my 56 f-500 has been sitting for a couple of months, i tried starting it and it turned over for a while but would not run. eventually the battery ran out of juice and the next day i charged it but all i get is a loud static type sound and no cranking. i know it has voltage, because i also hooked up a booster pack to the dead battery. i replaced the starter solenoid and the cables going from battery and to starter and still nothing. i also replaced the ignition switch. i have tried using a different starter that has worked in the past and nothing different. any ideas on what i should try next?
thanks, Josh

 

Josh,

It sounds like a cabling problem. Make sure that the connections from the battery to the chassis are good and make sure that there is a ground strap from the chassis to the engine. The ground strap needs to be pretty hefty to carry the starter's current. The optimal setup is to have a ground cable from the battery right to the engine block.

Also, make sure that the cable connections between the battery and solenoid, and the solenoid to the starter are good. Check the wiring of the starter button/switch to the solenoid.

Good luck.

 

Could that static sound be arcing

Follow what Paul said. And have someone looking for static and not giving you any.

 

Josh,

A couple things come to mind -

1. Mentally trace out the circuit for the high-current to the starter. It goes:

a) from the battery + through a cable to the solenoid
b) across the contacts inside the solenoid when you turn key to start
c) from the solenoid output to the starter + terminal
d) through the windings and armature in the starter to the starter case
e) from the starter case back through the engine block to the ground cable
f) through the ground cable back to the battery -

If you are sure you have good cables, a good solenoid, and a replaced starter the next most likely problems are the connections. Since you've removed the starter this is especially true for the connection from the starter case to the engine block (or bell housing). Make SURE there isn't any grease, dirt, or paint on either the mounting surface of the starter or the mating surface on the engine. You can quickly check this without removing the starter by running a jumper cable directly from the battery - to the starter case and then trying to start it up. If it works with the jumper you've got a bad ground and need to clean up those surfaces or your ground cable.

2. There are only two things these old girls need to run - spark and fuel. If it will crank and not start you can almost bet your boots you are missing one of these two. Pull a plug wire, put a spare plug in it, and crank it over to see if there really is a good spark across the electrodes. If not, check your ignition.

If you see a good spark, try a small shot of gasoline directly into the carb and then try starting it up. We're talking about a tablespoon or so - not a whole lot of gas. If you've got spark you should at least get a few cylinders to fire. If they do but it still won't run, you need to check out your fuel system.

Hope that's a short and easy way for you to narrow it down. Let us know how it works out.

 

thanks very much for the help everyone, i'll be able to get to that tomorrow night. i made sure that all of the new cables that i bought had clean surfaces to connect to, but i didn't think of the starter casing to the block. it might be dirty. this all started as trying to figure out why my brake lights flickered and turn signals sometimes don't work. but i'll address the starting problem and then go from there. i have a feeling there is a slow drain somewhere in the system because i hooked up a test light to connect the battery to the truck and there was a dim flicker. not sure if that could cause the starting failure though. oh well, i'll let you know how i make out tomorrow. thanks again, Josh

 

well i got a day off and had a chance to fix the truck up. would have done it the next day but we got a bunch of snow. i put a new battery in and she fired right up. so i guess my booster pack wasn't working right to begin with. so now it's on to re-wiring the tail lights, i have a feeling that is why they are flickering because the wires are in bad shape. when i hooked up the test light to the battery there is a faint glow that fades on and off. this might be related to the tail lights but i'm not sure yet. any ideas? thanks Paul, Carl, and George for the help troubleshooting.
Josh

 

WRT the test light problem I'd like more info. Lights on? Engine running? Battery on a bench? How was the test light hooked up? etc.

George

Truck restoration - does the fun ever start?
See my 1956 F-250 in progress at www.clubfte.com/users/earl/index.html

 

 

ok, what i did was with the truck off and the key in the off position, i took the positive lead off of the battery and then connected the test light from the positive post to the positive cable. with it connected like this the test light flickers lightly. i think over time this is draining the battery. today i re-wired the tail light and blinker wires from the front of the cab back. i'm wondering where i should look into next. I know that the heater motor wires are in rough shape and some spots are exposed. thanks for any help.
Josh

 

You say the tail lights flicker. Is this when they are turned on and they flicker off or when they're off and they flicker on? If they flicker on when not wanted, that could be draining the battery. The problem would be in the light switch for the running lights or the brake switch for the brake lights. If they flicher off when turned on, you have a broken or loose wire somewhere. Or it could be an intermittant short increasing the current and pulling the voltage down. You need to find this if it is the problem because this is what causes fires. This flicker is probably not draining your battery.

Connecting your test light this way with the key off tests if you have anything that is pulling current. I used this test once and followed a red herring until I discovered the light blinked every time the clock ticked. Got a clock? Does your test light have any wattage? Some pocket testers will come on with very little current. You might consider using a turn signal bulb in a socket as a test light.

Battery drains I would suspect would be:
The horn switch or horn relay.
The brake light switch. I've had switches fail with a slight trickle current draining the battery.
Light switch, but I doubt it.
Heater should be off when the key is off, so I doubt it too.
Dome light, if you have one. Check the door switches.
Starter solenoid or the wiring to it.
Any wiring that has 12V with the key off such as to the key switch, brake light switch, headlight switch.
My bet is on the brake switch or wiring to it. Wet cracked wiring can be a slow drain. Any fast drain blows a fuse or starts a fire.
A small ammeter is also a great tool for chasing leaks.
Good luck,
Johann

 

>ok, what i did was with the truck off and the key in the off
>position, i took the positive lead off of the battery and
>then connected the test light from the positive post to the
>positive cable. with it connected like this the test light
>flickers lightly. i think over time this is draining the
>battery. today i re-wired the tail light and blinker wires
>from the front of the cab back. i'm wondering where i should
>look into next. I know that the heater motor wires are in
>rough shape and some spots are exposed. thanks for any
>help.
>Josh

Josh, if you are using a standard test light you were connecting the light in series with all the loads on the truck (lights, etc.). I think you realize this and were looking to see if there is current flowing from the battery even with the key and light switch off?

The fact that the test light flickered probably means there is current flowing. Keep in mind that the test light wasn't designed to work in series like that although in some circumstances it can be useful - as you've found out. If it were me, I'd double-check the results using an ammeter - that's up to you.

The next thing to do is find out where the current is going. I don't recall if you are planning on doing a total rewire or not. Intermittent problems like yours and the fact that you know at least some of the wiring is suspect means you'll most likely have a very tough time tracking down the problem(s) and fixing them reliably. If you do want to go that way, here's the procedure.

1. Get an ammeter. Tenma 72-5095 has a 20 A range. $19.95 at http://www.mcmelectronics.com/Home/level_5.jhtml?PRODID=41828&SKUID=41072
2. Put the battery cables back on.
3. Trace out 12V supply wires as they fan out from the battery positive terminal. Use the shop manual electrical schematic as a guide.
4. Open the circuits (just as you did at the battery positive post) and check for current flow, even intermittent, at each opening. Do this with the key and light switches off.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you've localized the circuit that is drawing current with the switches off.

You may have to trace out multiple circuits if their are multiple places where the wiring is causing problems.

If it were me, I'd do a total rewire but I realize there may be good reasons you can't right now. Good luck!

George

Truck restoration - does the fun ever start?
See my 1956 F-250 in progress at www.clubfte.com/users/earl/index.html