Hey guys..

1985 F150 302 2wd

Turn her over and hear clicking, kinda like a machine gun. Thought maybe it was the starter but had someone else turn it over and its obvious that its coming from the solenoid mounted on the fender. Plus had new starter put on not to long ago. So I happend to have a spare solenoid put it on, same results. Put older one back on because it fit better but realized I had loose connection comming from the solenoid, 12 gauge red wire that stems from a pack of wires? I know thats broad but I don't really know what its used for. Anyways I spliced and put new wire in.. all connections are clean and secure, no frayed wires.. still same thing.. kinda lost here. Anything else it could be.. oh yeah i drilled new holes in the fender to be sure it wasn't an insecured ground.. any help would be AWESOME.. thanks.. happy holidays!

 

Your battery is low, you have a bad connection at the battery, or one of the battery cables is bad.

 

I just took everything apart all cables, connections and wires and cleaned them all real well again. Took my battery up to sears to see if it is the battery.. if battery is okay could be possibly be anything else???? Also when I pulled that 12awg wire it came apart from where it was connect.. so i cut it to re connect but I did so before the thick rubbery section linkable fuse is it called? Since I cut it off (pretty much had to) will it make any difference.. thanks for the reply.

 

You should put in a new fusible link.

 

how do I put in the new fusible link, where could I get one and how much. THANKS!

 

The parts stores sell the fusible links. Just try to remember what color it was. You can find thread after thread in here where people accidently hook the battery up in reverse, and that fusible link saves them every time.

The reason the solenoid is clicking is the voltage is dropping. With no load, the voltage rises. You turn the key to start, and solenoid kicks in and puts the large starter load on the system. This large load makes the voltage drop because of one of the reasons I stated in the first post. When the voltage drops, the solenoid kicks out by itself. If you keep holding the key in start, as soon as the solenoid kicks out, the load is off the system, and the voltage rises again. As soon as it rises enough, the solenoid kicks in again. Of course when it kicks in, the load of the starter pulls the voltage down again, and the solenoid kicks out again. This cycle happens over and over and that is why it makes the buzzing noise.

 

The fuseable link is a must or a short could set the wiring harness on fire. They are usually rated between 40-70 amps.

The quickest way to check any car or truck for a very informative test of the charging system is as follows.

1) Start the car or truck and turn on a good portion of the electrical load such as headlights, flashers, blower motor on high, etc.. Let the engine idle for 5-10 minutes and place a voltmeter across the alternator case and the positive output post on the alternator. Note this voltage.

2) Measure the voltage at the battery posts, the battery itself not the connections, at the same time and note.

3) The voltage at the alternator should be 14+ volts except for very old vehicles which will close to 13.8 volts. The newer batteries that are no maintenance require the slightly higher voltage to ensure long life.

4) The voltage at the battery should be less than 0.2-0.3 volts different than the alternator voltage, if not then there is a problem with the wiring or connections that make up the main charging circuit.

5) If the voltage difference is small between the battery and alternator, less than 0.3 volts but the voltage across the battery and alternator is low then check these:

shorted battery
defective alternator
defective alternator dash warning lamp or wiring
alternator belt slipping
voltage regulator if separate from the alternator

 

Folks here's something else to check. Put this in the "it happened to me" section. Pop the caps off the battery and have someone turn the key to the START position and..very carefully..look down into the cells of the battery. Wear safety glasses and don't poke yer nose right down into the battery...just cautiously look at the cells. Is one of them boiling or doing anything weird that the other cells aren't? 12volt batterys have 6 cells..each producing 2 volts. If one cell is shorted out you've only got 10 volts hitting the solonoid/starter. Sometimes it clicks..sometimes it "machine-guns"... sometimes it doesn't do squat. Depending on what causes the short-circuit it may or may not show up when Sears tests it. (sulfated plates/cracked plates/intermittent short-circuit..etc. etc. etc.) Depends on your luck that day. After replacing the ignition switch, starter, neutral-safety switch and various other parts.. I found this out. Just something to think about. Audie..the Oldfart..

 

Check the ground cable connections as well. All that starting current has to travel thru it on its way back to the battery. I recommend a ground connection to the frame and another to the engine in the area of the starter. Your problem sounds like a cable connection, do any of them feel warm after cranking it? I'd disconect/clean all the heavy current connections including the connection at the starter. Also replace that fuseable link as mentioned.

 

Good stuff here fellas, appreciate the input. Got the battery back from sears they said it was good but low so they charged it back up for me. Fired right up. So something must be draining my system then? the battery was purchased in 11-05, its a diehard, been awesome until about a month ago when it was about dead had to recharge it. worked fine, now this..hmm wonder what is causing this.