I have a 1985 f250 4wd 4spd with a 351W in it. It is not wanting to start or even turn over unless it is jumped off of the starter solenoid with a screwdriver. I changed the solenoid but it will still not start correctly. I am trying to figure out if it might be the ignition switch or something else. I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.

 

I'm not sure I understand, so let me ask some questions:

1. When you say "it is not wanting to start" do you mean it won't turn over or do you mean it turns over but won't start?
2. You say you are able to start it by jumping it off the starter solenoid, but do you mean you are jumping from the hot/battery terminal to the starter terminal, or from the hot/battery terminal to the little winding terminal?
3. You say you "replaced it" but you don't say what "it" is. I'm guessing you mean the starter solenoid, but if I guess and am wrong we can easily miss something important.
4. You say you are having "frequent wiring problems", but do you really have "wiring" problems as in the wires are melted or someone has hacked them up? Or do you mean "electrical" problems?

I hate to say this, but you posted yesterday and no one has responded in almost 24 hours. That is very unusual on this forum, and I would be willing to bet that the reason is we can't understand what you are saying. We shouldn't have to play 20 Questions in order to get our heads around the issue. So, please be very precise in what you say. Don't say "wiring" if you mean "electrical", or "it" without having told us exactly what "it" is. There are lots of people asking questions, so if we can't understand one of them we tend to move on to another one we can understand.

 

Thanks. I changed the post. I was just trying to put some past eletrical issues with it in a small space. Thanks again.

 

Yeah it is possible it being the ignition switch.

Just like Gary said above number 2. If you jumped it from the hot/battery terminal to the little winding terminal "S" i believe and it started, then you should have a good solenoid. However if it would only work when you jump it from the two big terminals, then the internals of the solenoid that activates the solenoid are bad.

When you turn the key to start, battery voltage is suppose to be supplied to the little terminal "S". That activates the solenoid.

When testing the ignition switch, someone else will post as I have never done it.

 

That helps a bunch.

But, by the way, saying that you jumped it with a screwdriver is still vague as it doesn't tell us which terminals you jumped. John is right about the solenoid and the way to test it. Try his approach to ensure yours is good before you go further.

However, if the solenoid does check good then either you have a wiring problem, a clutch switch, or an ignition switch problem. If this started happening suddenly I'd check the clutch switch as the ignition switch usually gives warnings that it is going bad.

In fact, I'm now remembering a Click & Clack Puzzler wherein a guy's wife had problems starting her car. Turns out that she'd bought new floor mats and the clutch pedal wouldn't go far enough down to trip the switch. So, I'd start with the clutch switch to make sure it is closing to allow the starter to run. You may be able to put a jumper wire on it to prove that everything else works.

 

Thanks. I am able to jump it using the 2 large posts on the solenoid. It would always start whether the clutch was pushed in or not even when using the key and switch. I found this out one day when the slave cylinder went out.So i don't believe it is the clutch swith. The thing is this is a new starter solenoid and it doesn't work either. This is the third one. I guess the signs are pointing to the ignition switch then or a broken wire in between?

 

I don't think you've proven that the solenoid is good. People on here have gotten SEVERAL bad solenoids in a row - Chinese ones.

You need to jump from the hot terminal on the solenoid to the little terminal that should be at the bottom with the rubber connector on it. Pull that connector and wire off, and jump between the hot terminal and that one, which should pull the solenoid in and should crank the engine. If it doesn't pull in, meaning make a clunk, or if it makes a clunk and the engine doesn't crank then the solenoid is bad and no ignition switch is going to work with it.

 

Correct. Jumping the two large connections on the solenoid totally bypasses the thing and it may as well not be there.

To test if that solenoid is working, you need to jump between the large battery connection and the small one (red/blue-stripe wire) as Gary explained.

 

Try to put whatever you are jumping with (tool) on the nuts and not on the threads of the stud themselves. You will damage the threads if you dont.

 

Dawn! Marblehead! So that's why the nut wouldn't go down on your solenoid, and why we had to put a washer on there.

 

Maybe, I never looked at it to see if it had any damage. It could have though. Anything messes those copper studs up. Tightening the nuts down a little too much will pull them in short order.

 

Alright, i changed ignition switch and when I went to start it there were sparks at the starter solenoid and the positive battery cable was really hot also. I then tried to jump it with a screwdriver off the solenoid using the positive as well as the "S" post. It would not start. I can see the lights dimming in the cab as I try to start it with the key but nothing but occasional buzz or click now. Any ideas? I guess start with another starter solenoid?

 

Hold on....something is really wrong if that is happening.

When you take the key to start....all that does is apply 12V to the secondary coil of the solenoid pulling it in. This then closes the path to allow battery to be directly connected to the starter.

If this is causing sparks and the battery cable to become hot, then you got a serious ground somewhere. It shouns like you are somehow putting batter voltage directly to ground. Or your motor is locked up and won't turn over...but that shouldn't cause sparks.

Before you go any further, please go out and make sure you have everything connected correctly. I know this may sound silly, and I'm not trying to sound condesending here, but make sure you didn't swap the ground cable with the cable that supposed to go to the starter or something like that.

Disconnect the positive cable from the battery at the solenoid. Then check for continuity from starter terminal (large terminal on the solenoid) and ground. It is possible that the solenoid has a fault that once pulled in and batter voltage is applied it is going directly to gound at the solenoid.

Keep in mind that there are no fuses or fusable links in the starting curcuit so if something is not connected properly...it will go to ground as long as the circuit is closed....or something fails. So please make sure everything is connected properly before you do anything esle. I would go remove the ground cable from the battery for now just to be safe while doing some checks.