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Or just make double sure it's in neutral and then just cross the connections with a little screwdriver. Safety glasses - it might spark at you a bit if you hit ground.
Yeah I figured anything that bridges the terminal would be fine. I just askek about the jumper wire for safety sake. I have plenty of safety glasses so that's no issue. Question, why would it need to be in neutral? Do you mean park? It seems like a silly idea to crawl underneath with it in neutral...
Neutral for a manual. Park is fine on automatic.
If you definitely have power at the starter, putting power to the little wire connector - no matter how you do it- should make it go.
If it won't crank at that point, pull the starter.
Neutral for a manual. Park is fine on automatic.
If you definitely have power at the starter, putting power to the little wire connector - no matter how you do it- should make it go.
If it won't crank at that point, pull the starter.
Gotcha, that makes sense. Thanks, Chris. I will try this when I get home in a few hours. Hypothetical question, if it does crank when I do this but still doesn't crank when I turn the key do you know where I should look to next? I'll update with any progress or questions when I know more.
Well if you have power at the big wire on the starter, jumping the connection to the little wire on the starter bypasses everything in the truck and directly activates the starter mounted solenoid. If she don't crank then, you need a starter.
Here you can see the top connection with just a nut on it. The power cable comes directly from the battery and hooks on to it; it has power all the time.<br/>The yellow wire is hooked to the starter solenoid activation spot - it hooks to the red wire which goes up to the fender mounted solenoid; it should get power when you turn the key to start (or when you cross the 2 big posts on the f/m solenoid). That connection between the little red wire and the one to the starter can also be a problem spot.
But again, if you have power to that top post (cable from the battery) (and a good ground of course) and you touch a screwdriver or remote starter across those 2 posts, you will have bypassed the truck and the starter will turn. If it doesn't, it's pooched.
Well, it definitely seems to be the starter. I crawled up under to try bridging the terminals but there was a plastic cover over them. I disconnected the battery to pull the cover off the terminals since I really had to dig at it with a screwdriver to remove it and didn't want any surprise sparks. After getting the cover off I reconnected the battery terminals and thought I might as well try starting it again while I was out from under it. It started right up. I think me clanking around down there must have been what the starter wanted. I turned it off and on a few times but by the fifth time all I got was a mild crank and no start. The sixth time just the click from the fender mounted solenoid. I crawled back underneath and gave the solenoid on the starter a few good whacks and bridged the terminals to make sure it was getting a good connection. I got a ton of sparks but no crank. However, it did start up again a couple of times before dying. I'll try cleaning the connection on the wires to the starter first and if that doesn't work I guess I'll be buying a new starter.
Thanks a ton Chris and 88xlt, you helped a ton. I might be back here soon for advice on how to change the starter. I looked up some videos but there were only a couple and I'm not sure I understand fully. Do I need to replace the connectors to the new starter or will the old ones work? One video showed that I did and another didn't so I don't know what I need. Thanks again for the awesome help.
I just realized that I was touching the two wrong terminals. Turns out if I do bridge the connection between the terminal with the power and the small wire it turns over. Does this tell me there is a problem with the starter mounted solenoid?
I just realized that I was touching the two wrong terminals. Turns out if I do bridge the connection between the terminal with the power and the small wire it turns over. Does this tell me there is a problem with the starter mounted solenoid?
No, that most likely tells you that there is a problem with that WIRE that runs between the fender mounted solenoid and the starter mounted solenoid. Performing this test was mainly to test said wire.
You may be able to cut and splice a new piece of wire on that wire down toward the starter end and solve the problem. Or you could just make a new wire or possibly the automotive parts places may have the wire.
If you replace the wire, you will have to separate the wires where they hook onto the fender mounted solenoid and throw the small wire end away.
Yep, that's it. The connection to the starter mounted solenoid is weak. I had someone start the truck while I moved the wire around. When it was pushed upwards it worked fine but when pulled downward it wouldn't crank. Should be an easy enough fix. Thanks again! You really helped me narrow it down.
02-19-2016, 08:14 AM
