I have a 1985 6.9 F250. I purchased a starter from Pep Boys with a lifetime warranty. Somehow the solenoid terminal cap became cracked (could have been my work) and it fails to start a lot of the time. If I crawl under the truck and move the positive cable it starts.

I'll bet Pep boys won't replace the starter based on the cracked plastic so I'm wondering if the solenoid is a standard item that I can replace?

This starter has a smaller motor than the stock starter.

 

Do you mean smaller solenoid?

The solenoid on the mitsu starter is fairly easy to replace.

 

It could be a smaller motor, if it is the gear reduction starter versus the standard direct drive one.

 

Decided to check starter again. Turned the cable a tiny bit and it started, got it in front of the barn and turned it off. Wanted to turn it around, wouild not start. Took starter out, cleaned terminals. Plastic was not cracked. Terminal was a little loose, tightened it. Took solenoid out and looked it over, looked good. Hoping it was just dirty terminals I put it back in, click, click, no rotation. Took it out again, tested directly with battery, solenoid clicked forward, moved gear in, no rotation.

Took it to pep boys, the put it on the tester, thank god nothing but gear movement, no turning. Machine started flashing "Fail" but would not print out fail receipt. They swapped it and said they would have to test it again... Hope the don't call me and say it works now... I told them nobody wanted it to work more than me because I had taken it out three times. This is about the 4th starter I have replaced in this truck... It sure is hard on starters. A lot of the problem was the water leaking down the air filter, sure shortened the life of many of my starters... One hard start can ruin these starters.

Sorry for droning.

 

If you haven't done it yet, pick up a 2 gauge ground cable and run it directly from the neg cable on the battery to one of the starter bolts. Read about it in this forum and it's definitely helped on every vehicle I've done it on since. Absolutely worth the $18 for the cable and 5 minutes under the vehicle, just to not have to pull anymore prematurely dead starters...

 

Put in the new starter. As suggested I ran a large ground cable (3/8") thick from the negative terminal to one of the starter bolts.

Took the starter a couple of clicks but then it kicked over quickly.

Is that typical of a new starter? Maybe there is something else wrong....

Drove it around a while, starter engaged initially 4 out of 5 times when I stopped the truck, then took a couple of clicks one time.

Maybe the starter is wearing in the brushes...?

 

Have any of the battery cables, fender mounted solenoid, or batteries been replaced?

I put a new starter in my truck (after replacing all the cables and fender solenoid) and still got the occasional 'click' instead of starting. Turned out my new fender mount solenoid with under 100 starts on it fried itself a month after I got it, thanks to my tired old batteries. After I replaced those, I haven't had an issue with starting since.

 

Batteries are very old, but still turn the engine over fairly fast...

Never replaced the fender mounted selonoid or cables....

I guess I have to look into those components.

No word from Pep Boys on the failed starter after they said they were going to recheck it. That's good news.

Will weak batteries cause my solenoids to fail? I could possibly see a weak battery causing the starter to fail if it does not start the engine right up, but if the starter turns the engine fires right up.

 

When available current goes down, voltage goes down, and in turn, that increases resistance. If that resistance is in a connection, whether it be a join, connector, or copper washer and post in a solenoid, they will heat up. After that it starts to snowball.

"Fairly fast" isn't really descriptive, however, I haven't gotten five years out of a set of batteries in any diesel here.

 

My old batteries sat for years and were leaking acid out of the tops, but still cranked the motor fast enough to get it started. They should be able to load test them at Pepboys. Old, weak batteries can kill the starting system, if I had replaced mine when I bought the truck, I wouldn't had to buy a starter or solenoids.

It's worth picking up a new solenoid (under $20) to see if it makes a difference, if it doesn't, you can always return it.

 

Give the passenger side positive battery cable a good inspection where the cables enter and leave the clamp.

If the insulation looks discolored or is hard and brittle like it has been hot, you need a new battery cable.

The hydrogen sulfide gas from charging and discharging the battery gets inside the clamp and make the cable to clamp connection corrode.
When it gets bad, the engine will not start one day.

Weak batteries will kill the starter and the alternator in a short amount of time.

 

If you do need new cables, I got all mine online since the employees at the chain stores gave me a blank stare when I told them what I needed, and the local parts store wanted about $240 for the three .

Positive Cable:
List: Search for '04357' | O'Reilly Auto Parts
About $80 plus shipping.

Ground Cables:
Deka 2/0 Gauge Fleet Battery Cable (12") at Blain's Farm & Fleet
$34 including shipping. I ordered a 36" & 48", and they fit perfectly. The pass side didn't have the smaller ground wire going from the motor to the frame, so I just made one.

 

I either get my starters rebuilt locally or buy from the shop I used to work at. I have seen too many "lifetime Warranty" made in India, Taiwan, China, starters that, new out of the box, are not built correctly.
I had rather buy from guys that know what they are doing.
Just my opinion though.

 

Two things I have never dealt with a parts house that would let you return electrical items once installed, so if you buy a starter relay plan on keeping it.

You mentioned water running in your air cleaner and a hard start killing your starter.
If water is indeed getting in to a cylinder you are very lucky that the starter is all it has killed, there is no room in the combustion chamber and it is very for water to bend a rod or blow a head gasket.

 

Yes, I got lucky with the water, it would stop the starter cold. I would then wait for a while and then hit it again, eventually the liquid would leak out and the truck would start. Last time it happened truck was sitting for a long time, it was really full. I think it was then I burned out the starter, then I got under the truck with a breaker bar and turned the engine over about a 1/16" at a time. Could hear the liquid pushing past the rings...

I thought it was leaky injectors. Was told through this list the the 85 had a bad hood seal that allowed water to pool on the air filter and work in around wing nut. (When my father owned truck he drilled 1/4 hole in filter and just put a bolt on top. Removed bolt and squirted ether in... Notice picture where rusty bolt is, water leaked right on in, did not even have to squeeze past wing nut ) It was recommended that I buy an 87 filter because Ford solved that problem with the new filter... I secured a plastic cover over the filter to solve the problem. Hasn't locked up since.



Yesterday the starter did not want to go once, solenoid clicked, no spinning. Then I tried it again and it worked.

Both batteries are over 8 years old.... Walmart batteries. Still holding a charge. I do keep them fresh with a solar charger plugged into the lighter. Will need to get the batteries load tested as suggested in earlier response. I think they are shot for use in the truck. They will work fine in my tractors.