My son drives a 2012 F150 that was my old truck, about 220,000 miles. About 2 months ago he was going fishing and drove to a gas station, then the truck wouldn’t start. Lights, radio, a/c worked, just a single click when you tried to start it.

Towed to the shop and they put a new starter. 7 days later, same problem. Towed again. Replaced starter under warranty. 5 days later, same problem. Replaced with new starter, not reman.

that lasted almost 2 months. Last week, it happened again. Talked to the shop and they went to the truck and figured out it was an issue with the negative battery terminal or bracket. Anyway, replaced that for free. That last about 5 days.

This is a reputable shop doing the work. I spoke to another shop- also very reputable- and they said the same thing, sounds like the starter.

The first shop said they looked at everything they could that might be causing the starter to die. I believe them, they’ve replaced everything since the first starter for no cost. They’re not trying to bleed me dry.

but this is more than a hassle. The truck is sitting dead in a parking lot right now.

The truck drives fine other than this starter issue. And no evidence the starter is about to go out, no slow cranks or anything.

Has anybody dealt with this. I have searched but not found anything yet.

I appreciate any thoughts you have on this.

 

Have they replaced the starter relay in the battery junction box? If not, the starter relay is "No.2" relay. Right next to it the No.3 relay is for blower motor. Try swapping them out. Back in the "old days" the relay contacts would get bad enough that you would get intermittent problems like this. Back then, on a lot of relays you just took off the cover and filed off the burned places and put the relay back in and all was good till it carboned over again. Something that won't cost anything but about 10 minutes to find out. Plus, with that many miles it could be a sketchy connector in the box, the fuse, or the relay. Fuse is No. 13.

 

Thanks for that suggestion. Unfortunately was unsuccessful. Any other tips would be appreciated.

 

Check grounds from engine to chassis, chassis to battery. Need to be clean and not damaged cables.

Could always add a ground cable from one of the starter bolts back to the battery or battery chassis ground. If adding one, I would make the cable the same size as the power cable to the starter.

 

Have they replaced the wire harness?

 

Was tied up yesterday and couldn’t respond. It looks like the negative battery terminal bracket is what was replaced. The battery cables all look original, but look clean and good.

 

i will check this closer. As mentioned in the other post, I think they replaced the negative battery terminal bracket. It’s brand new. I checked it and made sure everything was tight up top. But maybe something is loose below. Thanks.

 

Don't forget the starter grounds through the engine. The ground cables from engine to chassis are very important too.

 

Thanks for all the advice. It’s a ground issue. Was able to put tension on the negative battery cables and got it to crank. Will dig in on the specific problem next. Appreciate the help.

 

This right here is why I mostly avoid taking things to a mechanic. SMH