Got a 1998 F150 with 117k on it. Went to start it last night and all it did was one click. Tried it again and all I got was a click. Tried several times and that was it just a click. Lights work, radio comes on, ect. Tried it again and it fired up. Popped the hood looked at the connections on the battery and they look great. No white stuff and they were tight. The terminals still had the red stuff on them. I took a volt meter and it read 12.5 volts. Pulled the cover off of the selonid and they connections look good and tight also. Looking for suggestions.

 

Sounds like the starter is on it's way out.

How old is the battery?

 

Start at the battery and follow the positive cable, I believe your truck has a starter relay on the firewall.

 

Yes it does and I have checked all of the connections on it. They are all clean and tight.

 

take a small hammer and tap the starter all over, and try to start it again. Sounds like its the solenoid on the starter to me.

sometimes a small bump can get them going for temporary use.

 

Might as well change em rather then tapping it, while it still work drive to autoparts and buy starter. If its your only ride, it will be bad situation once the starter goes out.

But then again it seems like is just a battery needing to be replace.

 

hence the reason why the tap test will let you know if its the starter..........