starter solenoid problems

[alxzac213]

ok I have a 71 ford f100 with a 429 in it, im having problems with starting it, like if the starter is too weak to turn the engine. im also burning up the solenoid I have already changed it numerous times. Ii have changed the starter and it still cranks low almost as if I had low battery. battery is fully charged, its a 850 cc amps. what do u think I need to do to fix my problem? thanks

[mrollings53]

Clean, and check connections between the battery, solenoid, and starter. Also make sure the ground between the block and the battery is good. You might also need to go to a bigger wire gauge on all of these.

[Nitekruizer]

How easily can you turn your engine if you put a wrench on the crankshaft bolt?

[alxzac213]

I was told that im pushing too much current because of my ground, I have one running from the chasis to the back off block and I had the negative connected to the front of block. what gauge do u recommend?

[alxzac213]

How easily can you turn your engine if you put a wrench on the crankshaft bolt?

it turns normal, just when trying to turn it on sometimes it starts at first tusn of key and other times its heavy

[Nitekruizer]

How easily can you turn your engine if you put a wrench on the crankshaft bolt?

it turns normal, just when trying to turn it on sometimes it starts at first tusn of key and other times its heavy

Good. I was trying to rule out the possibility of the engine being too tight because of an internal problem.

As for your chassis ground, I don't even have one on mine and have never had a problem. I just have the negative battery cable bolted to my engine.
Electrically, there's no such thing as having too big of a ground wire. The starter will only draw as much current as it needs. Your battery cables should be at least #4 gauge. Larger gauge cables are fine.

[sargentrs]

The bad connection will heat up. Try to start it and let it drag. Then carefully touch the various connection ends. The bad point will be hotter than the rest. You can could have a break mid way in the hot/starter cable and never see it but the cable will be hot in that area.

[alxzac213]

The bad connection will heat up. Try to start it and let it drag. Then carefully touch the various connection ends. The bad point will be hotter than the rest. You can could have a break mid way in the hot/starter cable and never see it but the cable will be hot in that area.

thanks I will give it a shot, thanks for the info and merry xmas
thanks again

[aquartlow]

If you find all your cabling and connections are in good shape, your problem may lie within the starter itself. If in need of a new starter, you may want to try one of these,
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Ford-Mini-S ... 5a&vxp=mtr

This light, but powerful little PGMR starter has eliminated my starting issues on my 460 powered Ranchero, no more lagging starter once the engine is hot. I purchased off of Ebay and had it delivered to my door with a 1 year warranty for $49.20. They have these for manual or auto transmission applications, though the one for a manual trans is a bit higher in price. Hopefully this will give you another option if a replacement starter is needed. Good luck. Todd

BTW, here is a pic I found that shows the difference in size/shape of the stock 460 starter I removed compared to the new PGMR starter that was installed.

[wildcard]

Have you had the battery load-tested? I thought I had timing or starter problems when mine would drag before finally starting. Battery showed it was charged according to the voltage gauge. Mechanic checked the battery under load and it showed bad. Put a new one on and haven't had a problem since. Just something else to check.