My tow truck

[prairiegirl]

Hello,
I hope this is in the right forum. Sorry if this is a bit long.  Any help will be appreciated.
I have a 1997 Ford F250.  It has a 460 engine and pulls my 5th wheel like the trailer isn't there. 

My problem is it won't start. I turn the key and motor thumps. I had a starter put on in May.  I used my good sam's towing service to tow my truck three blocks away and the guys replaced my starter.  Mid July I pulled trailer to Kentucky. When I returned, I parked the trailer in it's spot.  I went to pull truck away and it wouldn't start. The mechanics asked me if the motor would turn over or was it frozen? I turned the motor by a socket on the main shaft and the motor would turn.  Again I called good sam's and used another tow to take the truck back to mechanics. 
They put a new starter on it and made a small splice in the "ground" wire going to the starter putting on a new connector and small piece of wire.
A week later the truck won't start.
I talked to them and they said to take a pair of jumper cables, attach both cables to ground (the alternator) and the other ends to the negative post on the battery.  Nothing happened.  I tested continuity from the negative post on the battery to bolt on the small wire on the starter.  There is continuity.  Today I ran another wire from (-)battery to starter and still nothing.
I could call and have it towed--another tow gone from good sam's.  But my gut says to just take the starter off and take it to NAPA and have them test the starter.  I do a lot of work on my truck and it bugs me that this wasn't fixed in May. 
Any way thank you if you are still reading this.  Do any of you guys have any ideas why the starter keeps going out.  Are there any known issues with this truck?

Thanks,
Mary

 

[RedandSilver]

My 2 cents.

Did you have the battery checked - load tested?

Sometimes a new thicker cable(s) from the battery to the starter can make a difference.
20 year old cables sometimes do wear out.

 

[stevensc]

I agree with RedandSilver.  Recently my tractor wouldn't start.  Starter did click for a while then nothing.  I cleaned the cable ends and terminals, checked the battery, etc.  Still would not turn over.  I do a lot of mechanical work myself so I was frustrated.  After $100 to have a roll back take it to the dealership it turned out to be a bad battery cable. 

 

[prairiegirl]

Thanks for the ideas.  I replaced alternator and battery this spring (Both are from NAPA.)  I am taking the starter off to have it tested.  While I'm under there, I'll look at the cables.  I was going to start a bonding project on my truck because I am installing a Ham radio.  I know the straps that are on the truck are not really good.  I guess I'll go pull the starter and see if I find anything. 
Thanks,

Mary

 

[cgmartin]

When you say that they "made a small splice," why was that necessary? If they had just replaced the starter with a new one, why would that be necessary? The reason I ask is that back in the old days, it used to be common to "bridge" the gap between ground and positive on the starter by using a screw driver. If the starter cranked, then it was good and most likely the problem was with the solenoid. If you mechanic did that with a brand new starter, I would question his expertise. If the problem was with the starter to start with, the new one would have cranked right away. It does not sound like the problem was with the starter.  Don't throw any more money at the problem until you get a good mechanic who is able to isolate the problem.

 

[keymastr]

Having the starter bench tested is a good start however I have had one tested recently that I knew was bad and it started right up on the bench. It had an internal solenoid that was failing and I jumped the solenoid to get it home which made it work for awhile longer.

If you have someone who can turn the key while you gently tap on the starter it may fire right up. If so it is a bad starter/solonoid.

 

[keymastr]

And some Fords have a solenoid on the inner fender or firewall so trace the battery cables to see if yours does.

 

[prairiegirl]

cgmartin--they replaced the end of the small wire.  The splice looks good from the outside.  Heat shrink sealed.  The wire size is maybe a 10.  I still have faith in the mechanic.  Troubleshooting is a skill that every mechanic must have.  I can understand bad starters do happen. But before replacing the third starter I would like to be sure the wiring is okay,  If my truck is "killing" the starters and I need to replace battery wires and starter wires.  I can see doing that. 
keymastr--yes the solenoid is on the inner fender. I replaced the solenoid in May before I towed the truck to the mechanic.
I did gently tap the starter when trying to start it earlier this week.  I now have the starter off and will take to NAPA parts store tomorrow.
My neighbor came over to talk to me.  He said that the mechanic could make me new cables and crimp the ends on right.  He also said he could pull my truck to the mechanic next week for me. I am going to look at the wiring harness tomorrow and see if I can see anything wrong with it.
Thanks for all of the help.

Mary

 

[Massmerch]

A similar problem just happened to me on my 1989 F350 with a 460.  After replacing the starter twice, and the starter solenoid 7 times, it turned out to be the neutral switch.  What a pain... But I really like the truck, so it was worth it.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

Keep us updated on what you find out. I love a good mystery.