Brand new starter and solenoid was installed because the old starter went out but now when I try to start it all it does it click once like the solenoid is bad even though its brand new so im wondering if I hooked the wires up wrong pictures are below if you can figure it out.
Truck is a 1979 f150 with a 351m and a c6 auto

 

I would clean off the mounting surface and ensure the metal bracket of the new solenoid is grounded. Also make sure the battery posts and cables are clean on both + and -...as well as the ground connection to the block. and sometimes battery cables can go bad internally even though they look good...

also make sure the engine is not locked up...

 

Solenoid is upside down, backwards.

 

Nah, that's how lots of them mount. Ears up, contacts down.
In your case Jacob, are the small terminals noted by molded-in letters anywhere? If so, one should be an "S" and the other an "I" for "switch" and "ignition" respectively.

The thing here is, aftermarket replacement Ford starter relays/solenoids are the single most likely part to be bad right out of the box. There are even discussions (I think in the '80 through '86 forum?) where we are keeping track of brands and failure rates.
The fact that it clicked once when you turn the key means you likely have them correct, but it doesn't hurt to verify.
I can't see colors in your pic, but of the two small wires the one that is Red w/blue is the "S" wire from your ignition switch, and the Brown one is the "I" wire that runs over to the ignition coil connector at the back of the engine.
You can disconnect the Brown wire and everything will still work, but if you disconnect the Red w/blue wire you won't even get a click. And if you put them backwards you will get that click and the engine cranking as soon as you turn the key to ON.

A quick test of the starter relay could work like this:
1. First is to jumper the battery cable to the "S" terminal. If it cranks the starter then your relay is fine. If it does not, then on to #2.
2. With a heavier duty tool or full size jumper cables, jump the one large terminal on the battery side to the other large terminal on the starter side. If it cranks this time, your relay is bad.
3. If it won't crank with either test, then either the battery is dead, the battery or starter cables are bad, or the starter is bad.

Try those tests and we'll see if we can come up with more of them.
Also make sure the battery is fully charged and is in good shape.

But remember that both those new parts could have been bad right out of the box. If none of the above work, you may have to take the starter out and test it on the bench with jumper cables directly.

Paul

 

So what your saying they can be installed anyway you want.

 

Yes. As long as the Red w/blue wire is on the S post and the Brown wire is on the I post, neither the relay itself or the battery and starter cables care which orientation they're in.
And even if the relay does not like being flipped upside down (which I don't know to be true or not) it's actually yours that is the one that would be considered "upside down" by most of us I think.

The first time I ever saw one oriented like yours was in fact a "Select" brand too, and it really caught me off guard the first time I saw one.
Mine are all like the one previously pictured. With the metal mounting plate at the top, the metal cover plate facing down, and the Red w/blue S wire on the left side small post.

Maybe we can find some pictures of original installs around the forum somewhere to verify. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'm right about that orientation.
Thanks for the pic.

Paul

 

Well we will see if he flips it around and works like a champ.

 

Hah! Yep, and that would be a good one for the special notes section we should have here. Always orient the starter relay with the mounting bracket down!
It would be a first for me, but I believe anything is possible.

Paul

 

the select brand is mounted correctly because you can read the tag. if the tag was upside down it would be mounted upside down.

but as Paul said, it does not matter which way the relay is mounted. on snow plow applications i mounted a few flat and they worked fine. it does not matter which side large terminal goes to the battery as long and you put the small wires on the proper terminals.

 

If the solenoid clicks it is being energized as it should be. No starter Causes = low voltage, stuck starter bendix, bad connections. Check for voltage on the starter terminal of the solenoid with starter connected and not.

 

actually you shouldn't hook them up backwards...if you put the + battery on the lug intended for the starter, the I terminal of the solenoid will be powered all the time...therefore your coil will be powered all the time...once you start the engine, you won't be able to shut if off with the key! :-) That is assuming your coil survives the continuous 12 volts...

 

Thank you.

 

I hear what you're saying, but I don't think you're correct. Christmas' is hooked up that way too, and seems to work fine as well?
And while Select has made theirs that way forever it seems, it's possible they wired it differently as well. But they have their decal on there to show you how to do theirs, even if they don't list the S and I terminals specifically.
If it made the difference you say, then they should mark their terminals or people would hook it up the opposite of how Christmas has that one because from the factory the Red w/blue wire is towards the front/battery of the vehicle.

Have you tested your regular relay for that connection? I have not, but I'd imagine that the I wire to the ignition is only connected when the relay is energized. Otherwise your Brown I wire would be trying to turn the starter over and melt right away.
I say that neither of the small terminals is connected to their respective big terminals until the relay is energized. But to answer that for sure, isn't there a picture of one opened up in that other thread about their reliability?

Paul

 

And just to be clear, I never said that Christmas' relay was backwards, or upside down as in "wrong" or anything like that.
It's simply that this particular manufacturer wants you to orient it their way, which is opposite of how the original factory ones were mounted.

Perhaps the manufacturer of the Select brand discovered that they can be more reliable when mounted "upside down" compared to the way Ford originally mounted them.
Heck, maybe even Ford mounted them different ways in different vehicles at different times. But the only way I've ever seen them was opposite of Christmas' model.

Paul

 

I'm sure different vendors build them differently, so you can't go my physical orientation. I have measured solenoids in the past where the S and I weren't clearly marked and the I terminal and starter lug were electrically the same connection even when the relay was not energized...I'm sure some are designed with a separate contact for each connection.