my truck will only turn over after i tap the starters electrical connections with a screwdriver. is my starter shot?

 

try shorting the firewall relay. sounds like thats bad.

 

thanks jethat. i shorted the two large posts on the firewall relay(with the key in the on postion, tranny in neutral) and this started the truck. so this means this the relay needs to be replaced?

 

yep

 

thanks for your help! i'll get it done tomorrow. big relief its not the starter

 

wouldnt hurt to take a look at the starter anyway..make sure you dont have tons of corrosion etc on the terminals. some petroleoum jelly works well to prevent that ive found.

 

the connections look ok to me. i actually had the starter replaced this february by a local shop when i was having similar issues. i wonder if the problem couldve been the relay all along and it just started acting up again? its a cheap part so i'm going to replace it....especially being its bad, since it starts the truck when shorted out, right?

 

I've been through lots of starters only to find out its the relay. Its the relay. Get a new one and youll be good. (probably)

 

update....

So since I last posted on this, the truck was starting on its own (by turning the key in the ignition) most of the time. There were a couple attempts where it would not start and not turn over, but once I shorted the relay it started right up. I picked up a new firewall relay and installed it last night. After installing the truck started right up. But when I got up this morning to start her up, before my drive into town, it once again didn't turn over. After turning the key in the ignition 5 times it turned over and started on the 6th attempt.

Over Christmas we had 25 inches of snow fall and I did have an opportunity to take the truck thru some big drifts Could some snow/ice down there be causing the no-start issue maybe? I plan on getting under there to clean up the terminals on the starter some time within the next couple days. Is there anything else that I should maybe take a peek at? I'm not an expert at this kind of stuff - I don't own a volt/ohm meter, but I'd like to figure this out on my own if possible without having to take it into a shop.

 

how does it start once the vehicle is warm? say you drive to the store and then come back out and start it again?

 

You have a bad connection. Check the wires on the starter for corrosion. then check everything else. Some things dirty or loose.

 

So far it has started every time when its warm. When it sits overnight or is very cold outside it seems to be a shot in the dark whether it'll turn over or not.

 

that's what I'll do right when I get a chance and will report back what I find.

 

That might be an indication of a weak battery..

 

be sure to check the ground..i changed everything in the world only to find out it was my ground ya learn the first time!