Starter motor/solenoid woe's ?

[and74p]

Hi folks,

Have just moved to Canada fron England. One of my first purchases (before a house or clothes) was a 86 Bronco. We could only dream of running such a great machine over there !!!

Anyway after several weeks of running (with stereo removed) to the wonderful sounds of V8 rumbles, my new found pride and joy has developed a starting problem.

Basically when i turn the key to start the solenoid clicks repeatedly as if the battery was flat and the starter motor makes a similar sound, turning the engine over very slowly. It sounds terrible. I can bump start it fine though. The battery is fully charged and in good order. It is charging fine when running. I have replaced all the Earths with new ones (battery to engine and chassis, solenoid to starter motor new as well) and cleaned any other suspicious looking wires connected with the starting system. It also has a new starter on it, I was told only 5 month's old.

I have now run out of idea's of what direction to go with regards to fixing the above. I have looked through this excellent site but not stumbled across a thread which replicates my problem !!

Has anybody out there got any idea's ???

Thanks in advance to you all,

Andy

 

[Justshootme84]

Might think about replaceing the starter solenoid, since it's less than $20 US and the first thing I'd suspect if the cables are good and clean. When you cannot start the Bronco and you here the clicking, carefully feel the temperature of the solenoid. It should not be hot under normal conditions, but will heat up quickly if it's faulty. Welcome to Bronco Zone, JSM84

 

[STLKIKN]

Andy, also make sure the solenoid has good "earth" through its mounting points.

You may have a weak cell in the battery, showing a good charge, but breaks down under high draw.

If you have a multimeter, you can test for voltage drops through each connection by attatching a lead to each end of the wire and attempting to start the vehicle, the meters display will read off the drop through that section of wire, anything more than .2 volts is getting high. Both side of the charging system can be checked via this method.

You can also do a quick check of the battery this way, under starting conditions the battery shouldn't drop below 9.6v.

 

[and74p]

Thanks Guys,

I forgot to mention i already brought a new solenoid and cleaned up the contacts to the body. No change though.

I will get my voltmeter out and check things out today.