The Truck is back together after engine replacement BUT...when the key switch is place in the start mode nothing, hear a clicking noise sound like it is comming from the glove box but the starter will not engague, Jumped the starter with a screw driver,the engine turned over but it would not start! Any suggestions! The truck is a 1995 F150, 5.0L XLT

 

Clicking from the starter relay tells you you have low voltage.
Charge or replace the battery.
Fix or replace Battery cables.
Clean all battery connection from the battery to the starter and the ground on the engine block (not the frame) from the NEG post of the battery.
Check the spade connector down on the starter solenoid.

 

I am helping Tops work on his truck, the clicking is coming from under the dash somewhere. We can jump the starter and the truck will turn over and crank, just will not start. It has a brand new battery on it so we know we have plenty of juice going to the starter. Any one have any ideas ? we could really use the help

 

Well as I said above the clicking means a solenoid that does not have enough voltage to hold it in.
This could be any solenoid making the clicking but it more than likely this solenoid has nothing to do with it not starting.
Try seeing what the voltage is at one of the red wires on any fuel injector when you crank it.
Let us know what the voltage is so we know what direction to look next.

 

There is a relay under the dash that clicks when you turn on the key. This happens every time you turn the key on.

You should have a wire going to the solenoid that tells the truck to start. If this wire is present and has voltage it will kick in the solenoid and you should hear that. Even with low voltage you should hear something.

When you first turn the key on, you should here the click and you should also hear the fuel pump run for a few seconds.

If you have something wired incorrectly, you will have to go through and fix it. I highly recommend a Haynes Manual. They have schematics for your truck in the manual and you should be able to troubleshoot it from there.

 

The fuel pump is working, we heard it kick on, the fuel hose was disconnected and the gas came out the line. I noticed the ground wire was left off from the truck firewall to the engine of the truck will this make a differance? all ideas/help are appreciated!

 

Yes, it can make a huge difference.

 

Connected the ground wire from the firewall to the engine still the same, took the starter to auto Zone got it checked, starter is ok, I am lost any Ideas????

 

Did you read post #4 above?

 

subford, I am not turning the wrench on the demon,I will try and get hime to read the post.

 

Thee is a wire, on the solenoid that has power when the key is in the start position.

Subford, he never said the solenoid was clicking. He said when he turns the key to the start position he hears nothing. He also said when he jumps the solenoid, meaning bypasses the solenoid, the engine cranks. There is nothing wrong with his battery.

He did say that he hears a relay clicking under the dash, Has fuel pump and fuel.

The wire that energizes the coil in the solenoid is not there or is not getting any power.

I'll walk down the hill to my truck and let you know what wire to check for 12V while the key in in the start position.

One other thing...There are many relays in this truck...including the starter relay (commonly called a solenoid). The only solenoids on this truck would be used on Power Door locks.
A relay performs electrical switching while a solenoid provides a mechanical response to an electrical input.

Some starters have solenoids attached to them. Their function is to take the electrical command from the ignition switch and send it on tho the starter motor while simultaneously pushing the starter gear to the flywheel.

A fender mounted "Solenoid" is nothing more then a High Amperage/High Duty Cycle Relay.

Just a little background if anybody cared to know. We all call our Starter Relays.......solenoids.

 

Jeez....almost forgot.......If your neutral safety switch (AUTO Tranny) or clutch interlock switch (MANUAL) were bad or maladjusted, it would cause this problem as well.

 

We are getting fire to the plugs and fuel at the rail, but we pulled a plug and they dont smell like fuel.What would keep the fuel from going thru the injectors? Since we can jump the starter relay and make it turn over , could that mean the relay is bad? They are less that 15 bucks at advance I think I will get one to make sure.Thanks guys for your input , any more info would be greatly appreciated.

 

Back in post #4 I asked:
Try seeing what the voltage is at one of the red wires on any fuel injector when you crank it.
Let us know what the voltage is so we know what direction to look next.

This what I am asking.

 

Make sure you have a signal to the thing before you replace it. You can throw parts at it all day long if you like and eventually you'll find something very simple wrong. Get a DMM (Digital Multi-Meter) and check the voltage at the wire that tells the solenoid to pull in and send power to the starter.

Better yet, take a wire from the positive terminal of the battery (you can get that where the battery cable connects to the solenoid and jump over to the connection that tells the solenoid to kick in......That will be the small lug.

Once you get the thing to crank do as subford said and check your voltages at the injectors.

Do one thing at a time. Correct one problem and then move on to the next.