no start issue
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New User
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 9
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no start issue
hi everybody, i just aquired a 1985 F-250 w/460 under the hood, i work with the guy i got it from, when we parked it last year it ran but had some fuel delivery issues, so now the other day i went out to see if it would start and the starter solenoid humms, i know the solenoid is good because i jumped it and it has a definate click to it when you jump both red terminals together, so i'm leaning toward maybe the starter is froze up. I'm not real good with electric systems so i'd like to hear your opinions, thanks
MSEE
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,386
Likes: 35
From: Austin, TX
Relay chatter is often associated with a low battery. The reason it chatters is because the battery voltage is right around the minimum voltage to make the slug inside the solenoid make. It makes, you hear the click, but as soon as the load of the starter is introduced to the battery, the battery voltage sags, and lets go of the solenoid. This opens the circuit, the battery voltage goes back up, the solenoid makes, over and over. This is where the chattering comes from. Do you have a multimeter so you can look at the battery voltage? Can you jump start it? If it still chatters when you try to jump start it, it's probably time for a new battery. Check the cables for corrosion as well. I've got an old Ford Galaxie in storage that goes months at a time without being started, and I keep the cheap value-brand batteries in it, just to move it around every few months. They seem to go bad at least once a year. Sitting without any use is pretty hard on automotive batteries.
