f53 starter solenoid

[billyboy]

i just replaced my starter solenoid for the third time in 6 1/2 years, anyone else had this problem. it just sticks and i have to bang on it to get it to work.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

ALSO AND AND AND AND AND AND...

Insufficient current to the COIL of the solenoid turns it into an CONSTANT DUTY SOLENOID (sort of). Like comparing an 80 amp constant duty solenoid to a 400 amp intermittent duty solenoid. The difference is in the strength of the magnetic coil. Strength is amperage. For high amperage duty, those contacts have to slam together TIGHTLY. If the least bit of tension is missing, the contacts will start micro-arcing, which does not degrade the contacts in a linear age or usage factor. They go to hell in rapid fashion.

Since LBJ was in the White House, I have been utilizing FORD FENDER MOUNTED STARTER MOTOR SOLENOIDS transmitting starter solenoid power through TEN AWG wire. Diesels like 855 Cummins get 8 AWG wire. I want every last freakin' watt available to pass through that starter motor solenoid. No chatter. Replacing a flywheel or flex plate ring gear is bad enough. Doing it to a one ton Cummins engine with 1,500 lbs of Fuller Transmission hanging off the back is a real fast learning experience.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Didn't THE REST OF your replacement solenoids work OK at first? A little confusing.

[Chum_lee]

If it fails again and you KNOW you are using quality parts, start looking for heat related issues. (thinking insulating exhaust manifold and related pipes)

Chum lee

[RJsfishin]

billyboy wrote:
ok, i put the new solenoid on, and it starts just like the day i bought the mh home.

Oat oh,.......no comment means JIPPO parts ?? 🙂

[billyboy]

ok, i put the new solenoid on, and it starts just like the day i bought the mh home.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Chum lee X2

I asssssssssumed you had already checked for bad battery connections and a greedy starter. Low voltage will either weld or crispy critter the bolt and disc contact as will a dragging starter motor. What is the voltage at the copper STUD on the solenoid as you are cranking the engine?

This cannot be guesswork. You actually have to do it. It's like getting a root canal - awful ut the altetnative is much worse.

[Chum_lee]

In addition to what MEXICOWANDERER says, you wouldn't be buying those replacement solenoids from a non-OEM source with a lifetime guarantee would you? Can't tell you the number of times I've seen off shore white box parts come right of the box DOA. OK, it's true, I used to work in the parts dept. at a Ford dealership, but we saw that all the time. If something keeps failing prematurely, it needs a closer look and a different supplier.

Chum lee

[MEXICOWANDERER]

• Remove starter then remove solenoid
• Grab plunger and move it back and forth
• The slightest catch while moving it can provoke problems
• Grab toothed drive gear and try to wiggle it crosswise to the shaft
• Does it wiggle?
• The slightest bind can hang the drive gear in the ring gear
• Still nothing? Remove end plate and disassemble starter motor from drive housing
• Look st starter drive pivot fork. If the round tangs on the bottom are flattened a lot or if one tang is worn more than the other, replace the fork
• No joy so far? Check the plunger for burrs. Then shine the plunger until it looks like it was chrome plated
• Spray silicone LUBE on the plunger and on the shift fork pivot.

Hope this helps

[billyboy]

its starter mounted. i am thinking it could be something in the starter itself that maybe is not letting the plunger go all the way back in everytime, thus not always being able to pull in

[j-d]

Here at RV.net, we haven't had enough reports to indicate the solenoids are problematic, but every once in awhile there's a post about the fender-mounted solenoid. Is that the one you're talking about, or the one that's mounted on the starter itself (given it's a late model permanent magnet gear reduction starter)?