Starting Issue. One click then dead

[Hawaii]

Replaced the battery, then the starter solenoid, then the starter. Nothing one click then is dead for a couple minutes. Will let me try again after a minute or so then one click and then all is dead again. I’ll put a meter on the solenoid tomorrow. Could the 12v coil not even let the starter engage? Should I just replace the cables?

 

[EricLar80]

You can test it out... (assuming you have a stock starter and not a high torque one)

1. First, disconnect any wires from the S post on the solenoid and then touch the S post of the solenoid to the + battery and see if it cranks the starter. If the starter cranks, you have confirmed that both the starter and solenoid work and the issue is in your ignition switch/wiring. If it did not work, move to step 2.
2. Disconnect the heavy cable (that goes to the starter) from the solenoid and touch the cable directly to the + battery and see if it cranks the starter. If the previous test did not work but this one did, then the issue is in the solenoid or it's wiring.

If neither of these work, then the starter is no good.

 

[DirtDonk]

And to add to that, yes, if the cables are older then you should just use the old cheap-insurance justification for throwing another part or two at a problem and replace them.
After all, they're cheap.

Reason I say that is that a few of us (not many, but enough for it to be "a thing") have had a bad battery cable do just what you're describing.
With mine, it was the short positive battery cable from the battery to the starter relay/solenoid. It was a good one too, and was only 2.5" years old at the time!

So yeah, if none of the tests Eric described pan out, try new cables.
And don't scrimp here. Beefy 2ga premade cables cost just a bit more than little 6ga versions and will serve you well for a long time.

Paul

 

[Rustytruck]

Make sure your battery negative has a wire connected to the body. check that the solenoid is bolted clean and tight to the body. The mounting pad on the solenoid gets its ground from the body.

If the solenoid is bad it wont turn over with the key. to check this make sure the truck is in neutral with the parking brake set and tires blocked. turn the key on but don't try to start. Take a single jumper cable from one large post on the solenoid and jumper it to the other large post on the on the solenoid. The starter should turn over instantly. the truck may or may not start depending on other issues. If the truck is not in neutral, park or tires not blocked the truck can run right over you and smash you like the guy in Beetlejuice hanging on the pulley line.

 

[Jaxgtc]

For split second I read the title and though of that Charles Bronson movie The Mechanic.... Thank God you are ok. ;-)

 

[Tulsa76bronco]

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[Hawaii]

It turned out to be a grounding issue and swapped some cables. Good news is, I learned a lot about my starter. Thank you everyone - all the tips helped me locate the issue!

 

[Rustytruck]

Thank you for coming back and letting us know the out come. Wish everyone would do that.

 

[half cab]

thank you for coming back and letting us know the out come. Wish everyone would do that.

xx2 /\/\

 

[Penelope70]

I've had a bizarre issue with mine:

1970 wagon with 302 3 speed, Fi-Tech injection with the fuel command center, electronic ignition.

My normal starting routine is turn the key to "on" wait until the fuel pump and injection has done its normal "spool up". Not sure really what to call it just a sound it makes when you first turn the key. Then I turn to start and it usually cranks right off even on cold mornings out here in the mountains of New Mexico.

Recently I've had an intermittent issue where it clicks then nothing. Try again, nothing though when you turn the key to start the tach will actually pull in a counter-clock-wise direction, no accessory power to the radio or lights. Radio will completely re-set like you have unhooked the battery or the battery was dead when I do finally get power restored.

Sometimes if I wait a few hours it will resume normal operation, sometimes not. I can jump it and it will fire off though the starter may sound sluggish at first.

I've checked the ground to the battery, it is good and solid, the last time it was disturbed was when I replaced the long block two years ago. I've got grounds direct from the throttle body and fuel command center direct to the negative post. Battery shows 12.44 volts or around there any time I've checked it during one of these events. Solenoid is good and tight on the fender well, actually better than before I replaced the solenoid as I replaced the sheetmetal screws holding it in place with 1/4" bolts and nuts to keep it good and secure. There are two grounds (no idea what for) that are held in place by those bolts, they are good and secure.

I've unplugged the harness to the EFI during one of these events to make sure there wasn't something in the ECU causing an electrical glitch and it still would not crank.

I replaced the solenoid last week and got about 8-10 starts before this happened again. Jump started it drove it a few feet and it died, complete black out. Jump started drove it home and looked at all of my grounds- good and tight, battery was 12.44 volts.

I jumpered between the positive post on the battery and the post on the solenoid which goes to the starter and got nothing.

I disconnected the positive from the battery and re-connected it and it started twice before doing a black out again. I disconnected the battery positive once again and re-connected and it's now back to behaving correctly.

I'm stumped because it is such an intermittent issue. I think we can rule out an issue with the EFI system. I don't think disconnecting and re-connecting the battery to solve the issue would indicate an issue with the ignition switch.

Since the starter would not spin up when hit with power from the positive to the starter lug on the solenoid the starter relay could be going on the fritz but would that cause a complete system black-out with a fully charged battery?

Could there be an intermittent issue with the battery itself, does that even happen?

I did have the battery tested at Auto-Zone and they said it was good. I never know to fully trust a kid at a parts store running a tester.

You will have to forgive my ignorance on electrical issues, it is just not my strong suit. This all started a few months back so it is not something I've been dealing with since I've had it.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated!

 

[B RON CO]

Hi Penelope70, I would have the starter tested. A worn starter could have a very high current draw. First you might as well clean all the wire connections. Good luck

 

[oldiron]

If either of you haven't already....upgrade to a pmgr starter. The swap is dirt simple and can remedy all sorts of intermittent "grounding ghost" issues.
Basically put, twice the cranking power for half the amp draw at half the weight. It really takes most of the load off of an already strained old system.
Greg

 

[Penelope70]

Hi Penelope70, I would have the starter tested. A worn starter could have a very high current draw. First you might as well clean all the wire connections. Good luck

Would that explain killing the entire electric accessory system and then "re-setting" when I unhook the positive battery cable then re-connect it?

 

[Penelope70]

If either of you haven't already....upgrade to a pmgr starter. The swap is dirt simple and can remedy all sorts of intermittent "grounding ghost" issues.
Basically put, twice the cranking power for half the amp draw at half the weight. It really takes most of the load off of an already strained old system.
Greg

Hi Greg,

Is the PMGR starter available from CJ's, Tom's, etc. or where is the best place to source?

Cheers!
Colin

 

[gr8scott]

Is the PMGR starter available from CJ's, Tom's, etc. or where is the best place to source?
Colin

Can be bought at Napa. 1995 Ford F150, 5.0L. Specify Auto or manual.
https://www.napaonline.com/en/search?text=starter&referer=herofitmentForm-savedveh

 

[gr8scott]

Here's the wiring diagram, courtesy oh Wild Horses:

 

[DirtDonk]

Would that explain killing the entire electric accessory system and then "re-setting" when I unhook the positive battery cable then re-connect it?

Nope. Well, partially, but not without the help of a bad battery cable or two.
Killing the entire system temporarily on an Early Bronco can only be done one of two ways if the wiring is still original.
First is to somehow have the Black w/yellow stripe wire (one of the larger wires in the harness) that runs from the starter relay into the cabin go bad. Usually the only failure points are the fusible link, which is right at the starter relay/solenoid, or the connector behind the ammeter gauge.

But second, and not necessarily in that order, is one of the battery cables. Either the short positive one that runs from the battery to the relay, or the long negative one that runs to the engine block.

They can fail internally even when not that old, but more often than not it's old age that gets them. Corrosion, loose connections, rusty contact points, the usual suspects.

If it immediately resets when you remove and reinstall the battery positive cable, then I'd suspect that one first. But frankly, if yours are older, or of smaller size/gauge, then I'd just replace all three (including the starter cable) with some new 2ga heavy duty ones.
It's pretty cheap, and all three are probably less than 30 bucks even these days.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

Naturally, check all connections on those wires/cables first. No sense in buying new stuff if the old stuff is just loose or sitting on a rusty spot.

And speaking of the ground cable... Always get the kind with the secondary 10ga wire for grounding to the body. If the one you get does not have one, you can make your own.
You just have to make sure the body gets grounded well.

Paul

 

[oldiron]

Hi Greg,

Is the PMGR starter available from CJ's, Tom's, etc. or where is the best place to source?

Cheers!
Colin

As GR8 said any decent auto parts store will carry what you need. 95 ford f-150 302 and either manual or auto depending on what you have in your bronco. Plenty of info on the swap w/ diagrams and step by step all over the web. Do a search and you should be armed with all the info you need.
Greg

 

[Penelope70]

I purchased all new 2 ga. cables for under the hood, as I was preparing to start replacing them, I discovered the lug at the starter solenoid was not completely tight. So far so good, if the problem re-appears, I've got the new cables to change over to. Also appears we did change over to the "mini" starter either when we changed out the clutch or when we swapped long blocks.

Thanks for all the help guys!