Truck Repair: 6.5 turbo diesel will not start, starter solenoid, battery problem

Question
I have a '94 chevy 6.5 turbo F. The glow plug light is not coming on and it does not crank. There is a clicking noise and the service throttle soon light flashes. With the key on, the battery drains within about 5 seconds. Battery is testing good. Could this be the starter solenoid, glow plug relay, or something else?

Answer
Hello Andrew,
Remove both cables from the battery, and see if either one of them is wet.
Some of the Delco side post batteries leak, and dribble down the cable, and corrode like crazy, often requiring replacement of the cable, as well as the battery.
From that battery draining within 5 seconds, you either have a very bad connection at the battery, or the battery itself is bad.
Not the solenoid, relay, or anything else in my opinion.
And if you have a battery with both top and side posts, and you are load testing the battery, use the posts that your truck uses, not the unused posts. I have seen batteries test just great at the top posts, and not put out enough to light the headlights through the side posts. Internal battery problem in that case.

Van