, DVOM, and wiring diagram your SOL.  You allready covered the regular bases, from what you said.

Problem solved.

Bad ground on the negative battery cable. It was shorted out and burnt up, apparently it had been to close to the manifold.

I ended up putting in a new starter anyways, since I was down there. For $90 its cheap insurance, and I knew if I put the old one back in Murphy would strike.

Huh, imagine that. Glad you found the issue.