I have a 1982 ford f250. When i try to crank it over all it does is click. I have replaced the solenoid 3 times. I charged the battery and replaced positive and negative cables. Cleaned all connections and used dielectric grease. i have bench tested starter and it is fine. I am at a loss. Any ideas? I am going to clean where the starter mounts with wire brush tomorrow and see if I can turn engine by hand.

 

Where are you buying your solenoids?? I had an issue like this when I owned my 86 F250 4x4 with cheap solenoids like Auto Zone etc. I replaced it twice then went to NAPA & bought one & never had that issue again. The only other thing to check is you ignition switch on the column I had one that when I went to adjust the switch it came apart in my hand.
Craig

 

Typically, when it just clicks its a low battery or a loose connection. Since you've checked those we'll ask a silly question: Is it a new battery or an old one?

New batteries from the parts store typically have a coating on the terminals to keep them from corroding during manufacture and storage before the sale, you can clean off the coating with a battery terminal brush or just a simple wire brush, just enough to get a shine on the post.

I've had times when one of the terminals on the battery is just a bit loose and it causes a bad connection, usually with old cables that have been mashed together, with new wires I would assume that is not the case.

If its an old battery how are you charging it, with a trickle charger or a higher amp one, if its a higher amp with a starter switch on it leave the charger hooked up and try to crank.

If the battery drains down over night unhook the terminals and let it sit, if it still drains its probably a dead cell, if not its most likely a loose ground wire somewhere on the truck

Elemak

 

The above suggestions are very good.

With a V8 cleaning the starter mounting points is a step in the right direction as the starter grounds directly to the engine block.

Also a little known fact, the starter solenoid itself grounds to the fender where it mounts. If the solenoid isn't getting a good ground, it can also do what you are describing. Clean the mounting surface of the solenoid, and where it mounts on the fender as well.

As was also stated above, I've seen bad solenoids come right out of the box, so don't dismiss that as a posibility either.

 

Simply measure the voltage at the various connections WHILE SOMEONE TRIES TO START IT. Do not take voltage measurements while it's just sitting there, you will always get good readings.

For instance if your battery is bad, if you put your meter on the battery terminals, you will get 12v. Then when someone tries to start it, your voltage will drop way down, probably below 5v. That's a bad or discharged battery.

 

Solenoids are from Carquest and amazon.com. I also tried a solenoid out of a 1986 ford econoline I have around. I will check to see if the solenoid is grounding ok on the fender and I will clean where the starter mounts to engine. The battery is 2 years old and I charged it with a brand new battery charger.(not a trickle charger) I am thinking its the battery trying to avoid that as the battery is most likely going to be expensive($150?) Thanks!

 

Sometimes the inner fender itself does not make good enough contact for the starter solenoid. In that case running a wire from the solenoid mounting screw directly to the battery can help.

My Bronco taught me this one .

Best,
- Jeff

 

Again everyone is overlooking a possible ignition switch issue. I have had switches cause this also. If you have tried a Carquest part then I'm pretty sure it isn't the solenoid. Isn't the solenoid on the metal part of the fender? On the 86s the fenderwells are plastic not sure of 82s. Is this a two post solenoid? Can you use a jumper between the battery & one post on the solenoid only one post will crank it, will it crank over? It has been so many years since I chased this problem down I forget details, if I was standing there I would know but I'm not.
Craig

 

The solenoid clicks when I turn key over.

 

If he had a voltmeter, it would eliminate all the guessing, and would pinpoint the problem fairly quickly.

 

do you have another battery around you can use to see if its the battery? if the positive cell in the battery is drained to a certain point it wont hold a charge anymore. so if you can try it with another battery and it works get yourself a new battery.

 

Voltage drop testing is one of the simpliest tests in the world to do, but often is over looked. Here is a detailed explanation of how to perform the test.

You will need a volt meter, prefferable a digital one. The help of a friend will make testing a lot easier as well. And possibly a set of booster cables if the circuit you are going to test is really long.

A few things that you should know first. When you use a volt meter it displays the difference in voltage from one lead to another. So when you place it across the battery on the + and - posts, and it reads 12.79volts, it means that the difference in voltage between the two posts is 12.79volts.

All the circuits in your car complete themsleves at the battery, specifically between the + and - plates inside the battery. So any extra resistance outside the battery, any where in the circuit is a bad thing.

Industry stanard for automotive production cars is a .5 total voltage drop in any system. Except maybe your starting system, as the old style starters just draw a ton of amperage. The .5 is divided up as .3 positive and .2 negative. So when we are testing the positive leg of the circuit we will want to see less than .3 of a drop, and less than .2 on the negative side. This is while the device is in use. i.e. if you are checking your lights, they need to be on while doing the check.

So here is how to do the test. Put one lead on one point of the circuit, and the other lead at another point. Say at both ends of a wire. The meter should read zero. Now turn on the device. The reading on the meter is how much the voltage drops between the two leads. If it is on both ends of a wire, then it is how much the voltage drop down that wire. If it is over .3 + or .2 - it needs to be replaced.

Here is an example testing the starter system on an older Ford. It is slow cranking, with a new starter and battery, so we will check for voltage drop issues. First thing we do is put one lead on the positive terminal of the battery, and the other lead on main post of the starter. Try starting it and we get a reading of 1.5volts. So we know there is a 1.5 volt drop on the positive side of the circuit.

So leaving the lead on the battery, we move the other lead up to where the main battery cable from the starter goes to the fenderwall solenoid. We repeat the start, and still get a reading of 1.5volts. So we know that cable is not the problem. (Could have also put the leads on each end of the wire to determine this, but takes longer to do the test).

Next you put the lead on the solenoid's post, and try the test. Still 1.5volts, so we know the connection between the post and the starter cable) is good. So we move the lead to the other post of the fenderwall solenoid, and repeat the test. Now we get a reading of .5 volts on the meter, instead of the 1.5volts. So it would appear that we are losing 1 volt through the solenoid. To confirm that we can put a lead on each post of the solenoid, and try starting it. In this case it does confirm that we dropping 1 volt through the solenoid.

But we still have .5 volts drop. So now we check the cable end at the solenoid, to the battery post. It reads .5volts still. So we then go to the battery post to the cable end at the battery itself. We get a reading still of .5 . So that would mean that between the battery post and the cable end we are losing .5volts, in other words, we have a bad connection.

So you replace the solenoid, clean the battery cable end at the battery. Also preventive clean the solenoid cable ends too. Test the complete system down to the starter again, and get a reading of .2 volts. So we are happy. Moving over ot the negative side. You move one lead to negative post of the battery, and another lead to the body of the starter.

You start the motor and getting a reading of .7 on volt meter. Now you just follow the ground path back every where there is a connection. So first you would go from the negative post to the bell housing, then block, then the ground strap clamp at the block, then to the frame rail, etc, etc. Where ever the drop goes away, then the what ever is between your last point and the new point is likely where the drop is. Always double check it by actually putting the leads on both ends of the item being tested (both ends of a wire, between a clamp and bolt, two posts on a solenoid or relay, two posts on a kill switch, etc).

It should take less than a couple of minutes to check a complete circuit.

 

I was told this, but didnt have a chance to try it because I had allready fixed my starter problem.

First, unhook your starters cable. Next take some long jumper cables and hook the red post up to the starter post. Then run that jumper cable up to the battery area. Next get to where you can touch the battery hot post with the other end of the jumper cable. Then touch hot post of battery with jumper cable other end. That sucker should then do something.

I see no problem with this method, if someone else does they can confirm whether or not this would be a good method to try.

 

Outstanding information. Reps and thanks. I can't think of a more useful procedure for diagnosing electrical issues on a 30+ year old rusty truck.

Rob

 

What???

You don't want to replace parts *****-nilly until you run across something that makes it all better???

Blasphemy!!!!!