2015 Chevrolet Colorado - It wasn't the battery

Had a dead battery. Replaced the battery and everything works, but it will not start. Makes one click and then nothing.

Check to make sure the battery connections are clean and tight.

The engine starter is a powerful electric motor, and if it fails, you’ll often only hear a click. Coincidentally, that’s often all you hear when you have a dead battery. A bad starter could mimic a dead battery, and when you change it, it doesn’t fix a bad starter, obviously.

being you’ve already installed a new battery and the car won’t start – just clicks once loudly – it could be the starter motor is faulty.

Good info above. Sometimes a brand new battery is good, but isn’t fully charged, if it has been sitting on the shelf for a long time, etc. One idea, ask your shop to charge the battery overnight with their battery charger. If that doesn’t do the trick ask them to measure the voltage at both starter motor terminals with key in “start”. Probe from terminal to starter case. Both should measure at least 10.5 volts. If they do, and the engine doesn’t crank, replace the starter motor.

This all presumes the replacement battery was replaced correctly.

Or locked up…

Is this a daily driver or had the truck sat a while??

If it was starting good and the battery just dies from age, then either the new battery is bad or the new battery was not installed correctly… Try to jump start it to see what happens…

Or smack the starter with a hammer (not trying to kill it, just wake it up lol) and see if it starts …