bdierks

I had a similar problem on my 78. It had brand new parts. Turned out I had a bad starter. When I pulled it off you could see where is was bidding up. Put a new one on and it worked perfect.

Misfits138

I replaced a solenoid once, easy job, still couldn't the car to crank. After hours of testing and checking everything, turns out the brand new, right out of the box solenoid was bad. It does happen sometimes. Got another brand new solenoid, mounted it, wired it up, and the engine turned right over. Just cause the parts are new, dosnt mean they're not defective.

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

^^^x2

STR6F150

I had the new starter tested and it tested good. All the cables running from the battery to the starter solenoid to the starter are all new and good

Misfits138

If you had the starter tested and the cables checked out and replaced the starter relay and battery and all is good with them, I say replace the solenoid. They're about $15. If that dosnt correct the problem, the defect will most likely be between the key switch and the solenoid. The wire harness that runs from the fire wall to the solenoid.

STR6F150

Sorry I haven't posted an update, I went back to work Monday. I did mess with it Sunday and after I had the starter relay replaced under warranty from Autozone, I had the truck hooked up to a my other truck via jumper cables. I had two seperate times where the truck cranked great and some backfire through the carb (no shooting fireball). Came back about a half hour later to try it again and I got ZERO crank, the starter relay screamed and the power cable from the the relay to the starter literally jumped.

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

I'm thinking that either that starter is seriously messed up or something's stopping the motor.

STR6F150

I'm also thinking and hoping that the starter is fried. What would stop the motor? Its been rotating the whole time, just not at a normal pace.

FORD TUFF

Did you ever do as chris1 suggested as to turning the engine over by hand ? There could be something stopping it like say hydro-lock from leaking head gasket or ??

504'd

Having similar issues. Replaced starter solenoid after it smoked. New battery with good voltage. Starts with a jump but only runs for a few seconds (possibly a secondary issue). New ignition coil receiving proper voltage. Had it running badly for a few days replaced the (original to the truck) coil after I noticed it was wayy too hot. Starter is next, there's some awful noises down there on occasion.