starter help needed

im trying to get a 390 fe engine running and the starter keeps cutting out. at first it wouldnt turn over and i got fed up and ate lunch. when i returned i tired again for the hell of it and it started. after cranking it a few times it wont turn over anymore. the starter is good(had it checked this morning), the relay is brand new and the connections to both the relay and starter are good. this is my first go round with a ford engine so take it easy if this is an easy fix . any ideas on what it could be??? -joeks

 

any one?

 

Fe's can be temporamental with starters. My brother had a tbird that always had problems starting.

Make sure you are getting 12 volts to the starter. Make sure you have a clean ground from the body to block and block to battery.

Clean and tight terminals, a fully charged, load-tested battery. Non-corroded and thick battery cables. Make sure the terminal on the starter where the cable attaches is not loose, even if the nut is tight, if it wiggles at all it is broken inside.

Take a meter and check the voltage drop at the starter before and while you are cranking the engine. Make sure the starter is mounted flush to the trans.

Theres some stuff to look at for now.

 

ok ill give those a try. i dont know if it makes any difference but when you try to turn it over you can hear the relay switch but nothing else.

 

The starter may be bad regardless of what the no-load test shows. I have what is considered a bad starter on my truck right now. It has a single bad spot in it, and about once in 100 starts it'll land in that spot. I just bump start it and wait for the next time. I need to pull it off and swap it out (its a lifetime warranty) but I've got a standard that starts easy. I'm the only one who drives it (wifey can't drive standard), so who cares?

 

A rapid clicking is typically due to a discharged battery. You need to make sure it is fully charged and that the voltage at the battery is 12.6 volts, or at least 12, and that it doesnt drop down when a load is put on it.

Put your tester on the battery (if you dont have a tester, go buy one. They are cheap and you will need it again one day).. Measure with no load, then turn on the headlights. See if it drops. It will a little.
Then hit the key. If it goes below 10 volts, you may have a bad battery. You want a high cranking amp one for that motor.

 

fords are known for stater drive failure, does it begin to crank and then just make a humming noise? if so the starter drive is bad. some people call it a bendix. it's a sprag clutch that protects the starter once the engine fires.

 

all the relay does is give a single "click", nothing from the starter. i tried the battery tester and it showed it was good, 12.6 then 11.5ish under load.

 

Do you have one of those remote push button starter switches?

If not, jump the 2 big terminals on the sides and disconnect the 2 little ones in the middle. Or take a screwdriver from the battery side to the 1st little terminal..I forget which way right now (beer fog)
One of those will do it.

You are now bypassing the solenoid. See what that does.

 

That usually indicates a poor connection in the battery cables someplace. The first thing to do is clean the battery post and the cable terminals. Also the other end of both cables.

When you turn the key you get a click when the starter tries to pull enough amps. The dirty connection arcs and the dirty connection can't carry enough amps to turn the starter over. The battery is fine. The starter is fine. You just can't get the battery amperage down to the starter motor to turn it over. If the cables look ratty and there is corrosion at the ends, replace them. Sometimes the arc will make a better connection and it will start. Next time it might be click click click again. Nothing aggravates me more than that.

I laid on my back in 20* weather changing my starter in a parking lot only to hear that damn click click click when I was done. I soon found out it was dirty cable connections. You only have to do that once to have it permanently etched into your brain...dirty cables. The dirty connection can be any connection in the circuit. My 41 woody had a bad connection on the starter side of the solenoid. The battery was good, the solenoid was good and the starter was good...it still wouldn't start sometimes until I cleaned and tightened that connection.

 

last night i gave power directly to the small terminal labled "s" on the solenoid, as desertrat suggested, and the starter turned over. so im thinking it is the wire or the connection. im going to try to clean or replace the "s" wire tonight. thanks for all the suggestions. -joeks