Well i got a 7.3 idi recently and decided to do a 3g alternator uograde and put in new battery cables. My issue seems to be from my wiring i did on my upgrade. Im no electrician nor am i a mechanic, just a 19 year old kid trying to make this truck right so it runs forever. Im showing 12.6 volts to the starter relay, at the starter post and my batteries are both good. When j attempt to start i just get a hard click from im assuming the starter. If i try and jump my relay I dont get any sparks or crank. Is it possible its just a bad starter or did i do some wiring wrong?

 

The initial click you hear is the relay itself closing the contacts. So that part at least is normal. Unfortunately it's usually supposed to be accompanied by the starter spinning!
Some possibilities then:

1. The starter motor itself could have finally failed. Easy way to test this is to give it a couple of good whacks with a hammer to see if it will work after that.
This is obviously not a definitive test, but I mentioned it first because it's so common that an old starter sometimes just doesn't spin initially, but will after a good smacking, that it's worth a quick try. If you can't get a hammer down there, a long pry-bar or screwdriver or punch (or whatever) hit by the hammer up top is a good substitute.

2. The main starter cable between the relay and starter is not able to make the connection. Is it tight and clean at both ends? Is it new-ish, or old?

3. The battery is showing 12.6 (good) but does not have enough current capacity to actually spin the starter. Doesn't take much to get a reading on the gauge, but it takes a TON to spin a starter.
But for now, we'll assume the battery is good.

4. Possible that the positive starter cable is loose, or has failed. Again, new or old?

5. The usual suspect in anything, a ground wire. Is your main grounding cable clean, tight and securely attached to the engine block?

6. And last (for now) but certainly not least... The starter relay itself could have died an early death. Is this the original one? Where are you jumping from?
The fact that you hear a click when turning the key (you do hear one when turning the key, right?) means that you're getting power to the ignition switch and it's coming back out to the starter relay. But you can verify this with a volt-meter and a helper. Pull the "S" wire (old ones were Red w/blue, but I don't remember what yours is) off the relay and have the helper turn the key to START. If you see battery voltage (or close to it) at the wire, your ignition switch is so-far-so-good.

7. When there is no click at all from the key, it can be a bad Neutral Safety Switch (automatic trans) or a bad wire jumper (manual trans) in the harness.

Those are a few things. There are more, but those are a good start and can be your first hits.
Good luck.

Paul

 

Hmm, speaking of the starter relay...
Where is the S wire? I only see the battery cable, starter cable, and alternator charging cable. And a Red wire I'm not sure of. Is that for a PMGR starter perhaps? Or something else?
And which terminal do you have the alternator charge cable to? Is it to the battery side or the starter side? Should be on the battery side obviously, but wanted to make sure.

Looks like you have a missing wire used to actually energize the relay (that Red w/blue wire from the key I mentioned before) and crank the starter.
Maybe post up a pic from a little wider view so we can take in the alternator, battery and relay all at once?

Thanks

Paul

 

Ok, just looked at your pic again. Is that big cable on top of your relay a ground wire to the bolt? If so, where is the other big cable from the big lug?
And did yours originally have the large molded "Y" fitting with the original smaller gauge red battery cable and the smaller Red w/blue wire? If so, what happened to it after you upgraded the battery cable size?

Just FYI, your alternator swap would not, in itself, have effected the starter circuit. While they share some common ground, they're independent and one will usually not effect the other unless something was wired incorrectly.
In other words, a dead alternator or improperly routed wire will normally not keep the starter from spinning. And a bum starter will, in itself, not be able to stop an otherwise correctly wired and functioning alternator from charging.

But if you mixed up some wires while doing the swap, that could effect either/or/both systems.
Sorry to keep pelting you with questions, but I keep thinking of things after I hang up the phone.

Paul

 

I am getting a click when i turn the key but no voltage at the starter wire.
Just put in a new relay
Bottom post: Battery 12v cable, alternator charge cable, yellow wire from alt, red green wire, 3 yellow wires from harness with eyes on them.
Top post: wire to starter, black ignition wire
S post: Red blue wire

 

Sorry green red is to old green red not relay, just a bit of a stumble on my keyboard

 

You may have fallen prey to the sad state of auto parts affairs these days. With all the crappy imported parts we are saddled with (imported doesn't have to mean bad, but with some parts it's a curse!) you may just have ended up with a bad relay right out of the box.
I would have to say that, as far as Fords are concerned at least, the starter relay is the single most commonly complained about part. In fact, it's so rampant that I usually recommend that replacements are found in the junkyard used, rather than at the auto parts store used.
And not, that's not a typo. A factory starter relay is probably five times as likely to have a longer life than an aftermarket replacement.
Yes, it's that bad.

As an experiment I just paid 60 bucks for a Made in the USA Volvo/Penta marine certified Ford starter relay. In the hopes of getting a good one. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to have experimented with it yet, but hopes are high.

So, that was a long way of saying try one more test. Or even try your old relay (unless you knew it was bad and/or tossed it already) or try another new one.The sure test though is jumping the two large wires together. Is that how you did it? Or did you jump the battery to the S post? If you did this, try jumping the battery cable side directly to the starter cable side. This literally bypasses the relay entirely and leaves no doubt on which side the fault lies.
You'll need larger wire of course. Jumper cables or a spare battery cable are the ticket here. If the starter spins when you do this, you have a bad relay. If the starter still does not spin, it's still down to your starter, or starter cable.
Or course, it could also be that your engine is seized up, but let's not talk about that just now. That's only for dire last resorts and in-case-of-emergency-break-the-glass-case situations.

Crossing fingers... Good luck!

Paul

 

Oh, and just what is that "black ignition wire" on the top post at the starter cable?
Some sort of "hot in start" circuit for a computer maybe?

Paul