charging or starting problems

[onetonride]

lately ive been have so many problems with my charging/starting system. i bought new batteries ... got the alternator checked....checked voltage on batteries and power from battery to alternator. i also bought new voltage regulator. i let my truck sit for a couple of days because of work and then go to fire her up and ....... guess what ..... nothing! i checked the cables again and then went to check the starter cables.... noticed that on the solenoid where the wires hook into the starter the housing was loose. Could this be a problem?? could this be slowly drawing power from battery because of a parasitic draw? i checked everything else i could imagine.... any other ideas on what to do? how to check everything else for a parastic draw. any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[FordGuy100]

Almost. I forgot to tighten down my starter cables that go onto the starter itself. One day coming back from lunch back to class I stopped to get something to drink. Went to crank the truck and it turned over so slow it was painful, maybe 60rpm's at best. Was running a little late, hopped out of truck, got out my toolbox, crawled under the truck and tightened it up (while getting showered with sparks twice that'll wake you up ), and it cranked over normally .

 

[onetonride]

Almost. I forgot to tighten down my starter cables that go onto the starter itself. One day coming back from lunch back to class I stopped to get something to drink. Went to crank the truck and it turned over so slow it was painful, maybe 60rpm's at best. Was running a little late, hopped out of truck, got out my toolbox, crawled under the truck and tightened it up (while getting showered with sparks twice that'll wake you up ), and it cranked over normally .

well see the thing is... everything was tight on the starter but the solenoid was loose in the housing.... i could spin that baby around...what do u think of that?

 

[FordGuy100]

I would say that sounds like your problem. Do you know that your batteries are draining, or its just not turning over? Might wanna put a volt meter on those batteries and see what they put out.

 

[onetonride]

ok so heres on update.... i got a new starter ... batteries are at about 11.5 volts.... cables look fine... checked every single fuse... found a bad fuse under the hood.. does anyone have an owners manual that can tell me what the fuse goes to??? it was a 30 amp fuse closest to the block.. and still the truck wont start

 

[onetonride]

actually can anyone post a pic of what all the fuses go to...i have no owners manual for my truck...any help is much appreciated

 

[Agnem]

Let's not worry about fuses for the time being. Take a test lead and connect the positive of the battery to the small post on the fender relay. That relay, in turn actuates the starter solenoid which in turn kicks in the drive gear and applies power to the starter motor. It should turn over. If it doesn't, shunt the two large studs on the fender relay together (which has the effect of eliminating the relay from the circuit) with a heavy metal object. Does it crank then? Keep a volt meter on your positive battery CABLE (not the battery post!) and a good ground and watch it. If it dips down to nothing at any time, you have a battery cable problem. If the juice is good to the starter solenoid, then you still have a problem down there, or maybe you have a bad ground cable.

 

[David94IDIT]

A couple of other things to check: Do you have one of those anti-starter keys (little plastic key with metal contacts that slide in and allow the owner to start the truck). I banged mine with my knee. I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out why my truck would not start. Then I realized what had happened. Other thing to check is your connections on the transmission. Do you have an automatic? My connections came loose and it acted like it was not in park or neutral and would not crank. Do the jumper on the relay that was explained in the earlier post.