Hi everyone,

Yesterday I was experiencing a single "click" everytime I tried to turn the engine over. I figured there was some sort of problem with the starter, as I had just put a brand new battery in. After trying to start the engine multiple times (sometimes 20-30 times), it will eventually turn over and run fine.

I got some great advice from another board and it sounds like the problem has been narrowed down to the starter solenoid. I made sure that my battery connections were all good and tight and that the terminals were clean. I also checked out the connections on the solenoid this morning (cleaned them as well) and they look okay. The only thing I noticed is that the bottom terminal of the solenoid appears broken . . . I can actually move it back and forth a fair bit on the plate that it is attached to. I almost get the sense that this piece is moving around on the inside of the solenoid as well and that it may not be providing a proper connection. I'm guessing that sometimes I fluke out and get a good connection when it moves to the right spot (which would result in the engine turning over) but more often than not, the connection is bad and I just get the "click".

I'm going to pick up a new starter solenoid and see if that is indeed the problem. Is there anything I should keep an eye out for with this particular job? It looks like it should be pretty straightforward. Any advice you could throw my way would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Oops, I forgot to mention that it is on a 97 F-150 4X4 with the 4.6 Auto

 

Hi,
If starter solenoid would not help I would check negative cable (assembly) that goes from minus on the battery to starter. Sometimes it's rusted inside and gives the same effect as you have. Dealers sell the assembly for around $60.
Alex.

 

Cougar Guy -

Ironic that you post about this issue you were having. I just went through the same thing about a month ago. Here is a link to my post:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...hreadid=179223

They had to replace the starter again and it has been starting great ever since, even on our -15 degree mornings!!

Hope you can get the gremlins chased out of your starter problem.

 

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the solenoid is the problem. If that doesn't do it, I'll check out those other areas.

Now all I need is some weather that will make it somewhat comfortable to crawl under the truck . . . LOL

 

I had the same problem about 5 weeks ago. First real cold morning we had - single digit temps. Turn the key and "click". Tried to jump it - same thing. Since my truck is stick I rolled it down the driveway and popped it - fired right up and was fine the rest of the day. Next morning, same problem. I picked up a new starter for $80, put it in and it's been fine since.

 

LOL . . . now here is the funny part . . . it has warmed up to above zero and now the stupid truck turns over EVERY SINGLE TIME on the first crank. I have no idea what is wrong. I wouldv'e thought if it was the solenoid it would display the same symptoms whether it was cold or not.

Oh well. I'll probably wait for a break in the weather and change it out anyway . . . the one broken terminal post doesn't exactly look great and I suspect the clicking will again come back when it gets cold again. Who knows

 

My truck was doing the exact same thing when it got to be below 0 F here in MN around Christmas. And I mean exactly the same, trying to start it with a single click, it would start after ~20 times, and it stopped doing it when the temperature was above zero. I figured out it was the neg. battery cable by using a set of jumper cables to go from the negative terminal on the battery to the bolt where the neg. connects to the starter (I did this of course while it was being stubborn and not starting). After replacing the cable it has started perfect every time and we have seen -15 F quite a few times since then. Also, not sure about yours but on mine after it would eventually start if I left it warm up and then shut it off it would start up just fine it was just when it had sat for 4+ hours below 0 F that it would just click.

edit: spelling

 

Yup, mine did that as well Thanks for the info soultwist. Yet another thing to checkout if and when the click comes back. Just curious, how expensive was it to replace the negative cable and/or how difficult?

 

I got the cable from the dealer for ~$70 USD. On the 2002 models both cables come together as one part, also I think it is more expensive for the SuperCrew. Install was pretty straght forward, only real tip I have is to attach the cable to the frame in the middle of the cable first.

 

Cool, thanks for the info soultwist.