Bdon1982WV

I have an 82 F150 and recently ran into what I thought was a dead battery. Tried jumping it without success so I replaced the solenoid and it still won't start. This is the first time it wouldn't start in a long while and I'm at a bit of a loss.

I was hoping someone here would have a few suggestions or ideas on what the issue could be, thanks.

nrivera04

Won't spin over or won't start? Your post is a little confusing... and that would be a big difference on my suggestion. If it's spinning over and not starting, a solenoid is far from your problem. If it's not spinning over but clicking, you could possibly have a bad starter or bad cable connections (check the negative cable on both ends). If it's doing nothing, you likely have a bad connection somewhere.

Why did you skip the battery and go straight to the solenoid? Did you have the battery tested? Coils are designed to fire on 12 volts... If there's sufficient voltage in the battery, it won't fire the coil.

Velosprout

Turn on the headlights and then turn the ignition key. If the lights dim out, it is probably a bad battery, battery discharge or battery connection. If the headlights don't dim and the engine doesn't "click" or turn over, short across the terminals of the starter relay switch with a screwdriver to determine if it has failed, and also try turning the engine over by hand and tapping the starter housing firmly with a hammer or tire iron. This would free a possibly extended starter motor gear that is engaged with the flywheel gear under a "load" and not allowing it to start turning.