Truck laid up 6 months

I was wondering if there are any wrench heads out there
I have a truck problem & I need this truck back working
It started having issues in winter ( my Ford econoline 4.2 V-6)
Sluggish start and nasty sounding starter
Then dead of winter stopped starting just clicking
Battery was bad so in went a new battery – No Help
Tested old starter and yes it was bad
Put in new starter and still just clicking ??
I just don't see a wire problem
I can test with a meter to see if I am getting proper volts (tomorrow)
I will tell you - this motor ran sweet smooth had power
I don't think it is seized it ran perfect till the clicking issue
The auto parts wants me to get a relay solenoid @ $15 they say it could be that
It could be something simple but what ?

Originally Posted by Copper Head

I was wondering if there are any wrench heads out there
I have a truck problem & I need this truck back working
It started having issues in winter ( my Ford econoline 4.2 V-6)
Sluggish start and nasty sounding starter
Then dead of winter stopped starting just clicking
Battery was bad so in went a new battery – No Help
Tested old starter and yes it was bad
Put in new starter and still just clicking ??
I just don't see a wire problem
I can test with a meter to see if I am getting proper volts (tomorrow)
I will tell you - this motor ran sweet smooth had power
I don't think it is seized it ran perfect till the clicking issue
The auto parts wants me to get a relay solenoid @ $15 they say it could be that
It could be something simple but what ?

I would go with the $15.00 solenoid, when your starter was nearing the fritz you were drawing extra heavy amperage which more than likely burned out the contacts inside the relay.

To test you can use a jumper to bypass the relay, hook your bypass onto the battery side of the relay the touch the other end of your jumper onto the starter side, if the starter turns over then you know the relay is shot.

Jumper cable should be as heavy as your battery cable, anything lighter will get hot and possibly burn you.

IIRC the 03 still has the old style starer relay solenoid near the battery. Should be a short positive cable from battery and a long cable to starter. The solenoid makes contact between those cables when 12 volt is present on the blue/red strip wire from key in start. if you don't have 12v on the blue/red when key in start the neutral saftey switch on transmission is suspect. Also have seen bad key switch.



Pay attention to the part about voltage drop testing the cable, something many pro mechanics don't understand.

I would put a breaker bar on the crankshaft and make sure the thing turns over. I've seen this one before, where guys change starter, etc only to find out the engine is actually locked up.

Been awhile since I've worked on vehicles but it really sounds like a bad solenoid to me, GM's have this problem occasionally and people just buy a new starter when a new solenoid would do the job. Mine went bad on my dually toter and to get home I would have to slide under the vehicle and short across the solenoid to start the truck.

Locked up engine, lol. I remember one time at the shop had the same thing happen and they pulled the serpentine belt off and i asked them to start it up and it started no problem. Wound up being a locked up alternator, so i would check that too.

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Been awhile since I've worked on vehicles but it really sounds like a bad solenoid to me, GM's have this problem occasionally and people just buy a new starter when a new solenoid would do the job. Mine went bad on my dually toter and to get home I would have to slide under the vehicle and short across the solenoid to start the truck.

Turns out my ford has 2 solenoids one on starter and one on fender parts store did not have it in stock, I am going to jump and bypass it and see if i can start it.
The trans interrupt is $84 another relay is on the steering column $24 . So I see i need to trouble shoot cause it can cost $$ .

Originally Posted by divapickers

All we have is Ford's. Fender solenoid as long as engine not locked up but if it did lock up. I would think it would happen while driving and you'd know it. So I say fender solenoid.
Just jump it with a screwdriver and touch the two bigger connections together. Remember have the key in the start position.
Had same problem last week but was the starter solenoid. $100 rebuild and 1 hour re and re. Back in business.

Does the starter solenoid come with the new starter he put on? And why in the heck would Ford use 2 different solenoids? If he needs a fender solenoid, I'd be making a run to the boneyard for a cheap/free used one. If you jump it with the screwdriver, have the key on like he said and make sure it's not in gear.

Car Quest has it for about $20 , I did not jump it yet cause it is in a hard spot to jump and have battery in place , I can use a home made wire lead and put battery back but i think I'll just take a chance and change it for the $20 risk . I remember now closer what i did see i was doing brakes (front) and the starter was on it's way out along with battery I hooked up a fast charger and i just kept trying to start auto with worn starter as i needed to keep turning the steering wheel to align front rotors to get at pads , I must have taken it to far and burnt out the fender solenoid
Well their is a lesson - when I saw my starter was bad I just should have stopped as i did burn some thing else out
Also the few last times it did start the motor ran as always PERFECT really smooth .I have had motors seize on me and it has always been a event that you remember

Originally Posted by Copper Head

Car Quest has it for about $20 , I did not jump it yet cause it is in a hard spot to jump and have battery in place , I can use a home made wire lead and put battery back but i think I'll just take a chance and change it for the $20 risk . I remember now closer what i did see i was doing brakes (front) and the starter was on it's way out along with battery I hooked up a fast charger and i just kept trying to start auto with worn starter as i needed to keep turning the steering wheel to align front rotors to get at pads , I must have taken it to far and burnt out the fender solenoid
Well their is a lesson - when I saw my starter was bad I just should have stopped as i did burn some thing else out
Also the few last times it did start the motor ran as always PERFECT really smooth .I have had motors seize on me and it has always been a event that you remember

Bad starter motor, when the armature bushings are severely worn the armature rubs against the metal cores holding in the field coils. When the starter motor reaches this condition the amperage draw from the battery is very high, this will cause havoc with the contacts inside the solenoid causing permanent damage.

Also the high amperage draw can buckle the plates inside the battery which will soon result in failure, a battery in poor condition or one not fully charged will also cause premature electrical failure of the solenoid and starter motor. Battery shops will check the condition of yours at no cost, it pays to have a healthy battery.