jfryjfry said:Well sounds like it's not running again.
this is what he said:
I don’t know what’s wrong with the truck, the battery is full but I’m getting no power, not even when I cross the wires at the solenoid. I’ve not done anything else except put a multimeter to the bm battery and the ground and alternator and solenoid. You know me and mechanics have little place together when it comes to diagnostics. It was running great though, I stopped at tge super market and got back in it and it won’t start. The fuses are good. The dome light is off. The horn and lights don’t have power either
Me:That should be a pretty easy check…. The battery has 12.6. That’s good. When you have the black of the meter on the battery ground and you touch the large solenoid post that has all the wires on it, it should also read 12.6 because that large cable goes straight from the battery positive to the solenoid.
The other large post on the solenoid should only have power when you’re trying to start it.
That’s very strange that it has power. And stranger that the one with the wires only has 8.something volts and the other has full voltage.
Check the cables from the battery to make sure they are in good shape and tight. Check from the battery to the solenoid (positive) and the battery to where it bolts to the frame/body/engine (negative)
Jumping the two terminals of the starter solenoid is what would force the starter to turn over.
That tells me something is wrong with the starter. It’s new so it should be under warranty. I’d pull it out and replace it. (Disconnect the battery first)
Is someone turning the key to start it in the picture that shows voltage when you have the meter on the negative and the solenoid post with only one wire/cable?
him:
The key was turned to the on position when the voltage was low, and turned to the off position when it was higher. What do you think would happen if I tried to clutch start it while rolling? I’m on a slight decline that might get me up to enough speed to pop it in second gear before I run out of runway. But then I’ll be in the sun if it doesn’t work. Right now I’m under a tree, which is nice since the Loma Linda sun is pretty rough
these are the pics he sent:
Last year I replaced all the battery/solenoid/starter cables on my mom's 87 F150 because of similar. Those cables pictured all look questionable.
