Dangit!
Well crap, my starter just quit. Some of you might
remember I was havin a hellofatime with rebuilt starters (went thru 7)
and I bought a new "superstarter" ($200+) from Ford about 6 mos.
ago. Thought my problem was over but the other day she turned
over a little slow but I didn't think anything of it. Well tonite I was
havin trouble (carb. adjustment was useless) with the idle and I
wanted to check the distributor at TDC and to see if the timing was
off any, so I hooked up my remote starter switch to the selinoid on
the fender, bumped it a couple of times and noticed the ground
cable coming off the battery was gettin warm, then I noticed the
ground wire to the fender was smoking! (small 16 gauge wire off the
ground cable to the back of the selinoid) I took of that wire and tried
the key, clickedy click click, like a dead battery would sound,
checked the voltage on the battery and she reads 13vdc. I shut the
hood and came inside, before I got the gas can and caused a
neighborhood scene. The motor, for those who don't remember is a
95 crate 302HO, new AFB, new everything I could replace, there
are no junky parts on this truck and I'm gettin tired of workin on it. I
guess I should have left the 300/6 in it and just burnt it up. There's a
late model "Chebby" down the street for sale that's starting to look
pretty good, if it was a extended cab I'd stop and check it out.
Shame on me Huh?

Any Ideas? I've got 5000mi. on the superstarter, It's most likely the
selinoid on the starter, but why? and "why me?"

Moe
pissed off in Houston

 

Your comment about the small ground wire getting hot usually means that the electrical system is using that wire to get to the negative battery terminal. That means the big, main negative cable is loose, dirty, broken, etc.

 

yo!

Nitro is right! I have trashed the factory cables and bought welder's cable from local supply house and had it cut to length and they also SOLDERED the bigger terminals on. A lot of times, the corrosion sets in between the cable's wire strands and the terminal.
and, check this www site out for an essay on Ford starter motor/relay/solenoid problems:http://www.apra.org/publications/electrical/fordther.htm
it is about testing starters, but has many salient points.

here is an excerpt:

Contact of test cables and clamps are no less important to plunger pull-in. Use only heavy copper cables with screw-clamp connections at the battery or converter power pack and clean copper spring-type clamps at the starter

 

Thanks Guys,
I'm gonna crawl under it today and see what is goin on with the "new" ground cable. I have it hooked to the battery, engine block, and then to the frame. I have alot of ground connections because it's nessasary, that small gauge wire was to make sure that the fender was surely grounded, I hope it alereted me before I really burnt something up.

See Ya'll,
Moe

 

Moe ,
Id have to agree with Nitro and AIM . Ive replaced a few of the negative battery cables . Most of the later model Ford Neg Cables are bare about halfway down the cable , there is a metal clamp at this point where it is clamped to the frame . This is where water , corrosion start to deteriorate the cable . AIM has a great idea about the welders cables , you cant beat copper for conductivity . Im betting you ll find your neg cable is trash .
Paul

 

ok, I am awake again..lol..forgot to mention that my 96 Bronco came with a factory heat shield for the starter and a heat shield wrap for the battery....so...wait till Tuesday and call the ford dealer service person who is willing to look up the numbers and prices for you...I think Summit sells this stuff too.

 

is the ground wire between the engine and the cab ok?

 

>is the ground wire between the
>engine and the cab ok?
>

Yes, I have a ground cable going from neg. on batt. to engine block, to frame. Another one from engine/trans bolt to firewall. I guess I should add another one to starter mounting bolt and to the frame where the 1st. one is. My ohm meter shows very good grounds from engine block back to batt. Everything is new by the way. I don't get it.

Moe