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No Crank, Intermittent

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Old Nov 19, 2020 | 10:05 AM
  #1  
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No Crank, Intermittent

Question to my fellow FTE'rs. In troubleshooting (attempting) my intermittent "no crank" issue I was checking the voltage at the starter solenoid relay on the lead from the ignition switch. I have a standing voltage of around 4 volts on the lead (disconnected from solenoid) with the key in the off position. It then jumps to about 12.5v when i hit the start position. Does that standing voltage seem correct? I wasn't expecting any voltage on that lead in the off position. Thanks.
 

Last edited by Excursion Gary; Nov 19, 2020 at 05:33 PM. Reason: clarity and spelling
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Old Nov 20, 2020 | 12:34 AM
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Yeah that sounds weird to me too. And 4v is darn close to the 5v Vref as fed to sensors. Maybe follow that wire back and see if it's compromised?
 
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Old Nov 20, 2020 | 08:03 AM
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Originally Posted by Excursion Gary
Question to my fellow FTE'rs. In troubleshooting (attempting) my intermittent "no crank" issue I was checking the voltage at the starter solenoid relay on the lead from the ignition switch. I have a standing voltage of around 4 volts on the lead (disconnected from solenoid) with the key in the off position. It then jumps to about 12.5v when i hit the start position. Does that standing voltage seem correct? I wasn't expecting any voltage on that lead in the off position. Thanks.
I checked my this morning, and if you're talking about wire at rear of solenoid that goes into the main harness leading across the fire wall, mine had 5.6v key off. The other is a red wire that goes to engine bundled with alternator wire it had 0v
 
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Old Nov 20, 2020 | 09:06 AM
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Years ago, I crawled under my truck because I seemed to have a no crank starter issue. I wanted to beat the heck out of the starter with a hammer. There was a lot of 'green' on some of the wires at the starter. The 'hot' wire at the starter is 'hot'... a lot of sparks when I grounded a wrench to the frame . disconnected the batteries. Took off the starter and cleaned up all of the wires that looked corroded in that area.... grounding issue and hot wire connection issue... This may not be your issue, but it does not hurt to clean up the area around the starter to help the grounding and hot wire issues. Had the starter tested and it was fine.
 
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Old Nov 20, 2020 | 12:03 PM
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Interesting. I'll look into it as at this point anything is possible. Thanks for the response!
 
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Old Nov 20, 2020 | 12:09 PM
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Well that gives me hope that this is normal, and at the same time means the problem lies elsewhere. lol, Thank your for responding.
 
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Old Nov 21, 2020 | 08:06 AM
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I had another thought. How's the play in your shift lever? Ever try shifting to neutral during a no start? It.s a pretty common problem for us. the screws loosen over time letting the shiftier get sloppy and not engaging the park switch. I went through that several times, having to tighten the 2 screws at the bottom of the shift tube until it finally broke and had to be replaced.
 
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Old Nov 21, 2020 | 10:50 AM
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I was thinking about the shift lever as well...my unit is low mileage, and I still have to give the shifter a wiggle ever now and then to get it to crank.
 
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Old Nov 21, 2020 | 05:28 PM
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Originally Posted by MountainManRobb
I was thinking about the shift lever as well...my unit is low mileage, and I still have to give the shifter a wiggle ever now and then to get it to crank.
Originally Posted by udsuth78
I had another thought. How's the play in your shift lever? Ever try shifting to neutral during a no start? It.s a pretty common problem for us. the screws loosen over time letting the shiftier get sloppy and not engaging the park switch. I went through that several times, having to tighten the 2 screws at the bottom of the shift tube until it finally broke and had to be replaced.
Thanks. I looked briefly under the dash and did not see the bracket that I have read can cause the issue if the screws back out. Would you know if this is mounted to the column or firewall or ?
 
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Old Nov 21, 2020 | 07:12 PM
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The shift tube runs along the top of the steering column. The screws are at the back facing the firewall. If you look up under the dash you can see a thin cable almost like thread. The bolts hold the bracket that cable connects to. They are a torx bolt T20 or T25 I think.
 
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Old Nov 21, 2020 | 07:20 PM
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Originally Posted by udsuth78
The shift tube runs along the top of the steering column. The screws are at the back facing the firewall. If you look up under the dash you can see a thin cable almost like thread. The bolts hold the bracket that cable connects to. They are a torx bolt T20 or T25 I think.
Ahhh. I did see the thread like cable and apparently not aware of what I was looking at. Thanks again, I'll get under there tomorrow.
 
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Old Nov 21, 2020 | 08:34 PM
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It's the 2 torx bolts above the steering linkage. a little dab of blue loctite on each bolt helps to keep them in place otherwise they will just back out again. Make sure you only take one bolt out at a time to keep it lined up. Here is a pic , sorry a little fuzzy
 
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