I've got a '72 F-100. Bought it when I was nineteen. Hasn't been used in over 30 years. Drivetrain and body is good. Painted it 22 years ago. I moved and went OTR. Haven't had time to mess with it since. So I didn't ever finnish it. Now needs another paint job. LOL. Anyway, retired now and trying to put it back on the road. I bought a new solenoid and put it in. Worked OK for about a dozen times then it started sticking. First thing I did was pull the two little wire. Still turning over. Had to disconnect the battery to stop it. Hit it a couple times with the wooden handle of a wire brush and it unstuck. Worked OK after that. Had to pick up some over nighted shocks from O'Reilly's the next day. I told the guy what happened. He suggested it might be something wrong with the starter. I don't see how. He admitted he knew nothing about working on vehicles. He just sold parts. What do y'all think? Bad solenoid or bad starter? The starter on it along with everything else on it that wears out comes with a warranty came with a lifetime warranty from Auto Shack. I got all the recipes. Course they had started using a new type of printer called Thermal Printing. So of course all the recipes are blank. Be interesting to see if Auto Zone will honor them.
Had to edit. Left this out. Fired it up yesterday. It ran a couple minutes and died. Found the starter was still turning. Had to disconnect the battery again. This thing is going to eat my starter.

 

Sounds like the solenoid is still engaged, and this can be due to two issues: 1) The solenoid itself is bad (sticking), or 2) The ignition switch is bad and sending power down to it on one of the "little wires".

Since the starter was still spinning when you pulled those "little wires", my money is on the solenoid. Replace it. With a "good one" (see next line).

Last piece of advice: Don't go back to AutoZone.

 

Did you replace the old one because there was something wrong, or because you thought it should be replaced?
And please tell us that you kept the old one!
Because if there’s one thing that we can almost guarantee, it’s that modern Ford starter relay/solenoids are big steaming piles of crap for the most part.
if you need a new one anytime, and have access to a typical junkyard, your best bet is to find an old one that’s still in an older vehicle. Especially if it looks original!

If you spend less than $40 on a new one, there’s probably better than even chance that won’t work right out of the box. And those that do, will probably get about a dozen starts out of them and then fail.
Just like yours…

and the worst part about all that, is that no, that is not an exaggeration. There’s even a long-standing thread over in the 80 through 86 truck section, where people add their horror stories so we can keep track of which brands and which part numbers are the worst offenders.
It’s rampant with parts in general, but especially with replacement starter relays

So the take-away here is, never replace a part unless you know for sure it’s a problem. The older ones are far better than the new ones.
And if you do have to replace one, don’t go cheap. A lifetime warranty is wonderful, but it becomes a pain when you have to take advantage of it every few weeks.

 

I replaced it because it wouldn't work at all. I have gone out there over the years and put a battery in it and fired it up from time to time.
Might had been a couple years since the last time. It was working then.
But I also found one the dash while cleaning it up. Looked pretty new. But I don't remember it.
Tried it and found it too was stuck in the closed position.
I know I have other wiring problems. I'm sure from mice at work.
Been jumping it at the Solenoid with a screwdriver. Course I've done that over the years on this truck and others without problems.
I did exchange it today. Haven't tried it yet.
I do need to get by the salvage yard. Looking for a head for a 7.3 idi anyway. Guess I'll see if I can't grab one or two solenoids while there.
Thanks for your help.
I guess it's not possible to be anything but a bad solenoid is it?

 

Oh, there’s always a possibility it might be something else. But everything you said sure makes it sound like a bad relay/solenoid.

There are quite a few examples of members on this, and other forums, who have received two, three, and even four bad relays in a row.
Which is why we are always on about not throwing the old ones away.
In your case though, it sounds like it was justified. Hopefully a couple of good originals from the junkyard will cure all your future woes.

The last one I bought was a $60 Volvo/Penta marine rated model. Made in the USA even!
Figure that one should keep giving me good service for a long time.

 

When I was in my early twenties I worked in a small shop that made the copper bolts that go in soienoids and starters. Guess I should had kept a hand full or so of each.
Then I could rebuild my own. Who would had ever thought back then?

 

I mentioned this in another thread but, I bought a relay/solenoid years ago for stock. When I went to use it after about a year on the shelf, it wouldn't work. Dissected it . The round washer that is supposed to make contact with the battery wire bolt and the starter wire bolt was all rusty. Made of steel not copper as original. I started grabbing solenoids from the junkyards.
Also most of these so-called "lifetime warranties" are a one time deal, Just for the life of the part.

 

I only hit the high lights in the posts but you posted you removed the 2 small wires and the motor still kept cranking.
This shows the IGN switch is not at fault, not sending a signal, but the solenoid is sticking. If you were to hit it with a wrench / hammer it may un-stick but will stick again down the road.

1ton is right on new ones are junk now days.
If you do need a new one I say ASK for top of the line one, yes more money - you get what you pay for.
Thing is if you dont aks for it you will get the cheap junk one as they think you have checked prices and everyone wants the cheapest.

Mine would only click at different times but keep trying and it would then crank.
All my cables & battery were new. I even cleaned all the connections and it got worst right then.
Because I knew of the junk solenoids I went to NAPA and asked for top of the line one.
Think it was about $50 but that was fine with me. I have not had any problems since and been 3+ years and I drive it a lot.

Also note the solenoid has to be grounded good where it is mounted or that could keep it from working.
Dave ----

 

On another tread I seen someone said a low battery can cause sticking like this. I have a semi truck battery in it and used an electronic changer to fully charge it. I have a couple of roll arounds plus other smaller chargers. I like the electronic ones for charging because it will tell you when it's fully charged. Or it will tell you if it bad. My battery cables are welding leads. Guess it wouldn't hurt to polish up where they connect to the starter and the ground. I paid $34 for the O'Reilly solenoid. Think I'll probably take the replacement back uninstalled for a refund. On line I see them selling for from $8 to $91. WOW. The $91 is a 'Deewin' sold by Walmart. Anyone know of a proven good brand? What about the ones Ford sells at the dealerships?
Haven't made to a junk yard yet because the thought of pulling heads off 7.3s in this heat don't motivate me to much. Plus I'm 67 now. Not like it was when I was young and enjoyed spending all day in junk yards.

 

You know the title of that thread? Or maybe keywords to use to find it? I looked three pages back using keyword 'solenoid' and didn't see it.
I guess 'Bull Nose' is just a term used for those years? I never heard it used before.

 

Showing my lack of hanging out with the cool kids, I had never heard any of these terms before! Dentside, bumpside, bullnose, none of them.
Not until I started hanging out with the cool kids here!

i’ll see if I can find it for you. My phone search kung fu isn’t as robust as my desktop search kung fu, so I may take a while to get that link. They should make it a sticky.

 

I am running a NAPA top of the line solenoid, sorry I did not list that in my post above
IIRC it was like $50 and have not had any issues in the last 3 years now.

As for a list of good / bad look in the 80 - 86 bullnose area maybe in the FAQ area as I think someone was keeping a list.
Dave ----