Starter Issues (1 Viewer)

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Ya I did a relay for a set of hella horns I installed. So I have done one before. Just wasnt sure what type to put down there given the location. I hate doing wiring but it seems like the way to go.

What @John McVicker and @Godwin are referring to are the exact same thing I was trying to explain. They opted for a different style relay vs the one I suggested....but both will work.
 
Wiring is definitely not my strong suit, but plan to get after and tackle this. Thanks so much for all this input. Very appreciated.

Thanks guys!
 
Wiring is definitely not my strong suit, but plan to get after and tackle this. Thanks so much for all this input. Very appreciated.

Thanks guys!

The only thing that you need to do here is make sure you crimp your wiring connectors properly. You can buy spade terminals that have a heat shrink covering on them so after you crimp you wave a heat gun around them to seal the shrink. It doesn't hurt to put some heat shrink between the wire and connector as well.
 
Writing to thank y'all (with a very long winded post). I've had my truck sitting for a few months since it first failed to power on in any way, much less start. I'm just middling regarding car work and a moron with automotive electrical. Today a friend who actually knows wtf he's doing came over and had my truck running within an hour. I'm sure he could have done it in half that time or less, but he gave me a crash course in DC while we worked. Everything he showed me was also stated in this forum by someone or other, but I didn't understand it. So if there's anyone following this thread who's as clueless as I was/am, this might help: (caveat - we didn't have to test anything under load, so I still have no idea how that's done)
  1. The most important advice I got from my friend was to consider all the wiring as a closed system. It all has to flow together for things to work. My gut kept telling me that my truck's problem was either the starter or one of its relays or the ignition switch. I had to banish that way of thinking. The failure to the system could be at some spot remote from where you think the problem is.
  2. Get a multimeter to check the circuits. (I did that but wasn't using it as thoroughly as I should have).
  3. Accessories take a tiny amount of voltage to run. So even if they come on it won't be enough for the starter.
  4. My truck had the "Gee, accessories came on, but when I go to crank the engine accessories shut down and won't come back on" syndrome. If the circuit is borderline failing somewhere, full voltage running to that point could heat things up just enough for the system to completely fail. The object is to find the failure point. See item 1. Just because, for instance, the starter doesn't get current, it doesn't mean the problem is in the wire running to the starter.
  5. Don't just start disconnecting possible offender wires etc (which I did - D'oh!). Leave it all in place for your best chance to diagnose the problem.
  6. When the experts in this and other Mud threads say "check one circuit (length of wire to a connection) at a time", do that!
  7. When Mud says to disconnect, clean, then reconnect your grounds one at a time, do it! And not just a surface clean. Get the connector, the surface connecting to, and the bolt threads, down to shiny metal. Spray with deoxit or something similar to help clean and before reconnecting.
So following my friend's direction, we went thru it like outlined above. We followed the circuit diagram to get a priority list.
  1. Clean battery terminals and connectors (I'd already done this - I may be a moron but not a complete moron). NO START
  2. Remove wires from terminal connectors and clean those with Deoxit. (I had not done this). NO START
  3. Clean connections to frame ground next to the battery. (I'd done this, but we didn't have 12 v. Turns out this was because tho I cleaned washers and wire connector, I didn't clean the bolt threads. Doing that gave us 12.6v). NO START
  4. Check the fusible link at the battery NO START
    • I'd replaced the fusible link with a rebuild by Coolerman. Everything was good there.
    • At this point we looked at the wiring diagram again. My friend noticed that the truck has an "always active" circuit for hazard lights, horn, etc. That circuit wasn't getting any power. Confident that it was a total circuit not component issue we proceeded with big wire connections
  5. Go to the next connection, which for me was a ground to the injector pump (I have a 12HT). We removed and did the routine and reinstalled. START!!!
She's purring like a kitten now. IDK if this post will help anyone. It probably wouldn't have helped me much. All the pertinent steps I'd already read in this forum and I still didn't get it. My friend had it running after only 5 steps. Now I have to think of a gift adequate to express my appreciation.
 
10 or 12 gage.
 
Thanks Seth sorry to have you walk me through this step by step but I appreciate it. Hopefully getting it done this weekend.
 
No worries. We all start somewhere and should always ask and continue to learn. I am always googling and reading past threads to learn about tasks I have to do etc.
 
Just to cover all bases. The cap over the shaft end on the s-motor secures the earths for 2 of the brushes.[on my starter, older style] I had on/off starting issues and it turned out to be loose screws on the cap. Took forever to figure out the problem . Very frustrating.
Your starter may not have the cap with screws looking at it, so probably not the problem.
If it has 2 philips screws on the back that secure the brush plate assembly, make sure they are nice and tight.
 
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