have an 84' 1/2 ton straight 6 automatic that starts sometimes but more often doesn't. you can hear a click at the starter relay(replaced that) when you turn the key to ignition and rarely it will start. i can turn the ignition to run and jump the terminals on the starter to start it. any ideas?
swami2806
05-03-2006, 07:30 PM
Probably the solonoid on the starter. Remove your starter and have it bench tested.
Dodgevanman
05-03-2006, 09:28 PM
Yes have the starter tested and it could be your ignition switch as well.
swami2806
05-04-2006, 07:52 AM
doh doh DOH! I HATE when I overlook the basics. Hope you didn't go through the hassle of pulling it yet. First check your starter wires. There is a cross member for the frame near these wires and sometimes the wires will rub against it wearing away the insulation. This causes your load to go to the frame rather than to turn the starter. If the wire/s are rubbed through, clean the immediate area and wrap with electrical tape. Then go to NAPA and get a length of plastic wire protector and put it around the wire/s. If the wires look okay then yank the starter, if ya ain't already done it. Sorry 'bout that!
aj6stringer
05-10-2006, 11:25 AM
ah yes!! bad solonoid. replaced starter & selonoid. autozone looked at me like i was asking the impossible,"solonoid?, don't stock it"! and the starter didn't come with one. his recommendation........try somewhere else! so i did. napa came thru, starter & solonoid 40 bucks.
bherder
05-10-2006, 11:35 PM
ah yes!! bad solonoid. replaced starter & selonoid. autozone looked at me like i was asking the impossible,"solonoid?, don't stock it"! and the starter didn't come with one. his recommendation........try somewhere else! so i did. napa came thru, starter & solonoid 40 bucks.
Yeah, it always pays to go somewhere that has countermen who look like they've been there since Christ was a private. It takes a few rounds but you'll soon know who KNOWS their stuff, and who is a moron. (You'll know the REALLY good guys who can, after you tell them what you want, don't need to punch up the info on a computer, but can just walk back to the shelf and grab the part.. ;) ) Worth their weight in gold!
My personal 'general rule of thumb'.... If there are chicks behind the counter... Go somewhere else. If the guy behind the counter looks/acts like he was too stupid to even work at Taco Bell .... Go somewhere else.
If you look behind the store where the employees park... And you see lowered Honda Civic's with sewer-pipe mufflers and skate-board wheels... Go somewhere else. 'Trucks' and 'V-8's' are a foreign concept to them.
(If I offeneded anyone, sorry... But it is what it is....) :D
Dodgevanman
05-11-2006, 06:16 AM
You're right!
swami2806
05-11-2006, 07:37 AM
He he he..When I worked for NAPA years ago, when the boss wasn't around, we'd call Auto-Zones, Car Quests, etc., and ask them for things like water pumps for Chevey Corvairs, etc. (They're air-cooled and don't have water pumps).
"Hold on..." [after 3 minutes or so...] "Hello sir? Yes, we have it. It's $23.50 plus core."
"Thanks...I'll be right down." [hang up]
BWWAAAAAA HA HA HA AH!!!
bherder
05-11-2006, 08:15 AM
He he he..When I worked for NAPA years ago, when the boss wasn't around, we'd call Auto-Zones, Car Quests, etc., and ask them for things like water pumps for Chevey Corvairs, etc. (They're air-cooled and don't have water pumps).
"Hold on..." [after 3 minutes or so...] "Hello sir? Yes, we have it. It's $23.50 plus core."
"Thanks...I'll be right down." [hang up]
BWWAAAAAA HA HA HA AH!!!
Oh yeah... :D :D :D
We did the same thing too .... ask for 'muffler bearings' and 'metric cresent wrenchs' (Are you sure it's a metric cresent wrench? I'm working on a VW and it has to be metric... OK, I'll be right there..") My favorite was asking for the 'air tube' for the speedometer of whatever. After the idiot spent 10 minutes looking through catalogs he'd always come back with "Hmmm .... That must be a dealer item only"..... then I'd tell him "I bought one for another rig a couple years ago... Dorman makes them... Look in that catologe"
Heh heh heh ..... Great fun :D
Dodgevanman
05-11-2006, 10:53 AM
You guys are just plain evil. :)
swami2806
05-11-2006, 12:01 PM
Oh yeah... :D :D :D
We did the same thing too .... ask for 'muffler bearings' and 'metric cresent wrenchs' (Are you sure it's a metric cresent wrench? I'm working on a VW and it has to be metric... OK, I'll be right there..") My favorite was asking for the 'air tube' for the speedometer of whatever. After the idiot spent 10 minutes looking through catalogs he'd always come back with "Hmmm .... That must be a dealer item only"..... then I'd tell him "I bought one for another rig a couple years ago... Dorman makes them... Look in that catologe"
Heh heh heh ..... Great fun :D
:D :D :D An air tube for a spedometer. Now that's priceless! I remember thinking I'd call and ask about a left-handed screwdriver because I'm dealing with reverse threads, but even the morons were on to that one! The metric adjustible is good too. One of my co=workers did use the muffler bearing one, but it HAS to be a cone type! Man, he was creative too--he'd come up with spark actuators for distributors, "not the 3-wire one, I need the two wire," a shift relay switch for a seven speed tranny...he was a pro.
bherder
05-11-2006, 06:38 PM
You guys are just plain evil. :)
You mean... What we did was a 'bad thing'? :YO: :D
