Starter/Solenoid making weird noise when turning key?

[vx8]

Okay so, I let the battery charge a fair amount, and the starter turned over the engine, but I went to go spray starter fluid to get it started, but when I came back to turn the key nothing happened. I don't know what's going on with it

 

[DirtDonk]

It could still be the battery is too low on power. The starter takes the most power to work of any system on the car bar none.
Let it charge up overnight and try again. Or at least for another several hours.

And go from there.

Paul

 

[vx8]

It could still be the battery is too low on power. The starter takes the most power to work of any system on the car bar none.
Let it charge up overnight and try again. Or at least for another several hours.

And go from there.

Paul

Will do. I checked the voltage after the charger was done and it was at ~12.70, but she still didn't crank.

I'll post tomorrow if anything changes.

 

[DirtDonk]

The reading you got "might" have been correct, or if it was immediately after disconnecting the charger it was probably the initial charge reading. I forget what it's called, but there is a specific name or two (like "float charge" or something, but I forget) for the charge on the battery right after charging.
It should semi-rapidly go down to it's "actual" charge in a little bit. Say, 1/2hr later or so?

Anyway, definitely leave it on to give it some more time and see if it can crank the engine then.

Paul

 

[vx8]

The reading you got "might" have been correct, or if it was immediately after disconnecting the charger it was probably the initial charge reading. I forget what it's called, but there is a specific name or two (like "float charge" or something, but I forget) for the charge on the battery right after charging.
It should semi-rapidly go down to it's "actual" charge in a little bit. Say, 1/2hr later or so?

Anyway, definitely leave it on to give it some more time and see if it can crank the engine then.

Paul

Nope. Left the battery to charge all night but it didn't turn over, the only thing I hear is the voltage regulator making that noise.

 

[DirtDonk]

Well crapola.
But at least you know the key is working so far!

A test you can do while the battery is connected would be to (with the key still OFF) jumper the relay again. Sounds like it tried to start the other day but the battery was only showing 11v so did not have the power. So it's time to find out what is stopping it from getting to the starter.

On the relay, jump the battery power to the "S" post next to it. If nothing happens, then the next step is to jump the battery directly to the starter cable on the other side of the relay. If nothing happens this time, then jump the battery directly to the starter motor itself.
These last two obviously need a heavy duty cable, such as a jumper cable set. But the first one can be done with just a small 10 to 14 gauge wire, or a pair of pliers, or a screwdriver.

If it's easier for you to take the battery in to have it load-tested, then do that. At this point we're just trying to find out if the battery has the power to spin the starter and the starter can crank the engine.

You could also put a volt-meter on the battery while someone turns the key to START. If it drops way down it might be the battery. If it doesn't change then it's something in the wiring or starter.
But since it sounds like it's not even clicking at this point (other than the buzzing of the regulator) checking the other components first seems logical.

Paul

 

[vx8]

Well crapola.
But at least you know the key is working so far!

A test you can do while the battery is connected would be to (with the key still OFF) jumper the relay again. Sounds like it tried to start the other day but the battery was only showing 11v so did not have the power. So it's time to find out what is stopping it from getting to the starter.

On the relay, jump the battery power to the "S" post next to it. If nothing happens, then the next step is to jump the battery directly to the starter cable on the other side of the relay. If nothing happens this time, then jump the battery directly to the starter motor itself.
These last two obviously need a heavy duty cable, such as a jumper cable set. But the first one can be done with just a small 10 to 14 gauge wire, or a pair of pliers, or a screwdriver.

If it's easier for you to take the battery in to have it load-tested, then do that. At this point we're just trying to find out if the battery has the power to spin the starter and the starter can crank the engine.

You could also put a volt-meter on the battery while someone turns the key to START. If it drops way down it might be the battery. If it doesn't change then it's something in the wiring or starter.
But since it sounds like it's not even clicking at this point (other than the buzzing of the regulator) checking the other components first seems logical.

Paul

After hitting the brake and gas a few times before turning the key, she finally turned over. But once again, I went to go spray some starter fluid, and when I got back to the cabin to turn the key nothing...

It's so odd

EDIT; Taking wire from the battery terminal to the starter solenoid got the engine to crank, but it was inconsistent. It took many attempts before the starter even attempted to crank. The voltage regulator is now making a clicking noise, so I want to be confident that it’s the reason why it’s not cranking.

 

[Slednut10]

Sounds like you have a lousy ground connection to the fender where the solenoid and regulator are mounted. Try running a connection from the battery negative terminal to the solenoid mounting screw to at least verify or eliminate that as an issue.

 

[Steve83]

The solenoid would be on the starter - the thing on the fender is the starter RELAY, near the voltage regulator (which can't interfere with cranking or running - it's just a symptom).

 

[Slednut10]

I stand corrected-starter relay.
Speaking of grounds, you mentioned the ground cable(from the battery?) going to the block. Are there any other connection points for the ground such as to the frame and/or the body?

 

[DirtDonk]

Yes, but Ford did not see fit to include more than one additional ground when these rigs were new. At the time, the body panel interfaced did the rest. Now, all these years later, not so much...

The one additional ground point, and the very minimum yours should have too, was to the body sheet metal at the wheel well facing the exhaust manifold and #1 cylinder.
If you look/feel around that area, you should find a small hole where a screw used to go that clamped the ground cable's bare conductors to the body.
If you do not have a body ground at this point, at the very least make your own with some 10ga wire from the battery's negative terminal to the body. Instead of the original hole, one of the mounting points for the starter relay would be a great spot. Kills two birds with one stone!

Because yours looks so rough too, from a rust/dirt/corrosion standpoint, I would add another one this time between the back of the engine and the firewall. An existing screw/bolt is fine, or you can add your own using a self-tapping screw.
As a general practice, clean any mating surfaces of junk before re-mounting the part. Whether it's an old spot under the starter relay or voltage regulator (I would clean the regulator mounting points too, just for the heck of it), or the new one on the firewall, a little bit of clean metal under the contact points will only enhance the connection made by the threads through the metal.

Paul

 

[Steve83]

Are there any other connection points for the ground such as to the frame and/or the body?

The main purpose of using the body/frame metal as "ground" is as a cheap return path from each "grounded" electrical component back to the battery (-) post. Modern vehicles don't - they use Copper wire (because it's much cheaper nowadays, compared to the cost of all the warranty problems that can occur from relying on the chassis ground) to complete the circuits. So adding a return (commonly called "ground", though it's the exact opposite of grounding) wire system will make almost everything on the truck work better. This shows the return wiring on a '93 Bronco, which still relies partly on the chassis metal:


(phone app link)

Copying that will help your eB's electrons complete their circuits with less resistance.

 

[vx8]

Okay well she was running today, power fame on in the cabin. I’m thinking about doing a complete rewrite of the bronco, how much of a pain in the ass would it be to do it?

 

[DirtDonk]

It's a big pain. And with the condition your vehicle looks to be in based on just the one pic under the hood, a bigger pain than most.
But for most it's the best solution to deteriorating 50 year old electrical wiring.

Just how big of a pain it ultimately turns out to be will depend largely on your comfort level with wiring ins-n-outs and ups-n-downs.

The work can be frustrating, but as you can imagine, the reward in the end can be pretty amazing too.

Paul

 

[Steve83]

...how much of a pain in the ass would it be to do it?

7 ? 482.5 ? What scale are you using?

As Paul said - it depends on YOU, and the choices you make. Buy a cheap generic harness kit, and it's likely to be a bigger pain than necessary. Buy a well-made kit, and it still won't be fun, but it'll PROBABLY be less work & hassle in the long run. If you know what you're doing, you can DIY by buying high-quality wire, the correct size & color for each circuit, and doing it slightly better than Ford did.