Took Diesel to work today.

Had to run out for lunch today, Turned key, Click, Turned the key again, Got Click then it turned over. I thought Hummm..

Went on my trip, Turning off and restarting. Fine

Had to stop at a place on the way home and shut down.. Then upon restarting, Got a click.. Turn key, Click, Turn key click.. Reset shifter to park.. Turn key, Click.. Dang it.. Tool kit is in other truck.

Jiggled battery cables, Tight.
Jiggled starter wires. Tight.
Was thinking i was screwed and had to call the wife to bring tools but had a thought to wrap on the starter .. Whalla.. Started.. ( did it just start or did the tapping play a role, who knows)

Anywoo.. First question, Is it possible to just take the starters apart and regrease ? or am i forced to buy a new one.. Wish i could test more but it is intermittent, and just today. Batteries are new and spins over quickly. I am also thinking it could be the relay or starter solenoid. Wish i could toss on the fluke meter when it did this. Something is hookie, Either relay arching out or starter

Second question, Got a source of good starters? I usually go to napa, Any cons on those brands? Been a long time that i had to replace a starter.

 

Dan, usually on an intermittent start it is from lack of electrical contact. The contact washer in the starter solenoid, or the brushes on the armature. That is why tapping on the starter will let it engage. I thing you can get the starter solenoid from the parts store, probably not on hand. I don't know if brushes are available through parts stores. If you get a starter through an auto parts store stay away from rebuilt if at all possible!! Have not had any electrical part that has been rebuilt last more than a year.

 

Excellent. Thanks. Not sure what to do! It has been starting fine the last few stops . But it is squawking. . Not sure how much I should listen. The truck does sit a lot . I hate to ignore warning signs though. . I think I will pop it out and see how much I can get apart to clean it up . I am not a fan of rebuilds either .

 

I used to eat starters up in my truck when I bought from Advanced Auto and AutoZoo. So in March, I bought a more expensive one from Napa cause I was sick of crawling under the trucks in snow. Cost about $60 more IIRC, and guess what? 7 months later, it's doing it again. Wondering if Napas quality is going downhill... Not trying to step on toes, just throwing my experience out there.

 

Just FYI, I just bought a reman Motorcraft starter from Rock Auto for less than any available from the local parts stores (Napa, Bond).
Yes it is reman, but at least it's Motorcraft.
New starters aren't that easy to come by, except maybe the stealership.

 

Jeb, are you buying new starters, and are they requiring a core? If not maybe try to take the bad,old starters to your local tech school that has diesel mechanics course. The students should be able to check out and rebuild the starters. Don't expect them to be perfect, but a lot cheaper than new and the kids learn. This is our future generation of mechanics. But however that doesn't help from crawling under the trucks in snow.

 

Sorry Jeb, I did not mean to put you in a spot. I was just suggesting if you had an old starter or two to have it rebuilt cheap and ready to go. This is what I did when my starter went out to have a student rebuild and have a backup even if it is temporary, aka may not last long. However it still might be better than this new crap for parts being manufactured now.

 

Hi, I have a little input that may help. When you turn the key on and are ready to start the truck - if nothing happens, without letting the key come back - reach over with your left hand and pull the shifter **** up all the way to the left. Mine started like that, and also in neutral. If that's the case your neutral safety switch may be acting up. But you said you had clicks - so maybe the starter or relay. I have a good starter at home. If you're interested let me know. I took it off when I installed a MEAN GREEN starter.

 

Just like Alternators it is recommended that a known original starter is rebuilt by a known home town type auto electric shop.

I think we need stickys up top about this!

 

Thanks all. I do get the clicks and also tried the shifter deal as well.. I need to get back on this. I don't usually drive the truck that much it sits in garage so it is easly brushed off, But i do need to address it .

 

Dan,

Do you have the Fender Mounted Solenoid or is your Solenoid on the Starter?

I would suggest a check of the Load Voltage / Amperes when it is starting normally to determine if you have an actual issue with the starter, solenoid, or resistance in the circuit.

When its not starting, check the Solenoid signal wire for 12VDC to determine if the wiring itself on the switching circuit is good to eliminate that side.

The solenoid on the fender is affordable and easily replaced. The solenoid on the starter is easily cleaned with emery cloth, solvent, and sand paper. But you have to pull the starter to disassemble it and then reinstall it.

The vast majority of starters with fender mounted solenoids last the life of the vehicle. Often they have a catastrophic internal failure and won't do anything.

The solenoids however do not. They tend to give faint warning signs.

 

Dan,

Tom has given you some very-sound advice!

Some trucks have both a fender-mounted AND a motor-mounted solenoid. The fender one is just to switch the high current necessary to operate the motor-mounted solenoid's coil, and take that load off the key switch.

The fender-mounted one is about fifteen bucks (sixteen-fifty on Amazon), but they rarely are the culprit in our trucks, as they aren't handling the full starter current in this application.

If your 2001 has a Mitsubishi (three-bolt) starter, the MOST likely cause is a bad set of electrical contacts in the starter's solenoid.

That part is available separately, and is about forty bucks. Stardard Ignition p/n SS-331 or equivalent.

The Mitsu's have very hard brushes, which usually don't even need replacement, so cleaning, a good grease job of the planetary set, and a new solenoid will give it another couple hundred thousand miles or so.

NipponDenso's, not-so-much.

Pop

 

Excellant.. Thanks, When i free up some time here shortly, I will rip out the starter and see what i got..

 

Yes I totally agree, this is the route I go and never have problems. My fear is that the cheap parts store units will eventually drive the home town rebuilding shops out of business leaving us with no choice.

 

The fleet operators, quality mechanics, and others "in-the-know" are the ones who primarily use the good rebuilders, and they will keep the good shops alive.

The good rebuild shops have plenty of business. We are just their beer money.

The marginal or bad shops are the ones who need to worry.

Pop