Question!!?? I got an old Nissan Patrol from '91 diesel 2.8td. It was poorly maintained by the previous owner and it has that clicking noise you give it contact then glow plug lamp switches on and off and when you turn it , it clicks. Yet when i connect it to a jump starter it cranks and after a while it starts. Can the cause be glow plugs or injectors or maybe the intake be the cause?
Ok, I’ll assume you’re talking about jump starting at the battery in your last sentence. If that’s the case I’d get it started and drive it down to Auto Zone and have them run a check on your battery. As far as the delay between once having proper surface charge (+12.5) volts and it starting, I’m not a diesel mechanic, if fact, if UPS trucks were diesel in 87, I never would’ve went to the job interview. I can’t stand the smell. You’re gonna need a diesel guy for that one. If I was guessing though, I would say glow plugs. Good luck.
Could this be the issue in a 2011 suburban when I bought was told starter was bad replaced the starter still get clicking battery voltage fluctuates when trying to start, but hasn’t died yet, headlights and all other things that require power work fine
13 years is on the lite side for age for this problem to develop, but yes it could be, but I don’t think so. Ok so you replaced the battery and still have a problem. Saying battery fluctuates really doesn’t tell me much. Batteries are supposed to fluctuate on start demand, but not below 10.5 volts. It matters where you take the voltage readings from. Always take battery voltage readings from *the posts* not the terminals. Like Posts to like terminals is where you find voltage drops. Your problem could be a voltage drop where your terminals connect to the posts, or the cables themselves. Do this, get a volt meter and start with either post, it doesn’t matter. Touch the + meter lead to *a post* and touch the - meter lead to the cable end of terminal, then have someone crank it. If you get higher than .5 volts charge the cable. If you get any - voltage, you just got the volt leads backwards.
Perfect video thank you so much for the help. I just built a custom pro hidden start button because the starter contact point in my ignition went out. I'm gonna install it tomorrow but I got the wires all connected to the button. It's actually a toggle switch with a light on it. I got a 20 amp fuse to go from the positive to the switch. Then just a 12g wire from the switch to the solenoid plug. I'm gonna go ahead and cut the plug wire and splice in my switch. And boom. God willing in Jesus name it should fix it. Because sometimes the key will actually start it after enough times of clicking.
I’m just spit balling here; but from your description, your ignition switch might functioning normally. Only if you *never* get any response from your starter or its solenoid would I condemn the ignition switch. And that includes having to jiggle the key in the crank position for it start. It’s possible this whole time your problem been the single click issue. Like I said I’m winging here from your description, but it’s always best to go with the least complicated fix. Your remarks after invoking Jesus is what put he on to this, go with Him.
Sorry not a mechanic just trying to understand my problem. So why I turn my lights fan and wipers on and it bogs down when attempting to crank (single click) then it’s likely the starter is bad ?
That means your problem is in the secondary, not in the primary, what this video addresses. Check for loose battery cables. If you know how to do a voltage drop test, that will find the culprit. If not, watch all my videos dealing with starters, there’s one specifically dealing With voltage drops.
Have a 85 dodge d150 just clicks once, when i turn key to on position and hook remote starter switch to s terminal of starter and positive battery cable and press remote switch it fires right up
Your remote start is bypassing all the primary wiring so it cranks now, no surprise there. You have the single click issue that’s ruined the day of so many people. But do what the video recommends, you won’t be one of them anymore. Remove the wire at the s terminal on the stater and wire it to a sw3 or an appropriate (relay) as in the video. Screen capture the schematic and follow it. Oh yeah, tell the parts guy you want a starter relay for a 1980 Ford truck. If you want to see what’s causing your issue with your own eyes, do this; just like you did above, do the same thing again, but this time hold a test light or a volt meter at the s terminal when someone else turns the key and note the voltage or brightness of the light when it cranks. Forcing only a click this time, do the same with a meter or a test light, but minus the remote start. When only it clicks, you’ll see a major voltage drop if you use a meter, or the bulb of your test light will barely glow.
Im having the single click problem on a motorcycle, '82 xs400. My solenoid does nothing when i bridge the poles (no sparks). Should i replace that solenoid ?
I looked it up, this motorcycle doesn’t have a starter, it has a kick start. So the relay you’re referring to doesn’t have anything to do with the information in this video. Sorry man, can’t help you. Your problem in the ignition system, not the cranking system.
So do this with the car running? I just changed me master cylinder and getting a soft pedal because I didn't bench bleed. This method gets all the air out of the master without bench bleeding?
Yes with the car running, you want the booster helping, and Use your hand on the brake pedal not your foot. Also and make only about 1/2 to 3/4 pushes of the pedal. If you can have another person watch to bottle for when the air bubbles stop.
@@apolouo thanks for your service, boss. I was with the 101st in Afghanistan. Ran into a few 82nd guys; they were solid dudes. They were cycling out of the country while we were cycling in at the start of our deployment. One of the 82nd dudes had taken a 7.62 to the helmet a few months prior and they were all laughing about it. My kind of people 💪🏻
Yeah, most likely you’re right. There’s a repair kit on the market, it either sold under the title Mitsubishi or Suzuki - cranking (starting) fix problem. Or something similar to that. RU-vid has some stuff on it. It’s an all-in-one kit. It has everything you need, including instructions. It’s cheap around $20, as I recall.
Absolutely you are the auto electrical guru of RU-vid !! And a most patient man, willing to respond to so many questions, some already answered in the video. Kudos to you. I believe after watching, and reading all the comments, I can fix my 98 E350 V10 SuperBeast tomorrow. New starter, jumped the relay across the big posts. Click. Tomorrow I will jump the hot to the smaller post and probably have to replace the relay. All wires far as the eye can see are cleaned and tight. I will seek a Ford one click video in your lineup tonight if you have one. Thanks for being the most informative person I’ve seen on here, and also the most patient and willing to help. God bless
Answer a question for me. When you say you jumped “the big posts,” of the sw3 (relay) and just got a click, were you using a jumper cables or a piece piece of a wire or accomplished this?
2012 mustang gt doesn’t crank but has a click near the starter area …….. keep trying or maybe wait a hour or so it cranks ….. I may drive it for a long period of time shut it off doesn’t crank again, I changed out the relay and neutral safety switch and battery .
In this scenario, I’d start first with testing the terminal at your relay (the sw3), with a test light or multimeter. You want to determine if voltage is getting there while you’re having the no crank issue. Never just assume that it is. When you’re having the problem: 1) If there’s no voltage getting there at an attempt at cranking, then the problem is back in your primary, could even be the ignition switch. But don’t miss a faulty connection in the terminal right there at the sw 3. 2) If voltage is getting there at starter every time you attempt to crank it, and the noise is coming from the starter, then it’s probably bad. But many been fooled hearing a click and assuming it’s coming from the starter. Other components make noise during cranking you never hear because the starter engaging drowned them out. Don’t make the novice mistake of not checking if primary voltage is actually getting to the relay terminal. It’s the first step in troubleshooting this issue.
his is by far the best test and Step by step instructions I have ever seen. These type video's are what helps all he young mechanics that do not have years of seeing it before under the belt.
Great video! I watch your video and I am able to fix the click and no start issue for my generator! It was just a bad positive cable to the battery, easy like that! So I come back to leave a comment and a like!
Yeah, I assuming you’re saying the cause was a loose battery cable. That would have been a complete voltage drop between the cable and the battery post. That’s how you find those. Thanks for the post.
Wow im grateful i came across this video, someone has a 2008 Ford Expedition the starter was replaced 3 months ago and its making one click, but before that i didn't know the owner replaced the starter so when i came to check it out i saw the battery termianls were corroded so i cleaned them off jumped the truck but the starter made the one click noise. I will definitely check the ground cables and connections if i didn't see this video i was gonna take the starter out and bench test it to see if it was defective 😂😂
This video really doesn’t translate well to Fords, so it’s possible the starter could be bad. But I’d make sure the SW3 (starter relay) has a good ground or that it’s what’s bad.
I think this is very good video and one of the best, I'm watching this while trying to do figure out an intermittent starting issue of my Peterbilt where I just get one click and of course no start. I've also noticed that when ever I put load on the system by turning headlights on for example the voltage drops. I'll try tomorrow again having watched this informative video. Thanks for uploading.
If your voltage is dumping on starter demand, or during a similar load, you most likely have a voltage drop, and not the main issue this video address. Interestingly though, voltage drops can mimic the single click problem. And if you don’t understand the difference here, you can misinterpret the clunk sound of a lose cable as the single click sound. Do this, if you have a volt meter, check the voltage drop between the *battery terminals and the battery posts* during cranking. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, one lead of a volt meter goes to the battery post and the other leads goes to the battery terminal - less than an inch away from the other lead. Any reading more than .5 of a volt is too high, and any reading of - .5 volts or less, only means you’ve got the leads wrong. If you brooch the .5 volts, your problem lies in that connection. It’s important to remember this test is always performed while cranking. There are many videos on RU-vid demonstrating how to perform voltage drop tests. I would suggest looking into those. Post back if you get stuck.
Hard start relays, what I call a “Bosch 30/87 relays.” If those come with wires already installed, typically that’s 12 gauge wiring not 10, and 12 gauge is want you’re trying to stay away from. But you have the right idea.
i bought a S13 Vert that was manual swapped, i ended up finding large amounts of rust on the chassis so i ended up buying a shell and swapping everything over. this includes engine transmission driveshaft differential ecu ETC. Now my issue is that when i try to start the car nothing but a click happens i thought it was a bad starter or battery but it isnt that so im hoping its this. ive jumped the starter numerous times to no avail.
Check the voltage at a battery *post* not the terminal when this happens. If it falls below 10.5 volts you have a bad or under charged battery. If it essentially stays at or about the surface change voltage say 12.5 or up during a crank attempt, make sure neither of the battery cable terminals are lose at the battery.
@@apolouo I have a kia sorento 2016 with a no start issue any ideas on checking the Ground?/power wiring ( or where) before i remove the intake to get to the starter/ thanks in advance
I like the format of this video better than some guy talking about the starter on his car which might be totally different than my problem especially since my problem is on a boat, (lol) and you were directly addressing my problem (the click,no start) . You saved me from going even deeper into a rabbit hole of blaming after market manufactures and trying to find mechanical solutions (shims , reshaping housing, replacing flywheel ect.) I was used to the Ford type starters where if it spun fast enough it would engage, so I only checked voltage drop in the heavy wire, my switch wire was down to 6 volts and it was still starting the engine every 3rd or 4th try.So after all this parts changing a 4 ft wire was all I needed to keep my 45 year old boat running. THANK YOU
I like it when I help out a boat guy. One of the all around best mechanic I worked with, started out as boat mechanic. I’ve see this problem brought to me by more than one frustrated customer; tired of spending money and getting the same result, still the same single click. With a quick test light test at the primary wire on solenoid, the light barely glowed when the solenoid clicks. *But it did glow some! That always solved the problem for me.* It was smart to do a voltage drop test on the primary wire, most don’t think of that. Nor was it suggested in this video. But that voltage drop, once enough to produce a click at the solenoid, can, with an experienced eye, also be picked off with a test light. Thanks for the post. xMech
Very informative. I have a '84 S-10 V6 with this problem. The battery cables are previously hacked so I will replace anyway. But like a dummy I listened to a ' knows enough to be dangerous ' neighbor and wasted over $20 on an ignition switch to no avail. And I'd already seen this video multiple times! I just spent $11 on a universal Ford starter relay/solenoid on Amz and will give this a try finally. lol. To be clear the engine starts fine when I attach a remote starter switch to the starter itself.
To help you and your neighbor out. If you would have attached a test light to the ignition sw. terminal on the solenoid. You would have seen the light illuminate on crank - but probably appear dim. That would have told you the ignition sw. was operating correctly. You’re so close to eliminating your problem.
Hello, I have a tractor that has stopped starting on me. For awhile I would turn the key, let the glow plugs warm, then turn the ignition over to get a single click. I'd then turn it off and turn it over again and get another single click. Usually the third time turning the ignition over it'd start. Now however, I get nothing when I turn it over. It just turns over and nothing clicks or engages. The battery is good and I've even tried to jump the battery off just to verify it wasn't the battery (dash also lights up and lights will turn on). Any thoughts and advice is appreciated. Thanks!
Sure I have thoughts… ‘I get nothing when I turn it over. It just turns over and nothing clicks or engages.’ E, turning over, isn’t turning the key, it’s when the engine actually cranks. I’d be glad to help you with you tractor, but first I need you to let me know something. At 2:24 seconds into this video, I show how jumping the solenoid with a different 12 volt source; one other than the original primary, is a test. Well, if you can easily get to your starter, perform this test and let me know if the problem goes away. Glow plugs off and in neutral. Do this test and let me know what happens. xMech
this video has information i have not seen before! thank you! but is this ONLY for a single click? i’m having an issue with my 2021 WRX STi where when i push in the clutch and push start, the car clicks loudly then about 2 seconds later it clicks again. almost like the starter is engaging then disengaging. i can feel the click so it has to be something mechanical, right? replaced the battery and it has even less idle voltage than my old one! (car powered on, engine off) the old battery had on average 12.6v. when i tried to crank it went as low as 11.6v. new battery is at around 11.8v and attempting to crank lowers to 11.2v. SOMETIMES it will reach 12.6-12.8 idling. (again car powered on, engine off bc it doesn’t even get a chance to turn over) no warnings whatsoever. i had driven it the same morning it went out! it was raining heavily, but i have plastic shielding underneath my car to minimize moisture getting inside the bay. i will start by checking fuses and connections to ensure it’s not a power issue.
First off, you have some terms wrong: Battery voltage when engine, key off, not running is called *Battery Surface charge.* Voltage while idling is alternator output, and it goes up with RPMs. Should be around 13.7 - 14 volts @ 2500 RPMs. Surface charge should always be above 12.6 - 12.7ish. Lower then this with a new battery, most likely indicates a charging problem. Surface charge check *should always be checked at the battery posts, not the cables terminals* there could be a voltage drop between them. Voltage while cranking is called *Starter demand* voltage, and it should never fall below 10.5. This too should always be checked at the battery posts, not the cable terminals. You said your battery voltage didn’t drop below around 11 at starter demand, which is ok if it actually cranked. First thing I would do on this one is: check for any voltage drops between the battery posts and the cable terminals, and everywhere else in the secondary. Over .5 volts you’ve found your problem. There’s plenty of RU-vid stuff on finding voltage drops. Fuses cause opens, your problem isn’t an open! Research how to do a voltage drop test, and get back to me - if that doesn’t solve your issue. Also, this is a pretty late model vehicle. There could be some atypical component in the cranking system, causing the issue. That would be a one off variable though.
sir I have the same problem though mine will start with 1 click then other time 3 to 4 clicks .... when it's cracking it directly through... not weak but strong . thank u for your video hope you can add some tips.
Sorry I missed this post for a few days. Mitsubishi and Isuzu are similar, and Isuzu is known to have this issue. So much so, there’s an aftermarket kit to fix Isuzus cranking issue. It’s called something like the Isuzu starter fix kit. It comes with instructions too. It’s cheep, I think $20-25. I think there’s a RU-vid on this kit. search for that video, it will explain a lot.
Hi, thanks for the video. I'm new to working on cars and trying to diagnose the click problem on an 02 TJ. I'm getting the single click, but in addition it shorts out the power to the jeep and I have to remove the negative battery lead and put it back on to get power back. I've got new battery cables coming this weekend to start there, but would the starter/solenoid be something that would short out the power? Thanks!
On starter demand, in other words, trying to crank the thing. If you’re losing all power to everything (that’s not want’s commonly referred to as a short.) Rather, it’s probably a major voltage dump somewhere, maybe your battery is toast, or you have a high voltage drop at a *cable* ends. Either way, you have a battery coming. If that doesn’t fix it, post back. BTW, make sure the battery terminals are clean and properly tightened, when replacing the battery. If it was just the solenoid causing the issue, you wouldn’t lose all power to the rest of the system. Cranking system 101. Thanks for the post.
OKAY, all. The solenoid, has two very essential duties. 1) To engage the starter gear, to the 'flywheel' of any engine. 2) To 'switch' off the main battery cable power, WHEN ENGINE STARTS. THERE IS A LARGE 'contactor' on the cable end of the solenoid. Probably two large copper rings; one on the GROUNDED side of the solenoid housing (cable end) and another on the solenoid 'pin' which is driven into the coil, upon the initial key turn, to switch on. Over time and use, these two high-amperage 'contacts' become corroded/oxided/ etc. This, will not fully 'engage' the solenoid pin, moving the starter gear onto the flywheel. CLEAN THESE CONTACTS........VERY SHINY, whatever metal they're made of. Good luck, ALL...
Hummm, if you supply a different 12 volt source, other than the primary wiring to the solenoid (like I do in the video) and the thing cranks, the problem isn’t the solenoid, silly.
Well, if your vehicle actually had this issue, this fix would have fixed it. It’s obviously you didn’t perform the test I suggested, or didn’t understand it. It’s possible you have a bad solenoid. Send me a post with what’s happening, and I’ll walk you through some stuff.
This isn’t a repair shop, it’s a DYI form. Not saying I haven’t repaired many early air cools, in a Porsche/VW shop, with this fix, because I have. It was SOP there. Then while working at Goodyear, I probably installed an SW3 on three or four customers vehicles, to my recollection these were all vintage vehicles. William, I have to tell you, logical fallacies annoy me, and you went to a biggie; appealing to your authority. That’s not an argument, you could suck as a mechanic. Lord knows, I’ve seen my fill of them. But I’ll take the bait. Five years into my career, as the day mechanic for three UPS fleets, that’s about 8000 cranks a day. There’s nothing I haven’t seen. And the fact is, all non-Ford UPS trucks are wired with an SW3 from the factory. All the homework has been done for you, I’ve done all the tests, all the voltage drops. The single click problem, is in the primary. But in a shop environment, hanging another relay on the fender or something, could be a tough sale. But it sure is an inexpensive way, to fix the crap out of the problem. But go ahead, knock yourself out -troubleshooting exactly, which section of wire from the battery to the Solenoid is the problem. More often than not, on early vehicles, it’s that whole line. Tip: a simple voltage drop test from the positive post to the primary terminal of the solenoid, is all you need to do to figure this out. Good luck, xMech
Great video! Thank you for the great content! I'm having this issue but solves when passing current from another STARTED car, my car then cranks works at first key turn, but has to be on ~14V. Already checked with a new battery, but got the same single solid click with the same intensity as with my battery. Not sure how to run the test you show in the video since my solenoid has 2 small wires instead of a control post.. Are those small wires 12V and ground?
Now I'm royally confused. I finally tried starting with my headlights on. Click and the lights went dim. New battery, new 2/0 battery cables, double grounds and clean tight connections......6 volt system 1954 Pontiac.
If you end up not being able to fix the problem with just changing a wire or two, and decide to stick a relay on it. If you want a more classic look, go with an early horn relay. I had a customer once with a classic car and didn’t like the look of a ford solenoid (Sw3). But accepted the look of an early relay. If My memory serves me, it was one from an early Nova; they are made out of metal, and also will carry the load. Anyway, good luck.
Well, the primary starts at the battery; then maybe a fusible link - ignition switch - neutral safety switch - then to the solenoid. Where do you start? And it’s a much harder job going into the looms and changing wires, than most people would expect.
