8.1 No start Workhorse

[angler]

Went to start my motorhome. Cranked really slow and then stopped. Thought the battery may be bad since it was unplugged by mistake. I charged the batteries and load tested. Tried to start it and a thunk again. Jumped started it and just a thunk. I'm guessing the noise is the solenoid may be trying to engage the starter, not sure. Going to check all the connections to making sure they are ok.
Any other things it could be? Relays other things I'm not aware of.
Any one ever have to replace a starter on the 8.1 workhorse and can tell me the symptoms they encountered?
Are starters a known problem with them? How hard to replace?
Thank you in advance

[ArchHoagland]

Thanks for the update, glad to hear you're in good shape.

[angler]

Update
It was the starter. A truck repair company about three miles from the motor-home came to my site and installed it. Happy I didn't have to have it towed. Called Wednesday and fixed it on Friday. I didn't get the bill yet, but can't complain about service I got.

Thanks for all your help.

[hussbuss]

One other thing you can check are the positive cables on the battery. The big blocks use a spacer between the 2 battery cables which after a while can corroad. They also tend to loosen up because of the torque the motor puts out. Can't count the times I had to get out, wiggle the cables while the wife turned the switch to start. Sometimes in traffic at a stoplight. Took me a while to figure it out, like a chinesse fire drill.

[garyemunson]

Generally if you hear the solenoid 'clunk', it means the starter motor has an issue. RVs set so much, the brushes in the starter motor can get sticky in their holders and that, with a little dirt, can prevent the motor from running. The nice thing about gas Class As is that they set up high enough that sliding under to do stuff is easy. Using an expendable screwdriver to short across the 2 big terminals on the starter solenoid will bypass the solenoid contacts and deliver the 12 volts straight to the starter brushes. If the starter then cranks, the brushes are OK and the solenoid is at fault. If not, it's the aforementioned brush issue. Since starters began using permanent magnets, working on them has become a PITA. If the brushes are the issue, you CAN clean and fix them but be prepared to use all of your vocabulary. I'd just spring for another starter.

[angler]

Definitely a clunk. I've had clicks before due a weak battery. Wish I would have check the battery voltage before this happened. If it would have cranked slow with a full charge could have narrowed somethings down. Maybe the weak battery caused the solenoid to fail. Never heard of that, but at a loss of what's up with it. Or maybe cause it's 16 years old. Least it didn't happen on my recent 4,000 mile trip. I'll check all the connections and will post when I get it fixed. Thanks again everyone.

[wa8yxm]

I will second the corrosion bit. Had that issue on mine as delivered. The terminals they used to connect to the battery positive were simply THE WRONG STUFF.. I ultimately fixed, took me 9 years but I fixed 🙂

YOu have both a relay and a solenoid, The relay makes a "CLICK" sound if it's not making contact, The CLUNK is the solenoid

The relay is in the main chassis fuse box and is the bottom right relay.

HOW DO I KNOW THIS..... Happened Monday last.. Figured it out and got er working no cost.. YIPPIE My favorite repair bill $0.00.

[angler]

Thanks for all your input. All good things to check.

[Dennis37]

When this happened to me It was a bad ground connection cable from battery to frame.

[Gjac]

Also check your battery disconnect if you have one. I have had corrosion and arching on the contacts of mine causing a no start condition.

[gbopp]

Make sure the battery terminals are clean and tight. A little corrosion can make a difference.

[rgatijnet1]

Any starter can go bad but I don't remember them being an issue. I had 80K on my 8.1L with no starter issues. The starter is not that difficult to change but it sort of sounds like you have a cable/connection issue. When you jump started the battery, if you just put the jumper cables over the old battery cables, then you could still have a bad connection or have the old battery drawing down the jumper battery because it had a shorted cell. You may want to try a jump start with one of the cables off of the old battery, just to eliminate the old battery as a cause of the problem.