I must say, in pretty impressed with the test data included with the starter!

I installed it, and it definitely makes a different sound compared to the other starters I've used. Fired right up first time without problems.

 

Fingers crossed! Have you been to the gas station yet? That seems to be the true test...

 

I haven't actually, if I was feelin superstitious I would have! I drove it to the auto parts store to return my other 2 starters....cause Karl said this Motorcraft one would fix all my problems....

 

What kind of oil or lubrication should I use in the vacuum advance linkage in the distributor? I don't have a hunch, but I am looking at preventative maintenance items....funny how it was brought up and how closely fit the description. I did think I ruled it out by applying vacuum with the hand pump, but one can never be sure.

 

What kind of oil or lubrication should I use in the vacuum advance linkage in the distributor? I don't have a hunch, but I am looking at preventative maintenance items....funny how it was brought up and how closely fit the description. I did think I ruled it out by applying vacuum with the hand pump, but one can never be sure.

 

 

So did you actually have a hiccup, or was that just you on pins and needles?

The hot restart scenario is when any faults will most commonly appear. That's when compression is highest and the starter has been subject to lots of radiant heat with no cooling airflow.

In full Blameshift mode, repeat the full voltage drop test under the hot restart scenario if it hiccups again. You only need to run the three simple tests, five minutes max. I've already cautioned about this in the original write-up. It's not uncommon for one fault to hide other faults in a high amperage circuit. If your previous Chinese starter had been restricting overall current flow, losing that restriction may now let another point become a limiting factor.

You mentioned the new starter sounded different than any of the previous ones, so I take that as a good sign. Here's some totally made-up numbers to illustrate how other hidden faults can be uncovered by fixing one fault:

Let's say your starter system needs to draw 300 amps for reliable performance under all conditions. Your Chinese starter could only draw 200, but that was adequate for all but the most demanding conditions. Meanwhile, you had a second hidden fault that would limit current flow to 250 amps. Maybe this hidden fault was a loose crimp, a bad starter relay, or even an undersized cable. Since your Chinese starter could never draw more than 200 amps, the circuit never bumped up against this otherwise hidden 250 amp limit. Meanwhile, the new starter works better than the old one, but it can't draw its full 300 amps because it is being held back by the previously hidden 250 amp limitation.

Now in a perfect world, if there was no hidden second fault, the new starter would be all that was required. Performance would be fine and there'd be no need to retest. But if that hiccup wasn't just your imagination, repeat the test. This is all a normal part of troubleshooting, so don't be discouraged. This happens all the time. And whatever you do, don't blame me...

 

Took a couple days off, I’ll get back to testing tomorrow. The hiccup I noticed wasn’t exactly a slow start, more or less a slight pause between turning the key and starter spinning. Good idea on testing when hot, should the voltage drop be any more than the standard .2 when hot? I understand the concept of the starter drawing more voltage.
so your saying 3 tests, 5 minutes, checking ground, to starter from negative battery terminal, positive from battery to solenoid, and battery to starter post while cranking, correct?

 

Same limit at any temp, and it's actually 0.5 volts. The closer to 0.0 the better, but 0.5 is an acceptable limit.




I'm having a little trouble deciphering the meter connections you listed. Specific details are near the end of post #1 here:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...w-starter.html


This retest is optional if everything seems to be normal now.

 

Gotcha, in a few words, that’s what I was describing.

wouldnt hurt to test anyways. Even if I haven’t been able to have a slow start yet out of my 5 or so attempts, I’m sure with my luck it’s bound to happen. I have a date with my favorite gas station soon....

 

I’m wondering if I have a reason to be concerned with the noise it makes, it’s been a few days since I heard it, and in my head it gets worse sounding! I may end up pulling it back off and taking a look at the gears where it’s engaging the flywheel. I wish I could describe the noise, but it’s definitely different to the point where I think I have a cause for concern. It’s for a manual transmission, so everything should line up the same....

 

Has the noise returned, or was it just a one-time thing?

You never had this noise before, right, even while you were operating on behalf of China as a secret agent for the Special Hardware Internet Test group? (You might want to reconsider the acronym, by the way...) I'd hate to think your new starter is defective or the wrong model, but it seems to point that way.

 

I guess the noise is normal, I pulled it and everything looked fine. It’s just a hellacious electric motor noise compared to the Chinese ones.

i had no new issues today, I had a horrible time with the throttle sticking open and taking forever to start because of the choke and such, but in all that 20 minutes of cranking, voltage never went below 10volts. Test number one passed.

While le I was waiting for a flooded engine to dissipate, I recorded the simple version of thedrop test, I did 10 second cranking.
on the negative side using a2 volt setting on my dvm, I recorded a highest voltage drop on the ground at .208

on the positive side I recorded .352.

passed with flying colors.

i finally got ole girl started and alt pulley squealing real bad, seems like no matter how tight I get the bolt (and it’s tight) the pulley seems to slip on the shaft increasing 13.9-13.7 volts charging. I may look up putting a small tack weld on it to keep it from slipping, good idea?

now I’m letting her warm up and will do the drop test again when she’s good and hot.

the “hiccup” happened again. I don’t know how exactly to describe it but it’s like a complete “not even try to crank,” so it’s not the slow crank, it’s almost like power cut out completely for a split millisecond?

 

Repeated for a “hot” drop test, positive voltage went to .421 and negative drop was .218

probably unrelated but still funny, when I went to pull off the ignition coil off the cap and ground it, the actual stud came out with it! I guess I have to go replace it now, I have the old stock Motorcraft one I can put on it, just seems odd you can just pull these posts out of the cap....just my luck!

 

And slow crank is back! After I reconnected the coil lead, I had a hunch that THIS would be the time it slow cranks. So I cranked it up and it did a series of 5 sets where the starter seemed to do a half rotation making a half turn “grrr grrr grrr grrr grrr varoom” so. There we go again!