sellinoid

[tattooman]

My brigs won't start without jumping the sellinoid. I go through this every winter! This past summer, I put in a $35 dollar sellinoid. I cleaned all contact points. After getting it started and things come up to temp, she will start all day long. Leads me to believe moisture is the problem. Any ideas? Stumped!

[racerone3]

your problem is probably not the solenoid. remove the starter wire from the starter. under the ring terminal on the wire you will find another nut (7/16 wrench). carefully SNUG this nut. It goes into a plastic insulator which you will break if you overtighten. reinstall starter wire and give it a try.

grounds.... run a wire from the engine block to the mount of the solenoid, then another from the solenoid to the battery.

if that doesn't fix it, then look at the solenoid...
go to the local NAPA. ask for a solenoid for a early 80's Ford F150. (you may need to replace some of your ring terminals with larger ones) install it with dielectric grease on all connections. also grease the connections at the starter, ignition switch and especially all grounds.

[tattooman]

Thank you! I will open her up tomorrow and get started. ( got to love this site )

[thebuggyman1]

BTW: Dielectric grease is not needed for low voltage, regular grease works just fine. You need the dielectric on hi-voltage because the energy in an arc can ignite petroleum greases.

[tattooman]

One more thing. If a ground or a loose connection is the problem, why does this only happen in the winter?

[racerone3]

copper ring terminals, steel bolts, different expansion rates has always been my theory. same with the stud on the starter which goes through a plastic insulator.

[Bazooo guy]

When the wires and connections are cold they wont conduct as well.
If you have a poor connection or weak wire it will fail in the cold temps.

[tattooman]

I think all the info sounds good. Going to give her a go tomorrow. I will let you guys know how I make out.

[tattooman]

Well it was warm enough today to work on my starting problem. I did everything you guys told me to do! It actually started right up! I am happyer than a tattoo artists at tax time. I thank you all!

[racerone3]

Tattooman, glad to hear that it started today, but as you mentioned, it was warmer. Post up when it starts on the coldest night imaginable and I will be satisfied! Glad to heat that you are up and running though!

[tattooman]

Well the temp dropped to 11 degrees last night. I went out to the garage to try and start my Max. No go, but it did click. It did not do that before. I went to the auto parts and got a new selenoid. Installed this morning. Of course the selenoid was warm when I put it in. She did start right up.

[Bazooo guy]

Make sure your battery is fully charged when you install the new solenoid.
A low battery or bad starter will destroy the new one in no time.

[tattooman]

I keep my battery on a two amp maintainer when not in use. It is also new last fall. If my problem keeps up, my next step will be to change the starter.