Hello all,

I have 92 F250 460, 4x4, 5speed w/ 166,000 miles. i bought this truck for 500 bucks a couple of months ago not running. i have been slowly getting her back in decent shape best of all running. Most problems w/ my $500 truck i have been able to tackle but i been having rough start problems w/ my truck that has kinda stumped me. When i 1st bought the truck i replaced the battery w/ a cheap battery. Within 6 months that battery was done. i upgraded to a Gold-Duralast/Battery w/ 850 cold cranking amps and have been driving w/ that for about 2 months now. About 2 weeks ago i noticed a slight hesitation in start up and now it is getting worse almost like the battery does not have enough juice to crank over the motor over when HOT. Cold is fine.(same symptoms before cheap battery died). I have bought new battery cables (pos & neg) and swapped them out, but their is a split to an alternate solenoid on the passenger fender that has wires hooked up to the battery and to the piggy back solenoid on the starter.

Is there a specific way this additional solenoid on the fender should be hooked up? Also is there anything i could do to make sure i am getting a better ground in certain locations that are grounding points for the motor and battery? Lastly are their a set number of grounding points that should be in place in my engine bay?

Thank you for any input
Mario

 

To the top this message goes......

 

your truck has a drain or your alternator is not charging properly.

 

I would make sure the grounds are good. Try taking a voltage measurement from the negative post to the case of the alternator. Optimally, it should be 0 volts. If there is a voltage there, there's high resistance in the grounding circuit and it needs to be addressed.

Also, check your output voltage. If it's not 14-14.5 volts, your battery won't be charging and you know it's an alternator problem.

If both of those check out, you need to do a current reading when the truck is off to see if there a draw on the system.

 

I had the same problem with my truck, 1990 F350. Everytime It sat overnight, the truck started fine, each time I drove it, and tried to restart it when hot, it would slow crank and act like it wouldn't start. Replaced battery half a dozen times, replaced alternator when bad, replaced starter, nothing helped. First, go through all of your electrical systems, ensure that your grounds are good.... Then, and only as a last resort, replace your computer. The computer when it goes bad will sometimes cause this exact problem, I'm not 100% sure why, it could be a failure to retard the timing upon start up.

 

Another way to see if the alt is draining the battery is first thing in the am before you start the truck feel or take the temp of the alt, it the case or any part of the case is warmer than the ambient air temp then the diodes in the alt are leaking and draining your battery.

 

Have you replaced the starter, or had it tested? Sometimes hot start issues are due to a heat-soaked starter, which works adequately when cold.

 

+1^
Wouldn't hurt to check the starter RELAY on the inner fender could be an indicator that its fixing to go belly up on ya.
And a repair manual from parts store can help with the wiring hook up on the major components, other stuff well so-so.
TJ

 

My roommates are electricians and have one of them electrical testers, what setting should it be on? thanks for your reply

Mario

 

Oh wow Thank you for your reply on a very similar experience. i will keep this in mind for sure.

mario

 

i will do this 1st thing in the morning b4 work.

Thank you

Mario

 

I had the starter checked at Autozone and it was good to go.. After everything i will probably look into replace it anyway after i possibly get the alternator replaced..


Mario

 

i replaced the relay when i 1st got the truck. Thats why i got it so cheap since the guy i picked it up from couldn't get it to run. 19 dollar part and a battery and 500 at the time got me a new truck oh and im ordering one of these manuals that have come highly recommended here at FTE 1992 Light Truck Shop Manual - Helm Incorporated thank you for you reply


Mario