Automotive Starter Problem

378 Views 18 Replies 10 Participants Last post by CountryGun, Feb 21, 2011

seereus

Discussion Starter · Feb 18, 2011

F-350

Truck started easily this a.m. Drove it about 50miles.

Cut the truck off whilst adding gas,tried restarting and it acted like the starter was "dragging"

Reached under the truck, felt of the starter, it was hot, not warm, but hot.

Had to set at the pumps for about 20minutes till the starter cooled, then it fired right up.

Anyone know what causes this to happen?

This is an older truck, does have oil seepage going on, and I did notice the starter had a nice coating of oil on it.

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

rmodel65

· #2 · Feb 18, 2011

starter might just have a bad spot in it....or you heat soaked the starter....

kineticmind

· #3 · Feb 18, 2011

When in doubt, change it out. :wink:

Nothing worse than a starter crapping out on you right before work or when you're in a hurry to get somewhere.

Deek

· #4 · Feb 19, 2011

Put the key in the ignition and turn to the on position. Give the truck about a 1/2 hour and see if your starter is getting warmed up. If it is you have a voltage draw that's heating up the starter, could be a short or chassis grounded positive wire in series with the starter.

Adam5

· #5 · Feb 19, 2011

Deek said:
Put the key in the ignition and turn to the on position. Give the truck about a 1/2 hour and see if your starter is getting warmed up. If it is you have a voltage draw that's heating up the starter, could be a short or chassis grounded positive wire in series with the starter.

^this

seereus

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 19, 2011

Could the oil be causing the short?

This is the second starter within about a year. This was put on about 4mths ago and I doubt it has cycled more than 200 times.

Basically its new......but then again, so was the one before it.

I will do as advised, then if it heats, check all the wires going to the starter, and check the grounds.

Adam5

· #7 · Feb 19, 2011

If you need to buy a starter shoot me PM first. I can get you a wholesale price.

seereus

Discussion Starter · #8 · Feb 19, 2011

Adam5 said:
If you need to buy a starter shoot me PM first. I can get you a wholesale price.

I appreciate the offer, however the one that is currently on the truck has a warranty.

Went out about 5 minutes ago and switched the key on...

seereus

Discussion Starter · #9 · Feb 19, 2011

Ok, so I left the switch on for about 20+minutes...starter did not heat up.

Any other suggestions??

Adam5

· #10 · Feb 19, 2011

It sounds like the starter is the problem.

Deek can attest to the ones that we used to see in the shop that had too much oil leaking on them and made them go bad. We even had one on one of our delivery trucks that had a pin hole in a heater hose that filled the starter with antifreeze.

SilentGhost

· #11 · Feb 21, 2011

Just out of curiosity, when you had this issue, did the truck act like it had a weak battery? If so, you may have an issue with a bad cell in the battery or possibly a loose cable on the battery, or batteries if it is a diesel.

seereus

Discussion Starter · #12 · Feb 21, 2011

SilentGhost said:
Just out of curiosity, when you had this issue, did the truck act like it had a weak battery? If so, you may have an issue with a bad cell in the battery or possibly a loose cable on the battery, or batteries if it is a diesel.

Not sure what the problem was. Starter was under warranty, took it back.

MyFred

· #13 · Feb 21, 2011

If this was a Chevy, I would say replace the truck. Since it's a Ford, just replace the starter....

CountryGun

· #14 · Feb 21, 2011

Now we'll never know! I was going to suggest a stuck "park-neutral switch."

XDMWarrior

· #15 · Feb 21, 2011

seereus said:
SilentGhost said:

Just out of curiosity, when you had this issue, did the truck act like it had a weak battery? If so, you may have an issue with a bad cell in the battery or possibly a loose cable on the battery, or batteries if it is a diesel.

Click to expand...

Not sure what the problem was. Starter was under warranty, took it back.

Check and clean ALL electrical connections between battery, starter and fuse block under the hood. If it wasn't the starter, I suspect you have a loose or corroded wire or connector. A dead cell in the battery could be a problem as well. Load test your battery.

CountryGun

· #16 · Feb 21, 2011

CountryGun said:
Now we'll never know! I was going to suggest a stuck "park-neutral switch."

Of course, I could still be right. :wink:

JMan

· #17 · Feb 21, 2011

Bad starter get one before it will not crank even when cold .... I replace these everyday , and very simple on this truck.

seereus

Discussion Starter · #18 · Feb 21, 2011

CountryGun said:
CountryGun said:

Now we'll never know! I was going to suggest a stuck "park-neutral switch."

Click to expand...

Of course, I could still be right. :wink:

If it makes you feel better, I think it could had been a stuck park-neutral switch. I bet I wasted my time changing the starter out. I should had utilized your advice to begin with.

Or, there is always the off chance it was an under inflated tire.

CountryGun

· #19 · Feb 21, 2011

seereus said:
CountryGun said:

CountryGun said:

Now we'll never know! I was going to suggest a stuck "park-neutral switch."

Click to expand...

Of course, I could still be right. :wink:

Click to expand...

If it makes you feel better, I think it could had been a stuck park-neutral switch. I bet I wasted my time changing the starter out. I should had utilized your advice to begin with.

Or, there is always the off chance it was an under inflated tire.

:lol: I wish you well! Ya' know, if all of us old "shade tree" mechanics got together, we could open a shop.

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

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