I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, you saved me lots of grieves, money, and frustration. I bridged the terminal it started right up. thank you thank you sir
This did start the truck for me, preventing a ride in a tow truck, but it did have me ride in an ambulance. A word of caution to those who try this, don't stand between 2 vehicles doing this. I stood in front of my truck, behind another car in the parking lot, to keep my face away from the sparks. When it started, it jumped forward, pinning me. I don't blame the video poster at all for this, but wanted to share this as a warning to others. Thankfully I'm all good, with no injuries other than some bruising.
@23redwings23 my truck was in park when I did it. It didn't move forward a ton, but maybe a couple of inches. Enough to pin me though. I'm glad your situation wasn't any worse.
This was a very helpful video. Thanks for sharing. For people trouble shooting here, check for corrosion in your wiring. Make sure you have good contact between the battery and solenoid. Make sure your battery connectors do not have corrosion. Make sure you have a good ground contact to the chassis, too. There is a negative (black) wire that goes from the negative terminal of the battery to the chassis. Make sure it is not corroded. Also, make sure your relays and fuses are not corroded and are making good contact. Just taking them out and putting them back in should fix any corrosion issues, but I would clean the terminals if you see corrosion on them.
I just want to say thank you!!! I’ve been trying to figure this no start issue for three days and this was my issue. The screwdriver started it right up! Sucks I already replaced the starter but I guess on a 25 year old truck it can’t hurt to replace it anyway! Thank you!!!!!!!!
Sometimes a no sound Dead Silence when trying to start the vehicle turns out to be a faulty neutral safety switch, that's happened to me on the few occasions.
didnt work in my case , it did the same thing as if i turned the key , clicks and everything goes dead , all the dash lights , everything , its driving me nuts
@@timgreen2426 replaced the terminals and cables , replaced the starter for the 3rd time and still does the same , then i replaced the solenoid in the drivers fender well and it cranked but the starter drags , no matter what i do it burns the starter out before i can go 50 feet , there is no power to the starter leads when the key is in the on position which means that rules out any issue with the switch or solenoid , it just wont dis-engage from the flywheel , after burning out 3 brand new starters this way i sold the truck , i don't have time to deal with this weird crap
@@TheRandomMechanic well do NOT buy a Chevy...the weird bs from a chevy makes a ford look like finger painting in comparison!!!! I got a Chevy & I rue the day!!
@@timgreen2426 the wife has a chevy so i completely understand where your coming from , what on earth were they thinking ? if you are going to get a chevy buy one from 1975 or older , if you are going to buy a ford do yourself a favor and DON"T
I've done this repair a few times on various cars there are two things to keep in mind. The first is that the two spuds are copper (sometimes they have a silver-grey coating but they are copper studs) and they can be twisted off very easily, use no more than 60 inch-pounds of torque. Second, the truck in the video has only a few wires going to it, on a Lincoln or later model cars there will be more, not only do you have to make sure that wires from stud (A go bake on stud (A you also must carefully note the order and angular alignment and put them back in exactly the same way. If you put them back sloppily and try to make them seat by torquing the nut you will twist the stud off.
So I'm assuming if I do this I got the Sparks and everything but no start. Would that indicate my starter is bad? All I get is a clunk from where the starter relay is when I try to start it.
I have a question on my 98 f150. I'm getting 11.5v to the starter solenoid. When I turn the key or bridge the solenoid. It clicks 1 time then I lose all power to the vehicle, until I disconnect the battery. Then the lights,radio, ac everything starts to work again. But the truck never even try's to turn over. I know power is getting to the starter. I can feel it trying to engage by touch, with the 1 click. Checked all cables and fuses. New battery,starter,alternator, and solenoid
So im lost with my 82 5.0.. Intermittently I get a slow almost weak pathetic crank. Other times fires up within a fraction of a millisecond. Not sure I'm inbetween the starter. But Im Sure it could also be starter relay. Thoughts ? *battery is healthy 12.6+v
Thank you I got it started.... if the alternator or starter are BAD will it still work by bridge the starer solenid terminals ? after I got it started I installed the new starter solenoid but still no cranks. that will suck if i need both alternator and starter -_- Thank you got home :)
The alternator charges the battery and supplies electrical energy to the car while running. If the alternator is bad, it won;t be charging the battery properly and could create starting issues. The starter is directly linked to the starter solenoid, so if that is on its way out, the car would have no or slow cranking. Good luck!
Hello so i got a 1990 f150 xlt lariat and i changed the battery and changed the relay key wont turn over the truck from the switch any ideas would help me out.
Great video only other piece of advice for people watching is to take a jumper cable from the positive post of battery and put power to the S lead (top wire that you see him pull off) and this will simulate signal from the ignition switch. If you just screw driver across the leads this is not proving that you are getting signal from the ignition switch....if you do not check to see if your getting signal to this S lead when you are trying to start the vehicle then your problem could possibly be faulty ignition switch in the column or failed clutch/neutral safety switch. Hope this helps
So I'm having no crank on my foxbody jumped from the positive post to the S post and it starts my motor could it still be the relay? New Ignition switch didn't help nor did trying and gears (automatic)
What if h do this but it just sparks and won’t crank won’t start at all and u have replaced this part and started it by bridge 3 times then back to just sparks
Before jumping those posts, be careful to be sure it is out of gear if you have a manual transmission, and remember it will crank but not start if you don't have the key in the run position
Ha I knew about how your suppose to leave the key in the run position, and I still spent about 15min wondering why it wouldn't crank.. But yur comment made me double check it.. 👌Thanks haha
Thanks for sharing that video I was just at a gas station and an F-150 was stranded there look pretty stressed out I started helping him to troubleshoot the issue I looked up the vehicle and the issue that is seen to be having and your video popped up after about the dude was there like 30 45 minutes came across your video started like a champ
@elsosa9556 it turned out to be my starter solenoid wire had corroded and come off completely. I got a copper lug from O'Reilly's and crimped it to the wire and also soldered it then used heat shrink tubing to seal the connection and put some dielectric grease on all connection points to the starter. It's now better than when it came from the factory.
I have 2001 f250 no start from.key..battery is new good connections. Tried jumping relay on fender it sparks a little but nothing. If I go under the truck key on and use a wire to jump there it starts right up and runs. Dont see any blown fuses ir cut wire? Ideas
When I turn my key to try and start the engine, it will click and shut off my electronics and it'll stay off for a few minutes with no reaction if I try to turn the key fully again. Everything will stay off until a few minutes pass and I'll try again and then it'll click once and stay unresponsive again. If anyone can please help me. Thank you
Hey i hope u can help me i own a 89. f150 4.9l it keeps burning up the starter solenoid i will buy it brand new n week or two later it stop works do you have any idea what can cause that
@@GettinJunkDone fuses are all good. Replaced the 60amp ignition fuse just in case. Took the panel off under the steering column and theres a plug in connector. I wiggled it and now itll crank with the key, then it cranked by itself in the off position without a key, I had to jump out and pull off the the battery cables. I'm guessing ignition control module or connector now. Edit: oh and still didn't fire
You're onto something now. Use a voltmeter to see if the solenoid gets power when the connector is wiggled. I would definitely focus my efforts there at this point.
@@GettinJunkDone in case anyone in the future is needing some answers, after countless hours of chasing grounds and throwing parts at it. Autozone sold me a bad solenoid. Put the old one back in, fired right up. They definitely will get a bad Yelp review for this visit. /s
If the solenoid clicks when you jump the terminals with a screwdriver or whatever its an internal problem. My 86 F-250 does the same thing when it sits for extended times. I just sit there and keep clicking it eventually it will fire off. If i drive it more frequently the problem goes away. So keep it in mind if it clicks dont be deterred keep trying!
So if I changed a solenoid on a friend's truck and when I went to start it, it worked but the battery light is on and wasn't on before I realized the Solenoid what could be my problem
This is an excellent video. I was hearing a click about half the time, so the solenoid wasn't completely dead, but it wasn't closing the circuit. My truck starts fine now. The job took me about 30 minutes
If you put the screwdriver between the two large posts on the relay, and you get nothing... Not even the slightest spark... What is likely the problem? (When I turn the key, the solenoid clicks, but nothing from the starter. Then I bridge the posts on the solenoid, to bypass it completely, and I don't even get as much as a spark between the screwdriver and posts.)
Hey can you guys help me with my Ford it's a 1993 XLT 4x4 7.3 It's starts there's power we just have to start it from the solenoid on the fender Can you help me
michael anderson key has to be turned on enough to power accessories (dash, radio etc) then bridge those two posts, truck will start. Make sure to be in park or neutral.
Hey Everyone, thanks for watching. Be sure to check out what's happening with this truck nowadays. I'm completely rebuilding it from the ground up. You can follow this link for the playlist. Thanks! ru-vid.com/group/PLHRSPnh4bEkx3DBhC0MNVElRx1hxOu952
I like the vid. I do believe part of the info is incorrect unfortunately. Because my old solenoid, as well as the brand new one I just put on, both will still jump the car started. So I do t think it’s accurate to say if it jumps off the solenoid it’s a bad solenoid because my brand new solenoid still does it
What if you don't get any sparks or anything when touching both terminals with the screwdriver? When I try and start my 95 bronco xlt all I hear is one click by the battery, but won't start??
I'm not sure exactly what you are asking. Did you have the ignition on when you placed the screwdriver on the relay? And that's when you hear a click and the truck wouldn't start? If you did all that and the truck still wouldn't start, I would check your connections, battery, and the starter itself next.
Having same problem on my excursion. I get sparks and clicks. I just changed out my starter but still no crank. Possible bad wire between solenoid and starter? Or could their be another issue I should look at
My 98 expedition turns a half way an stops, sounds like the motor is about to lock up. After a couple of tries it fire's up. Wondering if that could be the starter..
My F-100 did nothing after driving fine, so I did the "Solanoid Bypass" and it fired right up. So I have a bad Solanoid and not a bad Neutral Safety Switch?
Thank you. I have a 1991 Ford Jamboree with this issue and I'm learning how to fix things myself. Your video is hands down the best as far as explaining and showing without a lot of fluff thrown in! Greatly appreciated!!
@@GettinJunkDone you are more than welcome. Turns out it's the ignition (fingers crossed). Changed starter first - didn't work. Changed solenoid - still didn't work. Now I'm told it should be ignition.
CRAZY!!!!! I did what you explained and this is what happened to me. It was very late at night almost morning. I was parked in front of the house. Jump it and it lunged and knocked me to the ground. I hit my head on the pavement and was out cold. I don’t know how long I laid there but when I came to I was under the running car. I crawled out got up looked around to see if anyone had seen what had happened. No one was up. So I got in and drove away. I never thought this had ever happened to anyone else until I read the comments. This HELPED ME OUT & KNOCKED ME OUT THE SAME TIME. thank you for helping!!!
My car started last night then this morning the cable got hot and melted the connecting clamp. I replaced the connecting clamp. And it got hot again. Solenoid?
This happen just yesterday on my Ford Ranger 1995. Have to wait until Monday to get the part. Thx for the vid Update, hope someone can help me. We bought an aftermarker one and there was no way we could get it to work. Besides the fact that I can turn my truck on with the screwdriver I have blown the fuse of the starter relay, I don't know if the fuse went off by the failure of the relay or something else
What would be the problem if you turn the key in you hear the starter relay Make a clicking noise turn the key off turn it forward again makes a clicking noise every once in a while it will start
I have a 1989 Lincoln that hasn't started in months I put in a new battery everything works lights and all window to but what I put the key in and try to turn the ignition I get nothing the headlights doesn't even them and I tried your trick with the solenoid and nothing happened what could it be bad solenoid or a bad starter or both please help
@@GettinJunkDone I tried your trip again and yes it did work with the gear shift in park and neutral the trick was I had to turn the ignition switch to run then use the screwdriver so which is bad the starter or the solenoid??
i have the same issue...i have to randomly jump the terminals on the solenoid to start van...i replaced the solenoid but still have the same problem...dash lights...no click....sometimesstarts and sometimes need to jump...any thoughts!? ground issue? but where if it is ground issue
SuperJlonergan you might wanna test the ground. Run a seperare ground to one of the bolts that hold the starter relay to.the fender well (on ford relays like shown here)
Then your next step would be test your fusable links. The one for your alternator could be bad! Google testing starter relay and fusable links and check your relay the ground and can also test the fusable links while.at it. Get an el cheap mutli meter. Also make sure your cables are in good condition to your battery and such.
My truck is broken down @ work I was going to replace the starter but now I think this is my problem co click nothing same as you diagnosis Thanks, Man!!.
I have the same setup on my '01 7.3L F250. Looks like a mouse chewed the wire connecting ignition to the small S-post on top, we attempted re-wiring and the truck started a couple times but is back to no crank no start. My question is, could bridging a connection with a screwdriver between the bottom 2 terminals with NO start indicate that the solenoid is fine, but the wiring from the ignition is bad? Also, will bridging a connection from S-post to one of the lower terminals start the truck? If so does it matter which of the lower terminals? Thank you!
My 79 won't do anything if I try to jump the solenoid and it started twice but starter was staying on and wires was smoking.last time it started and shut off just fine idk what's wrong
I need to replace the solenoid on my restored ‘68 Mustang, but I have a question - do you need to disconnect any cables from the battery before working on the solenoid? A friend said the negative cable needs to come off the battery so I’m a bit hesitant to work on the solenoid until I know for sure what needs to be disconnected first! Thanks!
Okay kids, I've got a used '89 Ford Bronco I'm slowly, part-by-part restoring. It has a beast of an engine for a short-body F150, namely a 5.8L V8. The sheer size of the engine causes problems with starting because all the stock (and aftermarket) external parts are designed for a smaller block. Solenoid, starter, battery; I call these the 'ignition trifecta'. They regularly burn out in that order. I always carry an electrical tester in the truck because of it. I also carry an extra solenoid (relay) with my tool kit in the back, because that is the most likely part to go out first. In a smaller vehicle, say a 4 cylinder, a bad solenoid will make a clicking noise when you turn the key. Ratta-tatta-tat. Check the battery first, then try the screwdriver trick as above. With a big engine, however, the bad solenoid will only click on the first or maybe second try. After that it will be dead. So you have to listen for it. As mentioned above, this can be complicated by accessories, like alarms and such. As a rule, the more things attached to the relay, the more commonly it will blow out, so disconnect or reroute anything non-essential, like the alarm. Accessories can cause it to appear that your battery is dead when it is not (hence the electrical tester). If the battery is good, but you have no power, it's probably the relay. If you have power and it won't crank, but you hear a clicking noise, it's definitely the relay. If power is good and relay is good but it won't turn over, it's likely either your starter or you fuel pump. A good fuel pump will make a whirring noise when you turn the key to 'run'. Bad pump, you will have power, no clicking, plenty of cranking but no whir and no start. A bad starter will simply produce no cranking, or cranking at a highly reduced rate, not enough to fire and turn it over. (To clarify, 'cranking' is what your engine does on starting under electrical power only, 'turnover' is when the fuel system takes over and becomes self-sustaining.) So, generally: No power=bad battery Power+clicking-cranking=bad solenoid Power-clicking+cranking-turnover=bad fuel pump Power-clicking-cranking=bad starter Sounds confusing, but it's really not...
@@GettinJunkDone Yeah, it's a real labor of love, with all the joy and pride and adoration and worry and angst and frustration that goes with being married to a classic car. I can't afford to keep fixing it all the time and I can't afford not to. Curiously, I get offers for it regularly. Total strangers keep knocking on my door to ask about it. I just say "You don't know what you're asking. It's not for sale. If it was, it would have a For Sale sign on it. Now get off my lawn and go have a nice day." They always go away disappointed, because they were imagining that they were gonna come up on a truck with $60k potential for around $5k. Tell you a story: I wouldn't sell her for twice that, that's my baby. Besides, it was a birthday gift from my mother, after my step-dad passed away. He named it 'Ze Tank'. She gave his 69 Ranchero to my nephew, figuring that maybe he and his own stepfather could do a little male-bonding while working on it. I heard they couldn't do much with it in the end, probably because they didn't know the way my step-dad thought. He wasn't a mechanic, he was actually an aerospace engineer. He did so many modifications to both trucks, it's often hard to tell where the Ford factory ended and his own mind began. Myself? I bond with my dead step-dad every time I look at it. What's that rattling? Ah shit, he didn't put the screw-clips back on the door panel (probably because he was gonna have a look at the door-lock actuator to figure out why it stops working in the heat of summer). I hear his voice when I look at a bolt or open the hood, "that's not 5/8, son, that's 9/16," or "alternator's fine, I think, just change the brushes and test the voltage regulator," and more recently "she sounds a bit rough on the throttle, check your fluids lately?" Yes, ghost step-dad... And ah shit, there it is! I need to change the oil, clean and gap the plugs, adjust the idle and check the timing. Ze Tank's been idling real low lately and isn't torquing like she should. I've been wondering too much about the trans, intake and exhaust. "Start with the simple stuff and keep it simple," that's what he would say. I should probably see about reigning in the throttle cable a notch, too and then move on to the big stuff. Maybe me and Ze Tank should start our own RU-vid channel? Ya think? On a side note: Standard brand solenoids are cheaper, but they come with a lifetime warranty. The folks at O'Reilly love to see me, because my battery and starter are under warranty, too, and guaranteed by my Bronco to give out before said warranties expire. Over the course of a year I walk out of there with at least $180 worth of free replacement parts, and I've become really good at knowing what the problem is by the sound of it...
JK, of course I know what's wrong with the CB: I can't afford a $60 antenna cable just to cuss at truck drivers and I can't find one at the swap meet, either...
Keeping in mind that I want to fill it with pro-stock parts, but can't afford to, as the after-market parts burn out so fast I can barely get them for free. Powermaster makes an alternator that supplies twice the amps of the F150-stock unit (140a vs. 70a) but costs twice as much. I also worry that upgrading the power unit to such could more quickly degrade other parts abruptly by maximizing their potential. I see tiny metal shavings in my oil pan. Shit, I should probably take that off too, scrape it, scour it and replace the gasket! I am such a bad truck owner. No wonder the damn thing leaks! Then there's the drive-belt, seat-belt cover, seat covers, power-steering pump, radios, suspension (shocks and struts required, check leaf-springs), fuel rail, wiring, I dare not turn on the A/C, wheel bearings are frying out all around, cracked windshield,, no headliner, upholstery is shot. The Master cylinder is going out, the brakes work good, but they hiss at me like a southern snake. Body. paint, carpet, Hah, all this truck needs is a decent lube job! We'll see about that on Friday. I'll do it myself. Crawl in there and shove a cylinder of grease up her underside...
I have a question i recently changed my fuel system on my 92 mustang gt and now my car don't wanna start it cranks but it wont start any suggestions will be highly appreciated i think it might be the ignition module tfi.
If it can start with the screw driver, than that means the solenoid is bad and needs to be replaced. Using the screwdriver technique allows it to be bypassed allowing to start without it.
Dude thank you so much, I have an f150 that’s been sitting for years and this did the trick! Thanks man.. now for the belt that I discovered is ripped up once it finally started lol.
Ha! You saved the day .. been trying to tap the starter , get it in park ( light for dash showing what gear your in only showed in reverse, towed it to unlock the gear etc. Watched your video and there was no sparks at first . Then I tapped it and cleaned the right plug and then sparked , jumped in and it started right up! Yay saves me 165 to get it towed . Thank you so much 🙏
Albert Gallagher did you ever find out what it was? I’m getting the same thing one click and I’m stranded lol and no crank when I connect the terminals
