Recently adquired an '88 F350.


It run great but once enginee is warmed up there is no way to start it up again. feel like there is no juice in the battery, also started sometimes stays stuck running even when ignition has benn shut off have replaced ground cable as well as cable going from battery to the new starter solenoid could my cable going from solenoid to starter be bad and grounding out causing enough resistance where the truck wont start?

 

I had an L6 with the timing way overadvanced that did this. Mine was a '95 with 10 deg with the spout connector removed, it was prolly 25 or so! Have you gone through all the normal tune up things with a good check for broken hoses and fuel injector or carb fuel leaks flooding the warm engine?

 

Do you mean that it cranks slow when warm ??


Do you mean the starter keeps cranking, or that the engine stays running ??
If the engine keeps running, then you might have a problem in your ignition.
If it's that the starter keeps cranking, it could be ignition switch, or solenoid.



Grounding out would cause sparks and smoke.
If the cable is corroded or conducting poorly, it would cause a slow crank.

Slow cranking when engine is hot is usually caused by a bad starter.

 

It could also be the starter. When they get old, they sometimes get weak when they are hot (and they get hot sitting next to your exhaust). When you say it won't start...you might try a test light or DMM while someone's turning the key. See if your wiring and/or solenoid is at least trying to send current to the starter. It could be the wiring or the ignition switch, as you mentioned.

 

Before you panic and spend a bunch of time/money. Loosen the two nuts that hold the ign switch to the column and slide it up and down a little to see if it takes care of the problem. They'll slide over time and everything gets out of kilter. If you have no idea where to start, put the key in the off position and slide the switch in one direction until a dash light comes on then the same in the other direction, and put it back in the middle/tighten it down. See if that helps. If you mean the starter stays cranking, don't bet the farm on that new solenoid (smack it with a wrench and see if it stops). If it just cranks slow when warm/hot, could be your timing off. Make sure you check/adjust it with the spout connector unplugged. That all should take about 30 minutes of your time.

Not fully understanding your description of symptoms (concerning "stays running"), I'd start with the timing to eliminate the possibility of engine run on because the timing is too far off (used to be a bunch of the old high school beaters that bubba would time by ear for better performance and burnouts that would run forever after you shut them off unless you had a clutch to pop.

Good Luck

Dave

 

I don't know if the 1988 ignition tumbler and ignition switch are the same as my 1994, or most ignitions that I have seen, But..................

My 1994 ignition sequence ...................

* -1 ACC ---- NO DASH LIGHTS, but radio display illuminates
* 0 OFF ---- Key can be removed
* +1 OFF ---- Key can not be removed
* +2 ON ----- DASH LIGHTS ILLUMINATE, engine will remain running
* +3 START --Engine will crank, will return to #2 position when released


There are 2 OFF positions.

 

The slow crank hot is probably a dying starter. I had the same problem. Just clean all the cable ends good when you change the starter. The "staying running" is probably a dying solinoid. The directions for my starter requested a new solinoid when the starter was changed. It said many starters are replaced due to bad solinoids.
Good Luck Frank

 

ok so I did some work on it this morning and i got some thing done. First I had a bad alternator, it was putting the right voltage out but not enough cranks, did not care for it since they replaced it for free at the auto parts. but now the truck is idling alittle too high. and since i have a multi port fuel injection i would assume that I dont have points in the distributor, right? truck is crancking fine since I charged the battery and replaced the alternator, however I have a whining noise coming from my bell housing as well? Good thing this is a project truck hum? thank you for all the help guys!