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Truck won't start

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majorfa05

Truck won't start

Guys, went to the local Home Depot and when I went to leave, truck would not start. Turn the key and all the lights came on but would not do anything. No clicking no noise at all. Tried jumping but still nothing what so ever. Had battery checked and showed good, 660 cold cranking amps and 12.6 volts. Starter???? I have no clue. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.Thanks

Georgia
1982 F100
300 6cyl
43,000miles
Work in progress

Gary Lewis

Re: Truck won't start

Administrator

Starters don't usually die that way.

Do you have a tilt steering wheel? If so, I think the pot metal piece in it is broken. Been there, done that. Intermittent start. You can see the fix for it on the page at Documentation/Interior/STEERING COLUMNS & STEERNG WHEELS.

Jumper from the hot battery terminal, either on the battery or on the starter relay, to the front small terminal on the relay/solenoid. That should pull the relay in and run the starter. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE IT IN PARK AND THE PARK BRAKE IS ON!

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker & 10.25 Sterling/Trutrac, Blue Top & Borgeson, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI

majorfa05

Re: Truck won't start

Nope, no tilt wheel,(wish it did, I am too tall, LOLO) Having it towed to house tomorrow, starter solenoid maybe? If gas was knowledge on engines, an ant's go-cart would not make 1/4 the way around a BB. But I am learning alot reading on here and Youtube. Where would you start?

Thanks

Georgia
1982 F100
300 6cyl
43,000miles
Work in progress

Gary Lewis

Re: Truck won't start

Administrator

I would start by jumpering the hot side of the starter relay to the little terminal on the relay that has the Red/Light Blue wire on it. That will pull the relay in and the starter should run.

If that doesn't work then you have either a bad battery cable, bad starter cable, or bad relay - aka solenoid. And we can talk you through how to test each of those.

If it does work and the starter spins then you have an issue between the ignition switch and the starter relay. And an '82 shouldn't have the neutral start switch, so the wiring is very simple.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

majorfa05

Re: Truck won't start

The starter relay is mounted on the passenger side of the front fender, correct?

Georgia
1982 F100
300 6cyl
43,000miles
Work in progress

Gary Lewis

Re: Truck won't start

Administrator

Yes, and it should have three wires to it:

Battery Positive: The front large terminal should be directly from the battery's positive terminal

Starter Terminal: The rear large terminal is the one that goes down to the starter. It should have battery voltage on it when the relay is pulled in, causing the starter to spin.

Small Terminal: An '82 should only have one small terminal, but later relays had two and it is possible someone put one of those on your truck. When battery voltage is put on this terminal, usually via the ignition switch and the R/LB wire, the relay pulls in and connects the two large terminals to each other.
So if you use a jumper wire or even a screw driver to jumper from the large battery terminal to this terminal the relay should close and the starter should spin.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

majorfa05

Re: Truck won't start

Thank you, will check tomorrow when I get him home.

Georgia
1982 F100
300 6cyl
43,000miles
Work in progress

majorfa05

Re: Truck won't start

Finally found a 3 post starter relay, 15 minutes of work and he now starts like a champ. Thanks Gary for your assistance.

Georgia
1982 F100
300 6cyl
43,000miles
Work in progress

Gary Lewis

Re: Truck won't start

Administrator

Excellent!!!

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile