About a month ago my starter physically broke - I went to start it and all I heard was the starter motor turning. It was not engaging with the flywheel. When I removed it, it turned out that the starter gear had actually broken off of it - I found it in the bottom of the transmission cover.

I got a new starter, and occassionally would hear a weird noise when starting the truck. It sounded like something was grinding, and the truck was not turning over. It only happened some of the time, and I assumed that when my old starter had broken it had damaged the flywheel.

I took the starter out and turned the flywheel by hand - no broken teeth. I thought maybe the new starter was bad, so I exchanged it for another one.

The new starter was fine...but today.....when I started it the motor was turning but did not engage with the flywheel. On the second try....it started fine.

Does this mean my new(est) starter has an intermittently bad solenoid?

I thought this could be related to my remote start...but it happens with the key as well.

 

I would try tightening the bolts on the starter. They can work loose and cause intermittent issues.

 

I'll double check, but on the one I just removed they were really tight.

Could it be anything else?

 

the solienoid might turn out to be the issue, providing that your batteries are fully charged.

 

I only drive the truck once a week at most. My batteries are only a year old - could it be because they aren't getting enough charge?

When I use the remote start it tries to start it, but it only cranks it for a few seconds and then gives up. It waits about 30 seconds, then tries again. It usually gets it on the second try.

 

could be the starter is a wee bit sticky. i've seen them take 2-3 tries to kick in and then not give any trouble for months. since its new the starter drive spring is probably new and stiff. this would mean it would take more power to push it into gear with the flywheel, if you have high resistance anywhere in the system it could be marginal. top off batteries if you can, clean cable ends,(each cable has 2 ends) do a voltage drop test on each cable, hook a voltmeter to a battery and see what the voltage is while someone cranks it over for you, then we can see whats going on here. good luck

 

I put a voltmeter on the batteries and used the remote start - they drop to about 9 volts while it is cranking.

Its really cold out here - single digits. Each time I'd hit the remote start it would do the "crank for a few seconds, give up and start over again" routine. Didn't give me the noise issue at all.

 

sounds like batteries

 

If the battery drops to 9V while cranking, the battery is bad. Make sure that it is fully charged and try again. If the fully charged battery drops to 9V while cranking, replace the battery.

 

Are they "bad" or just not fully charged from lack of use?

How long would I have to drive on them to fully charge them?

Seems odd that they'd both be bad after just a year.

Or does it only take one bad one for them both to drop?

 

How long you have to drive to charge a battery depends on a lot of things, including the condition of your alternator, condition of battery, type of driving, etc.

A battery that "sits" goes bad a lot faster than a battery that is used daily.

Use a battery charger and charge up the battery. Then crank the truck and look at the voltage while cranking. A fully charged battery that drops below about 10.5 volts under load is bad and should be replaced. There are other tests that you can do if you have the equipment and know how. You can check the specific gravity of each cell to determine if you have a bad cell. I also have equipment to test the battery under load independent of the vehicle. If you do not have the ability to do these tests, take the truck to one of the auto parts places that will test it for free. It will be difficult to troubleshoot your other problems, if any, until you know for sure that your battery(s) is/are good.

 

I do not have the equipment to check each cell or tesy the battery independent of the vehicle. (Not that I know of anyway - what is that equipment?)

Keep me honest here.....sounds like I should charge the batteries and see if they drop below 10.5v while cranking? If they do.....take them back?

 

Pretty much, however 10.5 is not an exact number. Load makes a difference on the voltage, so if you have the AC going, a big stereo turning on and other goodies, it might be lower.

 

First, I have a problem with someone cranking the truck with all of that stuff on. Second, the ignition switch should disconnect the AC, radio etc. in the start position. Third, any 12.6 V lead acid battery that drops below 10.5 volts during a "normal" load, such as cranking the engine, has a major problem. A starter that was dragging could be an exception, but he said that he just put a new starter on it.

 

I am no expert, however, I had a similar issue wioth my starter a few years ago. I took to my local dealer and they cleaned up all the connections etc. to ensure good contact everywhere. It worked for about two weeks and then the alternator fried while I was driving. Changed the alternator and everything was fine.
Just my 2 cents.

Cheers,

Chris
2003 F350 SDD