starter going out
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Senior User
Joined: Mar 2010
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starter going out
I don't drive my truck every day but today I went to start it and it turned over very sluggish.On my edge display it showed 11.4 with key on for g.p.Witch is where its been since new interstates 6 months ago.I checked later on in day and was at 10.9 starter cranking.i have let it sit for a week at a time and haven't had this problem but it seems every so often the starter seems to drag on first start-up.all day after it seems fine.I have always had bad starters get worse when they heat up.I am pretty sure its original yet.should I just put a new one in or any other ideas?
Logistics Pro
Joined: Dec 2010
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From: Temperance, MI
No. I'm sure it's your battery's not holding a charge. These trucks require X amount of volts to start if your on the low end of that then she's gonna crank slow. Your volt gauge should be around 14.2 volts after the gp relay shuts off.
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2010
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Even if they look good, take the cables off and clean them and battery lugs really well with a wire battery brush. Simple oxidation will cause these to seem sluggish when starting. It may not help buts its free and can be done in about 20 minutes.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2010
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I just wanted to throw this in for good measure... If you eventually need to replace your starter for any reason in the future, aftermarket is not the way to go in my experience.
I had an aftermarket one brand new that would grind the flex plate randomly and I had a brand spanking new flex plate put in at the time too. I went to the local salvage yard and picked up an original OEM Ford starter for $40 and it works perfectly.
Drake
I had an aftermarket one brand new that would grind the flex plate randomly and I had a brand spanking new flex plate put in at the time too. I went to the local salvage yard and picked up an original OEM Ford starter for $40 and it works perfectly.
Drake
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cleaned posts tonight.both batteries at 12.2 volts not running with nothing on.hit key for glow plugs,went to 11.1,glow plugs off went back to 11.7 to 12,cranked truck after glow plugs off charging at 14.2.glow plugs on and cranking at same time volts right around 10.9.as soon as it fires goes to 11.4 then after plugs shut down up to 14.2 so seems pretty good is charging good and batteries not falling off.checked for parasitic daw it is at .04 with nothing on so that's within spec also.
like I said its not all the time with the slow crank only once in a while.most the time its normal.thanks for any more input.im going to let it sit till tomorrow night and check voltage in batteries also.
like I said its not all the time with the slow crank only once in a while.most the time its normal.thanks for any more input.im going to let it sit till tomorrow night and check voltage in batteries also.
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left truck sit overnight and all day today without running.only time lights went on was opening the door and hood but both were out when tesing it.they dropped .09 volts in that time.they were hooked up the whole time
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2011
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that seems reasonable for a short time test,you might double check my memory with a battery voltage chart , I think a fully charged battery that has rested for a day or two should be around 12.5 to 12.9 volts depending on age.
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when I have a couple of days in row here im going to unhook them,take a fully charged reading then wait a couple days and check again.im looking up a chart to never thought about that.thanks for the input
Junior User
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A fully charged battery in theory should read 12.6 though in reality it can be a bit higher or a bit lower. A couple of things you can do to test your charging system at home: after you fire up your pickup and it is running go ahead and run your blower motor on high with your headlights on and radio. The idea is to put the alternator under as much load as possible. Then check your charging voltage. It is possible for the alternator to have good charging voltage with nothing going but as soon as you put it under a load it takes a crap. I've seen it happen many times. If that checks out then you can do a simple battery test by removing your fuel pump relay. Let your truck run until it dies from lack of fuel. Then put your voltmeter across your battery. The only problem is you can do this only on one battery at a time (unless you have three people and two voltmeters). With someone cranking your engine for 15 seconds the battery should hold up to at least 9.6V. If at any time within the 15 seconds it drops below 9.6V I would condemn the battery.
Junior User
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Load test
The cranking test is the same as a load test but go ahead and do it anyways. Put the batteries under as much abuse as possible because that's what your engine will do. Besides if they fail like you said they're not too old so they're under warranty. If your batteries turn out to be fine then the only other options are excessive resistance in your starting circuit or excessive amperage draw by your starter. You can check for excessive resistance yourself by taking a voltmeter and placing the positive lead on your positive battery terminal and the negative lead on the main hot wire to your starter motor. If the reading is over .5V you have excessive resistance. For the starter draw test if you're interested in having it done you'd have to find a shop with a VAT 40, VAT 45, or VAT 60 starting/charging system tester. They're fairly common.