Since what happened in the parking lot at OReillys, the starter has spun the motor quickly every time, about 10 starts. I assumed it was because the battery now has a higher charge. The battery wore down to 12.72 because the old starter’s bendix would not throw the gear back and would just spin. It took 9 or 10 times sometimes to get the bendix to engage. So I drove it to OReillys and swapped the starters out and put in a new starter. Then that happened. Just want to make sure I do’t get stranded, there isa lot of stuff going on in the streets.

Thanks
mjac

 

That is not "down", that is a fully charged battery

 

That to me says "junk starter", too tight, and will probably leave you stranded again.

I ask a simple question, Yes or No answer: Is your truck now starting without issue?

 

I say “down” as down from its peak. The fact remains, with the battery showing 12.72 volts on a good Fluke 115 multimeter, the starter would not engage, just the solenoid clicking.Would not engage the starter. So, I dragged out my generator and plugged into the dc outlet and put the line’s ring terminals on the bolts on the marine battery terminals. Would not engage the starter, no matter what I did. Jumped the battery with a fully charged Renogy 12-100 AGM battery I use for the inverter using short 6’ heavy gauge jumper cables with ring terminals, no clamps, still would not engage the starter. Finally it engaged the starter and the engine fired up. Got home, the battery read 12.86 and since then , about 10 starts, the starter engages and spins the motor pretty good. If the battery voltage drops a little bit, will it do it again, I do not know.

Thanks
mjac

 

I know it means nothing, but it was a new (not rebuilt) OReillys Ultra Starter out of the box.

Right now the engine is starting without issue, if that is because the battery is at peak charge above 12.86 volts, I do not know.

Thanks
mjac

 

Response from ChatGPT:

 

- All cables and connections have been double-triple checked, have #2 copper from positive battery terminal to solenoid, solenoid to starter and from negaive battery post to engine block (bolted) all with crimped copper lug ends. All connections look clean and tight. I believe I coated most of them with Dialectic Grease.

- Battery is a few months old Everstart Platinum 900 cranking amps AGM, did a load test myself and the Fluke Multimeter did not go below 12 volts while cranking, Oreilleys did a in vehicle load test and the battery checked out ‘good”.

- Have to do the voltage drop tests @1Butcher first recommended to verify everything. There is either a surprising problem with the circuit or a problem with the “ new” starter. Have to do the tests, everything else, I am guessing. Maybe it is the starter..

Thanks
mjac

 

.13 of one volt is not enough to cause starter or starter relay issues.
Artificial intelligence mixes accurate and inaccurate information, because it's summarizing popular information that already exists on the internet, it can't actually think or troubleshoot, so if you don't know an answer to a question, you'll be more confused after reading an ai answer, because of the mix of bad information.
I'm curious why you're using a starter button and not the factory ignition switch.
I can tell you from experience that issues with the ignition switch circuit can cause fender mounted starter relays to fail. If part of the ignition circuit, like a clutch safety switch, isn't making a good connection, the fender mounted relay won't close properly and that can cause more arcing than the contacts in the relay can handle.

 

Post pictures of your battery terminals.

 

@Soup bean AI, tell me about it. It was ironic because some of the information ( right or wrong) in the chat gpt response was different from the information the man’ who posted the chat gpt had personally posted before. So you are trying to figure out what to

It is an old truck and the ignition switch was acting up so I ran a circuit and put in a remote starter to replace it and provide some security. Good thing, someone tried to steal the truck ( and everyhing in it) and took a hatchet to the steering column trying to hot wire it. Then someone else tried to steal it, they took the steering cowell off trying to hot wire it. Neither one of them could find the remote button.

Thetech guy at Cole-Hersee told me, that if the Solenoid closes and there still is no continuity between the two Solenoid posts, then the contacts are bad, just like you said. I guess they burn from the arcing. I think my old oem switch was doing that, I went through some Solenoids.

Thanks
mjac

 

They beautiful…I will try and get some pictures, but I think they are okay but something is wrong.

Thanks
mjac

 

Unless you have performed a voltage drop test, you have not checked anything. This is what happens when people think they are mechanics and think what the problem is. Thinking gets you nowhere. I know, I've been there many times. Knowing allows you to make the right decision.

You don't need a Fluke meter to test a starter. If all you got is a test light, you can make a fairly good diagnosis. Again, you have to make the right tests with that test light.

I'm still puzzled on why you ask for help but refuse to do a simple test. It seems that you don't want to make that test so bad that you ask someone else. I will keep an eye on this tread and wonder how many pages it will be to fix a simple starter problem.

New or rebuild, OReally is not where I would buy a starter. Even if it had the word Ultra or Lifetime warranty.

 

Whoa @1Butcher , I am not refusing to do the voltage drop test, I have just not gotten to it yet. I was trying to eliminate all the other possibilities, I was led to believe it was the Solenoid ground or perhaps the Solenoid contacts. I had to eliminate that. Now the circuits have to be tested with a voltage drop test. I will need the Fluke meter to do the voltage drop test, right? If that is eliminated, then it is the Starter. The reason it is an OReillys starter is because the remanufactured NAPA starter went out on me and left me stranded and an OReilly store was the only one near by and I had to hitch a ride to and from that and fix it in the rain at night. Not fun.

What brand Starter do you use?

Thanks
mjac

 

What I am getting at is there are 3 pages of just opinions floating around. Discussions based on opinions on what is right. I get that you may not have time, but you seem to keep asking why is there a problem. Your answer is very simple and nobody [including some AI bot] is going to give you the answer until you do some tests. You are just wasting your time. Within a few minutes you will have your answer. It might take you weeks to make time, but once you do, the issue will be resolved.

You say your connections are fine, but without testing, How do you know? The only answer is you don't know. Once you understand that, then you will understand that maybe the connection you think is good, might be bad. Same goes with the starter and solenoid. You have no proof that those parts are good or bad. You are stuck with battery voltage [which is important] but has nothing to do with your issue at this time. New does not mean good. It means Never Ever Worked.

All I trying to get you [and others that may read this] is that you don't know anything until you have a test result that proves what you think. That is everything is life. We all believe that there is/is not a Big Foot. Until someone walks into a bar with their Big Foot friend, they are just opinions. It's fine to have one, but it's better to have facts when you are trying to fix things. I learned that 30+ years ago when I was a rookie mechanic. I met some great techs when I was younger and they drilled it into me to stop thinking and get to knowing. Like all young kids, I thought they were jerks, but as I opened up, they were right. It was years later that I realized I had some really great mentors in my life.

 

In my lifetime I have spend a good bit of time and money thinking something expensive and hard to do was wrong, when a lot of times it was a simple problem.

Now I start with the most simple and easy, plus most likely if thought about, then work up.

I once rebuilt a good engine because of a bad distributor cap. I was 15 at the time, and thought the bad miss and occasional backfire was a bad valve or worse.