Good Morning everybody!
I could use a little troubleshooting help.
When I went to crank over my 4.6 this morning it wouldn't crank. I got a spining noise like the starter wanted to engage but would not. Engine light indicating"Service engine soon" came on.
Could this just bee the battery, which is the original in the 99 F150, or will it be the starter. I could see the computer recognizing a bad battery, but will it detect a problem with the starter?

Thanks

 

probably not the battery with the age of your truck.

other test for battery is turn on your headlights. Their brightness will tell you how much juice is in the battery.

 

Back in my day the starters had a bendix drive that would turn the engine and then let go once the engine started. I don't know if it is still true today but it sounds like your bendix drive is bad if you have one on the starter...

 

Your right, my first car had a bendix. couldn't afford a new starter so I had to fix that bendix. That was my issue today, I pulled the starter and bench tested it. the gear would not engage it just spun with out extending or retracting. New starter fixed it. BTW a 20" extension with a swivle made getting that top bolt easy, after removing the passenger front wheel and fender liner.

 

Excuse me but its getting late and my thinking is going fuzzy. You replaced the starter because the old starter had a bad bendix which means todays starters still use bendix's?

Don't ya wish you could be superman sometimes and just unbolt them suckers with your fingers. X-ray vision could not hurt none either. LOL

Larry

 

if u have a starter realy or solinoid simply jump across the terminals if the starter cranks its not the baterry because yor gettin power to the starter try hitting the starter with a hammer or it could be the realy itself