Hello all, new to the forum here. Wondering if anyone out there has some advice for this.

I've got a 1988 F-150 that I've had for about six months, always been very reliable. Recently it's been having issues starting. It'll start in the mornings, I don't think I've ever had it not start for the first run of the day, but after that it's been very temperamental. Even if I let it sit for a little while it sometimes won't start right up. After a little while, it seems to start eventually.

And when I say it doesn't start, I mean when I press the ignition (I've got a button installed rather than turning the key), it doesn't do anything. I don't hear the starter click or start to turn, I don't even see a loss of electricity. I've replaced the starter solenoid and I'm still getting this issue.

I'm beginning to suspect either the wiring or the starter motor itself, but the starter is really strong when it works so I'm not so sure about it. Anybody got any advice/experience with this?

 

Electrical stuff hates heat. Its first sign of going south is commonly when it’s warmed up. Double check the starter solenoid. When you can’t start again, check with a multimeter on the starter wire post to see if 12v is being passed through the solenoid with your start button. Verify the starter wire button itself is not the issue and you get power in and out when it’s happening.

If you’re getting power through the solenoid, pull the power wire off the starter and check for power at the starter. If you have that, then last piece would be the starter.

I had 2 solenoids fail almost immediately recently. New doesn’t always mean good.

 

If you do not hear the solenoid click, you should verify that battery voltage is present on the small wire of the solenoid. From what you describe, you are losing power from the trigger post of the solenoid and your ignition switch. Verify power is present at your "rigged" start switch.Do the accessories always work?

 

The old folks hack that probably still works is to tap the starter itself with a hammer and try again. Frequently a starter on its way out will do a couple of things: One is it will work intermittently. The other is tapping it with a hammer can encourage it to flip-flop the behavior it's currently exhibiting.

When the vehicle warms up, the starter warms. When it warms, metal expands. As metal expands, electrical continuity can become broken, and the starter stops working. And the tap *can* help it work again for a moment.

The two most common issues that this sounds like are the starter solenoid and the starter itself. You can fire the parts cannon at it by replacing the solenoid, and if it keeps doing it, replace the starter. But the hammer tap can be a useful diagnostic.

 

Does your starter button jump battery and starter wire or battery and signal wire post?

 

So, I've got a couple updates on this after some troubleshooting. I haven't actually tested the trigger post but I'm going to do that later today. But, my cousin and I found that jumping the solenoid works reliably. It still starts cold (started this morning just fine), but midday or after running a little while I have to pop the hood and jump the starter solenoid. I don't know if that's a problem with the solenoid itself or the ignition switch/wiring, but I'm thinking it's probably something that gets hot in the wiring.

The accessories always turn on (radio, ac, etc). Never had a problem with that.

 

Honestly I don't know the answer to this... I am not the one that installed the starter button, it was the previous owner. I'm not super familiar with how all the wiring works on these trucks

 

What posts are you jumping when you do it? Post a pic of your solenoid. Do the push button wires go to the solenoid? Or jumping wires under dash?

 

so I did a lot of work on this, the guy previous had wired the switch into the ignition wires under the dash. Just spliced them in, nothing too crazy. Something along the line from the switch to the ignition to the solenoid was broken, we checked the wires and ignition switch and all of those were fine. Eventually I just gave up and wired the switch directly to the solenoid and battery, works great now!

HOWEVER I had another problem that I thought I had fixed come back. The right brake light, rear right blinker, and rear right hazard don’t work. The running lights (with the headlights on and on the same bulb) DO work. I’ve tried replacing bulbs, checking wiring, everything, but I can’t get it to work.

some context: the problem used to be on the LEFT side (idk why) until I replaced the turn signal switch located in the steering column. Then it switched to the right side. The hazards all worked before that.

I recently switched the turn signal switch again, assuming I used a cheap and defective part. That worked until today, now it’s back

Anybody know what to do about this?