Ok I posted a while back about my truck having issues starting up first thing in the morning. I replaced the battery and neg cable from the battery. It starts up quicker but it the truck goes dead within a 3hr period of time. So, i have to jump it and then it takes about 10mins to get it running again. I thought at first it was my alternator but i had Autozone do a starting system test on it (Battery, alternator and starter) All check out ok and my diode checks out ok as well.

I fetched my test light i got for christmas and went to work on the fuses to see if any fuses were hot on both sides because i thought maybe it was a short somewhere. Fuses are normally supposed to be hot on 1 side, not both, why, i have no clue but that's just the way there supposed be, thats all I know Anyway, All fuses check out ok, hot just on 1 side. By this time I'm stumped, charging system is ok, alternator is good, fuses ok. Now I'm thinking to myself ,WTF!!!???!!??? Something in the engine is causing the battery to drain while the engine is off and ignition is off.

That night my old man (Dad) was hunting around the truck to see if any wires were loose and possibly broken. 1hr later he comes up to me and said he heard a noise in the engine like somethiing was left on, not intenionally, but like a bad switch that something didn't turn off when the engine was shut down. Sure enough, i heard it for myself. Sounded like a motor didn;t shutoff when the engine was shut off like it stayed stuck on. That night we put the truck up in the garage and disconnected the ground cable. This afternoon I went out there to see what was going on with the truck. I reconnected the battery and then I hear the injectors pump up, ok? I thought nothing of it then all was silent. I heard the same humming type noise as I did last night. I stayed there for about 2mins listening to the noise, it was very quiet but if you listen carefully you could hear it. It was coming from the passenger side of the engine. I crawled under the truck and did some exploring. The humming was very clear now, it was loudest by the starter. I'm thinking the solenoid is stuck and left on causing the battery to drain. Now I'm no professional yet but I am 90% sure this is where the humming sound is coming from. So I ask you fellow F150 owners, what is this noise for sure so i can replace it not go through the hassle of jumping my truck every 3friggin hrs in 20* weather. The sound is very quiet, coming from the passenger side of the engine below somwhere. It sounds like electricity flowing to something but it's not running. This is the best i can describe the sound but I do know for sure this has to be the cause why my truck keeps dying. Tks everyone, Don't you just love electrical problems, LOL

91

 

I would suggest unhooking the large (+) wire at the starter and running your test light between the wire and the terminal on the starter. If the light lights up on your test light then there is a power draw at the starter. If the moaning sound stops as soon as the wire is unhooked then that is also a good sing that your problem is somewhere in the starter. Good luck.

 

I'm not sure you got that fuse thing down, if the fuse is good then it will have power on both sides. But if you take the fuse out and test the fuse block, it will only have power on one side.

It sounds like it is in your starter. It shouldn't be very expensive and doesn't take that much to change.

Good luck,
Mike

 

If I were you I would try to peck on the starter and the starter solenoid with a hammer to see if you can "unstick" it. But I agree with the other guys, sounds like your starter or solenoid is somewhat shorted. Also check on the "s" terminal on the remote mounted solenoid. If it has power with the Ignition in any position except start, you may have some other prob. Let us know what you diagnosis reveals.

 

I love electrical work, lol

I wrote down what you guys said for me to do and i will try them out and see what comes up.

I was trying again to see where the sound was coming from after I checked the fuses. Now i don't hear a fuggin thing, all is silent. I was trying to get the truck to do it again but couldn't. Tomm I'm gonna get in there with a test light and do what you all told me to do, if it still drains out and i can't find it, pros are going to have to look at it. This is really pissing me off and the damn truck seems to have one problem after another, not that I'm fuggin around with other $h!t that doesn't need fixin but everything jsut seems to be puking out on me and I'm spending at least $25 a week just on gas. This is just 1 of many things that is wrong with the truck, this electrical and the gas mileage. Ce light stars at me in the face, headlight switch is assed up, Drinks gas to high heaven, too name a few. No offense or no pun intended to those who believe this but the 300 6 has not proven to me to be a good engine and at this point I just want to take my 12ga to it, then take to the crusher and just watch it suffer. I have basically given up all hope on this piece of $h!t but I will try and find out at least why it keeps going dead, if not the pros nor me can find it. ***** it, junkyard it goes. Tks for letting me vent too


91

 

Just to re-state what "mville656" Fuses that are "in" circuit will be hot on BOTH sides (if there is power on that circuit). If the fuse is in the circuit and only one side is HOT then the fuse is open (bad).

 

The I6 was never great at gas milage, but it is one of the best engines ever. Do the test on the starter, if in doubt replace it. the one thing that us old men have over youth is patience. It is a virture that has been learned by going thru the same things that you are going thru now. Now the thing to do is step back, breathe , then think about what you are doing. Get a good manual for your truck, it will open all kinds of doors on how it all works. The starter is an electro/mechanical device. Electricity hits it forcing it to spin and engage the flywheel and turn the truck engine (simple form). When you had it tested at autozone ,was it hot/cold (starter itself)? It may be because it is the original starter coupled with cold weather it's tired. When the starter is warm it moves freely. Parts do wear out, just remember take your time and this to shall come to pass. Besides look on the bright side, think of all the experience you are getting and can pass along.

 

I do have a manual for my truck and it seems like I'm always reading it, lol I tested the soleniod and when the ignition is off there is no power going to it, this is good so far. AS far as fuses go, there all ok not blown. Here;s the funny thing, Since i pulled the fuses and checked them, the truck doesn't make the sound anymore, oh yea i left the battery cable on overnight just to see what's up, i go out there next morning, I open the door and the dome light comes on, ok that's good??, I insert the key into the ignition, starts beeping, ok?????????? wtf, I turn the key, hear the fuel pump and injectors pressure up and sure enough it starts like nothing happened. I am not bs'ing here but this is too weird, one day the truck goes dead every 4hrs, I check fuses verify there all ok and now the truck works like nothing happened. WTF!!!!!!!?????????? My truck hogs gas but it's only because the TPS sensor is out of whack. Oh well i hate that trucj anyway for reasons.

91

 

I would suspect either a bad solenoid or ignition switch.