my 1994 f-350 IDI Turbo diesel automatic will not start

Garyw

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I tried and when I turned the key on and walked to the front of the truck I heard a click click about 20 times and then it quit clicking. the clicking was coming from the rear of the engine near the turbo and most likely under the air cleaner. I saw videos of the glow plug controller and I am sure that is what is clicking.when I turned the key on again and walked around front and jumped the two large terminals of the solenoid on the inner fender and all it would do was spark. Would it likely be the Fender solenoid or possibly be the solenoid on the starter itself? Or maybe the ignition switch or a short in the massive Harness system. The small red wire that is connected to the large terminal by itself that is laying on the crossmember and headed toward the starter solenoid on the starter.
 

Farmer Rock

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I tried and when I turned the key on and walked to the front of the truck I heard a click click about 20 times and then it quit clicking. the clicking was coming from the rear of the engine near the turbo and most likely under the air cleaner. I saw videos of the glow plug controller and I am sure that is what is clicking.when I turned the key on again and walked around front and jumped the two large terminals of the solenoid on the inner fender and all it would do was spark. Would it likely be the Fender solenoid or possibly be the solenoid on the starter itself? Or maybe the ignition switch or a short in the massive Harness system. The small red wire that is connected to the large terminal by itself that is laying on the crossmember and headed toward the starter solenoid on the starter.
If it doesn't turn over by jumping that solenoid, then it is most likely fine and something else is your problem. The clicking is the glow plug controller, which wouldn't cause this. Being that you got a spark, obviously means you have power there, so the problem has to be betweenthe fender solenoid and the starter. Double check all your power cables and grounds. And the best thing to do is get your multimeter out if you have one and start testing.


Rock
 

Garyw

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I tried to trace the wires in the harnesses but I cannot the engine compartment is like a grease ball top to bottom. unfortunately I am not able to do it myself and I cannot start it and take it to a shop and cannot afford to pay for a tow truck. and do not know a mechanic to do it here at my home. I appreciate all of you who have tried to help me. I will have to find someone to help me do the work. Thanks for all your help. If I get it fixed I will come back and let you all know the outcome. The truck has a lot of issues. the E4oD transmission slips if I try to tow my boat on a hill and it also has the O-rings in the oil cooler leaking. and now I have a grease ball under the hood. I am 70 years old and my health is not good enough to do much anymore. It is the ***** getting old. I used to do alot of things even rebuilt a few gas engines. I still try but it gets harder as days go by.
 

gnathv

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Are you able to check your battery voltage when you jump the starter solenoid? A dirty battery connection will cause what you’re describing also.
 

Garyw

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I think so it is close enough but I would have to clamp the negative post of the multimeter with vice grips and use my red cable on the positive post with one hand and jump the screw driver with the other hand. I will try that and answer you in a few minutes. Thanks
 

Garyw

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I checked the batteries before I started and with ignition off both batteries checked at 12.35 volts then I set up the closest battery and disconnected the second battery and clamped the negetive multimeter cable to the negative post and turned the key to on and checked the battery voltage and it was only 11.91 so I disconnected the multimeter and cleaned the battery posts and hooked up my charger to 30v and got in the cab and it fired right up. so I am going to clean and charge both batterys then change some battery cables Thank you gnathv I probably will have enough money now to have a mechanic do the Oil Cooler. and hopefully I will be able to drive it to a shop.
 

Garyw

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Well it only started twice since yesterday. I changed a negative battery cable and charged both batteries afterward and it will not start again. It still clicks when I try to start with the key and if I leave the key on and use a screw driver to jump across both big terminals. both batteries are at 13.5 volts now but I forgot to check voltage with the key in the on position. My charger says they are both at 100% and it is a good charger. the solenoid on the fender just sparked every time I jumped with screw driver or tried with the key. Could it be the solenoid on the starter or a bad wire between the solenoid on the fender and the solenoid on the starter both times it started yesterday it clicked a few times before it started and after I shut it off it would not start again either. when it did start both times the starter spun fast.
 

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Maybe your starter relay/solenoid on the fender that you are jumping with a screwdriver is bad. Try banging on it with the plastic handle of a screwdriver then trying it with the key/ignition switch. Try the same with the solenoid attached to the starter. Maybe you have multiple parts that need replacement.
 

Garyw

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Does anyone of you have a 1994 IDI Turbo that has replaced the fender starter solenoid that still has the part# of the one they replaced with and it is still working? I called my local ford parts dept and he could not find the part# in his parts catalog. He only had two solenoids that were for a gas engine He could not find one for an IDI engine. I called another dealer in Eugene Oregon who did find a part number for my truck but he would have to order the solenoid but did not know how long it would take to get one in. I asked him for the part# and this is it(E8TZ11002AARM) I could not find one anywhere. I asked the guy how much the solenoid cost and it blew me away after he said price was $300. Can anyone give me a part# they used that does work? My truck is a 1994 early IDI Turbo. If I jump the two big terminals with key on and a screwdriver and all it does is spark'
 

IDIBRONCO

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When you jump across a solenoid, you're bypassing that solenoid. If you jumped across your solenoid and it just sparked, then the solenoid that you just bypassed is probably just fine. Your problem is probably the starter or the cable running down to it.
 

Knuckledragger

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Take the starter to a parts store that will do a bench test. That will tell you (1) if the motor will run, and (2) if the solenoid will activate the bendix. If both happen, the starter works and should crank over the engine.

If your solenoid is burned out, it will not throw the pinion gear out to engage the ring gear on the flywheel.

It seems that you are getting the truck to start on occasion, so it may not be the starter at all. The fender "solenoid" is a magnetic switch that can go bad. If you have tried to do a remote start by jumping the terminals on that and nothing happens. it may have quit.
 

Cubey

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Does anyone of you have a 1994 IDI Turbo that has replaced the fender starter solenoid that still has the part# of the one they replaced with and it is still working? called my local ford parts dept and he could not find the part# in his parts catalog.

O'Reilly sells the Motorcraft solenoid for your 94: https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...ruck-1994-ford-f-350?q=starter+solenoid&pos=4

The one for older IDIs is a bit different: https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...a/5327/automotive-truck-1987-ford-f-250?pos=5

Always use O'Reilly if you want to look up Motorcraft parts. Their catalog is still messed up though somewhat, since the older one fits my 85 Econoline but it's not listed as such. The in house brand is listed for both my 87 F250 and the 85 E350 but the MC one is only shown as fitting the F250.
 
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IDIBRONCO

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It seems that you are getting the truck to start on occasion, so it may not be the starter at all. The fender "solenoid" is a magnetic switch that can go bad. If you have tried to do a remote start by jumping the terminals on that and nothing happens. it may have quit.
He's been trying to jump the fender mounted solenoid and all that does is make sparks. He can't see the starter to remove it because it's covered in grease. That fact aside, I think the starter needs to come off.
 

Garyw

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Well thank you all for your help. I finally got my 1994 IDI early Ford Turbo engine to start again. I finally found the correct Motorcraft Solenoid for the inside fender on the passenger side.The closest ford dealer is 25 miles away and they not only did not have a solenoid in stock they could not find one in their parts book. I called another dealer 60 miles away and they did not have one in stock but the parts number was wrong anyway and they wanted over $300. for it, I also found someone to take the starter out for me.I took the starter to Hagermeister enterprises (HEI) on u-tube) in Lebanon Oregon(they are very good. They are also on U-Tube They have been dealing and building starters for over 50 years. The starter solenoid mounted on the starter was shot because the black plastic part on the end of the solenoid turned back and forth and was shot. The shaft of the motor was warped and worn so bad that it wobbled when they engaged the gear. It was a mitsubishi starter and they had a new one in stock for $199.00. By the way there were only two wires going to the solenoid on the starter ,one was the hot wire and the small one went to the solenoid on the inner fender and was the small B wire on top that just pushed on. I found the in Oregon only parts store that carried an IDI solenoid (Part # SW-1951-c or E9tz-11450-B printed on the box O'Reilly Auto Parts in Lebanon Oregon also. they told me they only ordered one at a time and I got it and they reordered another one and said most of the other stores did not carry them. Long story short I found someone else to install the starter and I did the rest under the hood. Starts like new now.
 
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