1974 f150 4x4 300 cid six cylinder won't start. It worked fine this morning but when i attempted to start this afteroon, it seemed like it attempted to turn over but almost made a pop and now won't turn over. The ignition makes a click when i turn the key.

I checked the battery and it is 12.67 volts so that seems fine. The battery feeds a component located next to the battery (is that a solenoid?), which in turn feeds the starter. I put the tester on both ends of the solenoid and was getting 12.67 volts again. Should I have checked each side separately?

I tested the volts at the starter by putting the positive on the starter cable and the black on a ground and did not get any volts, whether the key was on or off. I also wiggled the cables on the battery, solenoid and starter, no luck.

I don't know if this matters, but when I was attempting to start the engine, I had the aftermarket radiator fan turned on and an interior fan for air circulation. I don't know if this could have put too much load on it or not.

Pls help.

ps. I will post another question about a drivetrain issue.

thx.

 

You have to be in the "start" position on the ignition switch for the starter terminal to have power. A quick way to check the solenoid is to short across it - use jumper cables to connect the battery cable to the cable that runs to the starter. If the starter spins like normal the solenoid is bad. Of course, make sure truck is in neutral or park when you do this.

The best electrical check you can make is to check the battery voltage while you are cranking the engine- it will drop some, anything below 9 volts generally indicates a battery problem. But you already did that, in a way. The clicking sound you hear indicates that you have enough push in your battery to try to spin the engine, but not enough to do the job.

While everything in the circuit is a possible problem, including the cables and solenoid, the battery is the most likely culprit. I know you read the battery voltage, but that is not a real good check - even a dead battery will read 12.6 volts if there is no load on it. Turn on all your accessories, including your lights, and see what it reads.

Stores that sell batteries can test it for you - but be careful. I had one this spring that tested good and I went the whole route - new cables, solenoid and a new starter before I was smart enough to move a battery from another truck in, just to test it. It turned out to be a bad battery - Sears replaced it, but I still wasted several days and installed a lot of new components I did not really need.

If it is the battery, you have to discover if the battery was bad, or just not receiving a full charge from your charging circuit.

Good luck, and let me know how it works out.

 

Sounds like you need to do a complete elctrical test in that system.

Check the battery voltage at the posts
Remove the battery cables
Fully-Charge the battery with a Battery Charger
Replace cables

Make sure both cables are CLEAN & connected

Turn key and see what happens
The engine turns over = Great

The engine doesn't turn over?

With key off > Go to the starter solenoid and run a wire from the positve post on battery to the S terminal of the solenoid.

Engine now Cranks ? = problem in ignition switch to circuit at solenoid

Engine doesn't crank ? -= Possible problem in solenoid or starter/starter cable

Starter may need to be removed & bench tested.