I don't want to sound real stupid but how do you seach the post topics? I've been on here an hour now and it isn't clear to me. I have a 7.3 sd and it has been starting real slow, I have brand new batteries. I suspect the starter motor and was wondering how to ohm it out to see if it's bad?

 

I think I have read that they cut back on search functions. Only paying members and sponsors I think can doa asearch. Too bad for the rest of us.

If you live where heck freezes over, the oil n the engine may be turning to silly putty and will definitely drag the motor down. So make sure the weight oil you have is appropriate for where you live. None of the 20W50 playdough if you live in Minnesota for example.

Also your battery terminals may be dirty. This is often overlooked when changing batteries. They need to be bright shiney metal for best contact. Also the connectors on the starter and solenoid may be dirty. Worth a quick wire brushing.

Don't know how to ohm out a starter. Only have to replace a couple in over 30 years and those were obvious.

If your truck has less than say 100K miles I would doubt the starter is bad unless you do a lot of starts and stops.

Good Luck,
Jim Henderson

 

The only real way to test a starter in the truck is with a DC amp meter. If you know someone who has a large enough clamp DC ampmeter, then you just clamp it over the positive wire going to the starter and turn it over. It will read amps drawn. At the same time, monitor the voltage. Use Ohms law to calculate power draw. DC amp meters are not very common, so the easiest method is to just monitor the voltage while cranking. If it is dropping below 11 volts, you probably have a connection issue somewhere.

 

I just noticed the search feature is back up!

 

Thanks for the replies, I just wanted to let you guys know the answer to the problem since info. seems to be scarce. I went to the local community college auto program and even they didn't know the answer. Anyway, the batteries in the truck were brand new and the truck had been noticable slower in turning over for about the past couple of weeks, since the weather started getting colder. As I said the first thing I suspected were the batteries and put a couple of new ones in with no change (luckily they were warranty replacements). The next thing is I changed the oil. When I tried to restart the truck it wouldn't even crank after a couple of revolution. I pulled the starter and was told by the local community college auto tech program that if it turned then it was good. Took it to auto zone and they guy put it on the tester. It had just a little hesitation getting up to speed and I wasn't really sure whether it was bad or not because it was turning pretty good. The guy asked me what did it go in? When I told him he said, "oh that's not fast enough for a powerstroke" and gave me a replacement starter. Anyway, I put it back in and turned the key and that thing took off like a rocket. I thought the starter was going to drive the truck away. I'm real thankful that guy at Autozone knew more than me about this particular problem, and I'm not stupid by any means. There's no substitute for good experience. Also, I would add that the old starter was dragging the voltage down to about 9.75 volt so I think the previous post about voltage drop is good info. I know from experience that the powerstroke is real sensitive to voltage drop just from the glow plug aspect. It's funny how some of these problems happen gradually over years so you don't really notice them until the truck just about doesn't start. That thing is starting so fast now I can't believe I didn't see it last year!

Thanks for the help and I hope they keep the search function open. This site has always been great but it's alot better with a funtional search option!