Fender mounted solenoid...

[AcIdBuRn02ZTS]

Hey guys... Quick question. Fixing some wiring issues on my truck and was curious if there were any good reasons to keep the secondary fender mounted starter solenoid.

Personally, I want it gone...

Thanks for input.

 

[79jasper]

One should be for the starter, one for the glowplugs.
6.9?

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[AcIdBuRn02ZTS]

Nope. I'm talking about the useless one that triggers the solenoid on the starter. It has multiple leads to it but they are all just battery hot. Then one trigger and one wire going down to the starter solenoid.

It's also on my buddies 93... Its on the passenger side on the fender behind the battery

 

[IDIoit]

i asked myself this very question.
did some searching, talked with a few people.
this specific wire has a high amp rating, and it does this for a reason.
when the starter engages, its producing alot of torque to crank these engines at the correct speed.
in a motor, power in directly effects power out.
the solenoid of which you speak is a redundancy.
and you will not need it.

until you burn your starter solenoid wire in the middle of nowhere with nothing around -20 w/ wind chill.

a 30 dollar part seems like a really really good idea.

yes the starter motor has its own 12V supply, but to trigger it takes alot of work too.

im running one even with a powermaster.

 

[AcIdBuRn02ZTS]

Well.. with that in mind, it would be even better to delete it.

Reason being, the fender mounted solenoid cant actually power the starter motor based on how its wired from the factory. All it can do is trigger the starter mounted solenoid. That means that when you are in the middle of no where, now you have 2 potential failure points instead of 1. If the fender mounted solenoid fails, the starter wont be able to be triggered.

 

[direwulf23]

Unless you jumped the starter solenoid.

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[cpdenton]

The fender mounted solenoid powers the solenoid on the starter.

The solenoid on the starter uses an electromagnet to pull the bendix out to the flywheel and at the same time, a contacter in the solenoid makes connection and powers the motor.

I have never checked the amperage draw on the trigger wire for the starter mounted solenoid, but I bet if ford decided the small wire from the key wouldn't handle the amperage needed to power the starter, they did it for a reason. They aren't in business to put extra parts on trucks that don't need it.

One of these days I will put my fluke on that wire and check the current draw placed on it.

 

[AcIdBuRn02ZTS]

I'd say a basic 12v 30amp relay would be plenty. Atleast that's all that is used on the newer diesels with similar stater motors.

That's all I'm running on my 4bt and it uses a 6.0 powerstroke starter. I've never had an issue out of it.

I suppose it doesn't make much difference other then size.

I'd say the load would burn up the contacts in the ign. switch during prolonged cranking without something there. I suppose they just used those solenoids because they had them and they work. (Come to think of it, I haven't seen any standard relays on this truck....)

 

[cpdenton]

I would bet a relay would work fine. I just wouldn't use a straight feed from the ignition switch. My truck has a 10 ga. Wire down to the starter from there. 30 amp relay should handle as much as that wire would.

On my 92 the only standard type relays are for the towing package and the dually fender markers. They are in the undrhood fuse box.

 

[AcIdBuRn02ZTS]

That makes sense. Thanks for the input guys. I'll probably use a relay instead as I'm trying to make room on the fender for my coolant filter head.

 

[IDIoit]

they dont have to be on the pass side.
most likely ill be putting mine on the driverside.

 

[fsmyth]

My advice: leave it. Works well - why mess with it?
It is also a convenient power source, and makes bumping starter for maintenance easier.
If it's location bothers you, just move it.

 

[madpogue]

Um, it IS a relay. (So is the glow plug relay.) If you didn't have it, you couldn't start your engine. What's wrong with it?