truck is a 90 F150 2wd with a 4.9 motor and automatic

it seems every time it rains/is damp we have problems
first day it was damp out and you had to jump the solenoid with the screwdriver to get the truck to start
change the solenoid from Napa it rains the next day and the thing wont start nothing..
my son puts back the old solenoid and it clicks and thats it
I told him drop the starter and have it tested as well as the battery both check out and the solenoid is replaced again and the thing works ok
today its damp and drizzly and the thing does it again
In addition it smokes when you try to crank it
Ideas suggestions??

 

i vote the spade connector on the starter is corroded at the connection or up the wiring harness.

 

son says the wires on the starter are good i guess keep following them back to make sure there is no corossion?

 

had a similar issue yesterday. First problem I've had with this new to me old truck. Truck ran fine all day and then I got to my last call. Went to leave and "click". Checked all of the connections for to see if they were loose, pulled and cleaned the battery cables and terminals, checked the ground wires to see if any were loose, etc. Finally decided I needed to get under the truck which was sitting in a big puddle. Checked the connections on the starter solonoid and found what I would refer to as the spade connection was loose and not all the way on. Pushed it back on and gave the solonoid a whack just in the event the plunger was simply hung up. Got back in the truck and it turned right over. So my guess is it is either the spade connection and or wire or the solonoid is starting to go. Not sure if my "whacking it" helped but learned that trick many years ago. From what I remember from my gearhead days thirty years ago, the solonoid can test fine but is just starting to go and hangs up every now and then. Given that you seem to be only having problems during damp conditions I would agree with Quicklook2 that it is the spade connection or wire. Good luck.

Brett

 

what was smoking?

Have you checked the ground connection on the other end of the negative battery terminal?

 

Umm, smokes? That's fair enough warning to me to not do that again. If that spade connector is falling off, it's toast. All the tempering has burned out of the copper, and it will never stay tight again. If you can actually see the copper of the socket that connects to the spade, you're missing something. It should have a plastic housing on it, which is the first thing to cook, bubble, crumble and fall off. There is a service advisory for this problem, and it has been known to cause engine bay fires.

That starter has done it's duty a long time. They're not that expensive, and come with a patch kit to eliminate the no-start condition permanently. I think I paid about $65 for my Motorcraft starter at Advance Auto. Depending on where you live, it may or may not be the same price.

That said, there is another problem that can happen. The 4/0 cable that goes from the battery post to the large stud on the starter can fail inside the lead clamp, and never give any indication it's ever been hot. Mine did, which is what prompted my starter replacment. A $2 replacment clamp would have fixed the problem, for a while, but the starter was just plain worn out. I don't regret replacing the starter. I'll eventually give the old Moriah a new set of cables too. It's been good to me, so I don't feel bad about treating it to some new goodies once in a while.

 

thanks for the responses im going to get under it in a day or so and see what i find

 

Yep, when I was messing with mine the plastic housing just crumbled in my hand.