This is a problem and a solution.

My Bronco has been giving my problems starting lately. Every once in a while, it just doesn't want to crank. The problem is especially noticeable when the motor is hot but has been shut off for a few minutes. Most of the time it's fine when it's cold but I was out last week and it wouldn't crank. I jumped it and it eventually caught. I noticed that when I moved the terminals around on the post it would usually start.

So on Saturday I started troubleshooting. The battery had a full charge. When I started it, the lights would all go out and the engine wouldn't even crank. When I let go of the key, the interior lights were all really dim. The fuel pump sounded really tired, like the battery was dying. I checked it with the meter and it showed a full charge. Sometimes when I would move the terminals everything would get bright again. There was a little corrosion on the terminals but no more than normal.

I took the battery to the parts store to get it tested. It tested OK, but they couldn't get a good connection at first. So I bought a battery terminal brush some corrosion protection stuff to put on the terminals. When I got home I cleaned up both battery terminals really good, covered everything with the protector, and now it starts on the first crank every time.

So if you think you've checked everything and your truck won't start, make sure you have clean battery terminals and cables!

 

Right on Andy!

And you can't go wrong cleaning the terminals on BOTH ENDS of all the cables.

 

Yeah when your having starting problems , battary cables & grounds are the first things to check ...Lew

 

And I did... everything looked fine. Even after I removed the cables from the battery the posts looked fine. It wasn't until the tech tried to connect the battery to the tester and had to work to get a good connection that I realized the battery terminals were too dirty.

 

Yeah you cant tell sometimes they look fine , i have a terminal cleaner that has a female wire brush on one end & a male brush on the other , works good , sometimes the corossion starts under the rubber coating by the terminal end....Lew

 

Well... the problem is back. It left me stranded in a safeway parking lot last night at midnight. I had to take a cab home. It clicked but wouldn't crank over. Next step is to pull the starter and have it tested at a parts store. If it tests good then I'm going to have to replace all the battery cables.

Whee. I guess my afternoon is booked. At least it's supposed to be sunny and 60 today.

 

I ended up having it towed back to my house last week. It only cost $65 and I was pretty happy about that - I thought it was going to cost me at least $100.

So I got it home and started poking around. I looked at the cables really good and the ground cable to the block was in bad shape. The rubber was cracked and large pieces of it were missing. The block end looked pretty corroded too. So I pulled both battery cables and replaced them. So now it has all new battery cables and the battery isn't even old either.

Go to start it.... click. No crank.

So I pulled the starter and plunked down $115 at the dealer for a new Ford starter. Now it works great.

 

Andy was your battery going dead at all while sitting as well, by any chance?

 

Nope the battery had a full charge. As soon as I put the new starter in it fired right up.

 

Ok thanks man.

I believe Im in need of a new starter myself!

 

Any chance you can take the starter back?
The new aftermarket starters are a different design "PMGR"..they are a smaller, lighter, have more torque, and less affected by heat


Permanent Magnet Gear-Reduction (PMGR) Starters
The permanent magnet starter design provides for less weight, simpler construction, and less heat generation as compared to conventional field coil starters. The starter is activated via a heavy-duty, three-terminal, 12V solenoid which draws less current.

Because there are no field coils, current is delivered directly to the armature through the commutator and brushes. The permanent magnet starter also uses gear reduction through a planetary gear set. The planetary gear train transmits power between the armature and the pinion shaft. This allows the armature to rotate at greater speed and increased torque.

The gear reduction provided for by this gear arrangement is 4.5:1. By providing for this additional gear reduction, the demand for high current is lessened. The electrical operation between the conventional field coil and PMGR starters remains basically the same. Special care must be taken when handling the PMGR starter. The permanent magnets are very brittle and are easily destroyed if the starter is dropped or struck by another object.