roadbike21

Ok guys I need some advice, this is beyond my limited knowledge. i am having trouble with my truck starting. one day my truck started hesitating to start, it acts almost like the battery is dead, it hesitates then turns over and then it will start right up, it just has a slight hesitation, well the other day I was at Brookshires and the worst happened it just wouldnt start at all, well my fiddled with the cables to the starter and then got in and it fired back up, still hesitating, but it fired up, well i went home and tightened up some loose start cables, well i thought i had fixed it, i drove it for another 2-3 weeks and this tonight once again the worst happened, i was at Sonic and it would not start at all, i fiddled with it for more than an hour, tightening cables, and nothing ever fixed it, then miraculously it fired up and I drove it home and when i got home it will not start once again, has my started just gone out or do I have a loose wire somewhere?? i need some help finding and fixing this problem, i have never had a starter go out so i did not know the symptoms. thanks in advance

Chrisreyn

It sounds more like a loose connection at the FSO than anything else.
The Fuel Shut Off Solinoid is located to the rear of the Injection pump right behind the throttle linkage.
There is a spade 'slide on" connector there, possibly two of them depending on teh model truck.
These tend to get loose and corroded over time and can cause an intermitant no-start problem.
Take it off, gently squeeze the connector tighter and clean it, reinstall and see if that helps. A comman "fix" is to replace the spade connector with a ring connector. If you search FSO in this forum, you should be able to find a picture of it if needed.
hope this helps!

Ace

You didn't exactly say if it was cranking and not starting or just not cranking. Sorta sounded to me like it wasn't cranking. If that's the case, then I'll lay money on it being worn starter contacts.

If so, this and a couple hours work pulling the starter to R&R the contacts will get you going:

eBay Item# 180166113508

Jim Lane

Intermittent problems are the most difficult to diagnose.

It could also be your battery; you might have a bad internal connection between the cells.

Sometimes it will not start because of an open or high resistance connection but an internal arc at the right moment from the starter will bridge and complete the circuit leading you to believe you fixed the problem until next time when you are in a drive through.
A load check on the battery should diagnose that.

Also check the condition of your battery cables and ground strap. If you have a good DVM check the voltage drop between the positive POST and the lug on the starter and also between the Negative POST and the engine block.

This will rule out any internal resistance between your cables and their ends.

Next it could be the contacts in the solenoid or the brushes might be worn down or sticking in the starter motor itself.

Jim

roadbike21

ok here is an update to the whole scenario, first i need to clear things up a bit, the truck is not cranking at all, i mean when i turn the key i get NOTHING, well this morning i go out there and turn the key and the truck fires right up, i kill it and try it three more times and it starts all three times perfectly like it should, so i went on about my business and just never killed the truck, so i drove the truck close to an hour or so and killed it when i got home and tried to start it again, now when i turn the key it is real slow crank almost like the battery is dead and then it will go ahead and turn over and run, so i turned it off and again it is real slow to crank and then it turns over and starts, i hope this will help narrow down this problem, i will try all of yalls suggestions, thanks again.......by the way will the fuel shut off solenoid cause it to not crank at all or will it simply cause it to crank but never start, cause i did remove this spade connector the other day when i was turning the fuel screw...well if you have anymore suggestions i would be grateful

SMoKeNU

I had the same problem. I would tap on the starter and it would work agian. Thats how it started. Then later it seemed when the truck was cold it would start up but once it had heated up it would have problems starting. I took the starter off and went to go get it rebuilt. They told me that it sounds like the starter would bind when it was hot and giving time to cool loosened everything up again. So they took it apart and said everything looks okay but and told me that he would not rebuild it because he didn't want to charge me for something that he couldn't be for sure it would work. So i went and bought a new starter $200 and haven't had a problem since. I really couldn't complain because it was the original starter and lasted 288K miles!

Chris

Chrisreyn

No, the FSO will simply block the fuel into the pump, but it would crank.
I took your first post as that the truck was cranking, but if its totally dead, that would not be the FSO. Look to the starter or battery as the otheres have suggested.

roadbike21

yeah this truck has 320K miles on it and this is the first problem i have ever had so I guess i cannot complain too much, thanks guys for your suggestions, i will get right on working on the starter. thank

BC847

In case you didn't see it ~ https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=141395

. . .

roadbike21

ok here is an update to my problem, i replaced the starter contacts as was suggested by so many of you and still i got NOTHING. when i turn the key to the on position my grid heater heats as normal, but when i turn the key i get nothing. i mean the engine does not even try to turn over at all. i even tried to short across the solenoid and the engine still did nothing. i am completely at the end here i have no clue what else it could be. i hope you guys have some good ideas here. has the starter just completely bit the dust?? should i have it rebuilt or can I rebuild the motor itself like i did the contacts? any suggestions would be great.

Ace

Gotta be a bad ground somewhere...

dieselpwrRam

You might have your truck batteries checked. My DTD acted that way and I replaced both batteries. One battery had a short I believe when it was checked. Haven't had a problem since.

cootz

Sounds to me like a combination of problems.

You mentioned you checked the starter connections, but did you also tighten the battery terminal connections? Loose/corroded battery terminal connections will cause some of the symtoms you speak of. If this has been done, as suggested before, test the battery.

Second, as a test, the next time the truck fails to crank at all, remove the plastic around the column and check for power at your ignition key. Something could be wrong in the column. Also, in dire straights, just turn the key on, put the truck in neutral if standard, and jump the starter using a screwdriver.

ofcmarc

I've seen battery cables that rot from the inside out due to acid running down the inside of the cable insulation. They appear to be perfect looking but open them up and they are junk inside. They will sometimes work OK and sometimes no cranky-cranky. Stick a testlight in the + cable at the starter and watch it while cranking. The light shouldn't dim or go out. If it does, the cable is bad.

BearKiller

Before you spend any money, try this simple test:

Find the two-wire plug, at the battery-end of the HOT cable, that goes alongside the HOT cable to the starter.

Un-plug this and jump across the two wires in the plug (WITH THE TRUCK IN NEUTRAL).

If it cranks, then you have a problem somewhere in the switch circuit, most likely the key-switch.