Starting an IDI Engine from under the hood

['94IDITurbo7.3]

Today when i went to crank my truck over after school i got nothing. i had to turn the ignition off, then back on and it turned over just fine.

the speed at which the starter cranks the engine over has been just fine.
the bats are good along with bat cables and grounds.

i suspect the ignition switch under the dash, but i have no evidence towards ruling out the ignition lock cylinder, starter relay, or the starter itself.

I do believe the starter was put on by the PO but it is all oily due to the leaky valve cover gaskets which have been fixed since this past spring. So other than the oil the starter "should" be just fine.

I don't know when i will have the time to do any diag work on it. mabey this coming weekend.

what kind of things should i test and look for?



In the meantime what is needed to start the engine from under the hood just in case it won't start from in the cab?

Do i jump the 2 big terminals on the fender mounted starter relay?
What do i have to do to power the IP?

Thanks in advance

 

[Hyde]

Small terminal from ignition to big terminal from battery.

 

[typ4]

Small terminal from ignition to big terminal from battery.

The positive one, sorry just had to.

 

[gatorman21218]

You need 12 volts to the IP FSS, and then jump the two big posts on the starter solenoid, OR apply 12 volts to the top post on the solenoid (the skinny one)

 

[ih8minimumwage]

Mentioned this in another thread here; Add an extra ground cable from your battery negative to your starter bolt. It'll make sure it's grounded no matter how much oil and dirt is on it. Cheaper to install a $12 cable than a new starter.

Double check and clean all your cable connections, I randomly had the starter just click or do nothing trying to start it a few times in a row, and then fire right up. Turned out to just a loose ground on the driver's side battery (new batteries, cables, everything else...)

 

[LSOSGT1109]

I had the same problem with my ignition switch. I just disconnected the switch from the relay. I put a momentary switch in the cab and ran it to the relay. It cranks over like a charm now. I just turn the key switch on to send power to the GP's and the IP.

 

[gandalf]

I had the same problem with my ignition switch. I just disconnected the switch from the relay. I put a momentary switch in the cab and ran it to the relay. It cranks over like a charm now. I just turn the key switch on to send power to the GP's and the IP.

My '86 did the same thing to me. It suddenly quit cranking, would not respond to the key on crank/start. Turn the key to crank the engine, and absolutely nothing happened. It did this at the top of Kaiser Pass in the Sierras, at 9000 feet, a sort of paved road barely over one lane wide. Luckily a Consolidated Edison truck came by, and the man showed me how to overcome the problem. 1) Turn the ignition key to the run position, for the glow plugs and IP, and 2) jump the starter solenoid on the passenger side fender. Without having the ignition in the run position it would crank until the batteries died, but would not start.

 

[rhkcommander]

I made a flip switch for the starter solenoid, so that with key-on I can give it ether and push the fuel lever to get the B**** started if it doesn't want to, or if the starter doesnt engage, etc etc etc....

I also am making a wire that clamps onto the positive battery terminal to the IP. If the ignition switch breaks then I can still start and drive my truck home... Clamp and switch the wire over, hit my starter button and ****.

 

[gatorman21218]

my ignition switch broke, about a month after I had my steering column disassebled for the hydroboost insall. So I said screw it and installed a complete toggle switch ignition. The only thing the key does now is unlock the steering wheel.

 

[Knuckledragger]

The ignition switch (the one down on the steering column) costs about $7 and is very easy to replace. This is because it is a wear part, meaning that the engineers expected it to fail from use. If you want to spend a lot of time putting in toggle switches, have a blast. But it isn't necessary.

BTW, there is nothing in the lock cylinder that makes an electrical connection, so you don't have to replace that unless it won't turn. I found out a bunch about these beasts after rebuilding my steering column to repair the damage when it was stolen.

And the reason that it (the truck) was returned was that the starter-mounted bendix/solenoid had failed, so the thieves could no longer start the truck. Another cheap repair that can be done without removing the starter.