Is in park and in neutral the same results ?
- the wording you use is confusing; spins vs cranks.

The starter you put in, is it new or a rebuilt ?
- Where did you get it from & the brand ?

the mistake up the thread about the starter motor relay on the firewall was corrected in post #27, that was the 1997 - 2003 ( and 2004 Heritage / lightning ) MY that had the starter motor relay on the firewall.
The 2004 and newer the starter motor relay is in the CJB, and is not serviceable ( EG: built into the back of the Central Junction Box aka cab fuse panel )

 

It spins. I got a rebuilt Remy. But I had it checked out today. It was good. I just about ruled out everything but the flywheel. The teeth on it seemed fine. I am wondering if the solenoid isn't getting enough juice to fully engage the bendix. Going to check wires and relays tomorrow. Thanks.

 

So those of you who have replaced starters in your trucks, how many times did you have to replace the starter before the issue was fixed? I keep hearing 2 or 3 times before the issue is resolved.

 

I have an 06 f150 and I'm on my 3rd starter. Seems like this is about a once every other year ordeal now. Only fix seems to be total replacement of the starter and wait for about 16 months then change it again. I have always driven Fords but this is ridiculous, I long for the old trucks now. The firewall relay was so much better.

 

My 2006 w/ 5.4L still has the factory starter in it at 137,000 miles and 10+ years old.

I do change my battery on a regular basis now that the factory battery is out of it.
- I got 5 years out of the factory battery before it started to not hold a charge overnight. It would drop to 12.2 or 12.1.

Are you guys keeping good batteries in your trucks, or working the starter with tired half worn batteries ?

Battery voltage should be at 12.6, not 12.0 VDC.
- Check after sitting overnight at what the voltage is. If it is less than 12.6 keep a close eye on it and it it stays down, time to replace it.

 

My 04 has been having similar issues. Truck makes an ugly loud grinding noise when trying to start. Began when I replaced the starter about 6 months ago when it wouldn't even attemp to start. Now, it attempts to start but is unsuccessful. At first it was just on the first or second attempt, but now I'm spending 20 minutes trying to start it in the mornings. I will say, I had a dumb moment when changing the starter 6 months ago and put the cables back on the wrong bolts in the starter and when I connected my batter back up, melted a terminal off of the battery completely!! Luckily advanced auto swapped it out for another at no charge as "warranty" ( clearly my fault). But that caused some wires to melt a little at the starter connection. Also noticed the positive wire is exposed a little.


This morning,I spent 20 minutes trying to start it. Then I disconnected the negative terminal on the battery, and reconnected it and it started just fine. That makes me think it is an electrical issue, maybe the wires are bad and need to be replaced? Or something to do with the solenoid? Can anyone confirm or deny this?