Ruining starters
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Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2025
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Ruining starters
My '01 5.4 F150 was sabotaged hasn't started since. I know the starter was removed among other obvious damage. My problem is I have replaced EVERY component in the ignition system multiple times including 4 starters and silonoids. I have gotten an occasional start but after turning it off or it stalling that starter never works again. Power everywhere power should be . If jumped it only will start the starter even if it is positive to ignition wire but the bindix will not expel and engage. No one can figure out why. Everything is showing as working and there is no reason it should not start. All mechanics I consult insist ot is the starter but 4 starters in a row bad? Not likely. The truck had no problems at all untill the sabotage 8 months ago. I work on it every day and nothing. Help please.
5 Year Member
Joined: May 2015
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Clamp a dc ammeter on the starter cable....read amps when starting..... It sounds like you're just saying you got voltage but you don't have any current......
A starter is very simple..... If you put 10+ volts with big enough wire for it to draw the current it needs.... It spins, engages the flywheel, and turns the engine over.
Bad connection, bad battery , bad cable, etc would keep it from working under load. You might measure a good voltage with no current flowing, but you have high line loss and no voltage at the starter under load
If it draws current at right v but it doesn't engage... It's either bad or binding somewhere
A starter is very simple..... If you put 10+ volts with big enough wire for it to draw the current it needs.... It spins, engages the flywheel, and turns the engine over.
Bad connection, bad battery , bad cable, etc would keep it from working under load. You might measure a good voltage with no current flowing, but you have high line loss and no voltage at the starter under load
If it draws current at right v but it doesn't engage... It's either bad or binding somewhere
Last edited by mbb; Sep 25, 2025 at 10:25 PM.
5 Year Member
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 338
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From: Texas
When you take the starter off did you clean up any of the mounting points or just bolt the new one on? Sounds like a bad ground and the starter is grounded by being bolted on. I would take it off and hit the mounting points with a wire brush. If ther truck sat with the starter off for any length of time, it wouldn't be that far fetched to think that rust developed.
I have not had this issue with a starter but doing car audio a big symptom of a bad ground is that everything in a static position seems correct but once you try to pull amperage it does strange things.
I have not had this issue with a starter but doing car audio a big symptom of a bad ground is that everything in a static position seems correct but once you try to pull amperage it does strange things.