gdraft
Ca
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Is the selenoid located next to the battery or is that the starter relay?
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Polishnurse
Schodack, NY
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Joined: 03/13/2007
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The starter has a selenoid mounted on the starter. That is also the relay. There might be a few other gadgets mounted in line with it like the park/netural switch. But if that was bad it would be bad all the time not when just hot. Bill
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gdraft
Ca
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What is the solenoid next to the battery for, or is it even a solenoid. It has 4 terminals and the battery is hooked up to it
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Polishnurse
Schodack, NY
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I can only assume it regulator, since your is 20 years old, it might not be built into the alternator. It could also be an Isolation relay. Used to isolate the coach battery from the chassie battery. Understand I'm just shooting in the dark here, not beable to see it. Bill
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Bagger97
Littleton, Co
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Joined: 03/11/2005
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If you have a Ford, it could be the starter relay, they are NOT on the starter. You also have a relay (looks the same) for the boost circuit. Have someone turn the key and listen for the contacts. That will be the starter relay.
Alan & Patty
Munchkin & Maddison
2006 Itasca Sunova 29R SE
We'd rather motorize our winterhome than winterize our motorhome.
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gdraft
Ca
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What is the "Boost Circuit"?
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Polishnurse
Schodack, NY
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The boost circuit - is a switch on your dash, it will tie both batteries together in parallel, like when use jumpers. If one battery becomes weak, it will allow the other to act as a jumper.
Like you generator won't start because you coach battery is below the power needed to have it crank over. You push the boost button and will momentarily bring the two batteries together to give you enough power to start the genset. Bill
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gdraft
Ca
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Well check this out, i have the "emergency start" switch in my cab, I tried to use that to start the thing, and it too didn't start it. It sounds more and more like my starter. all 3 batteries have about 12.86 volts when I measured them while sitting in my driveway after I got back.....
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jimdubya
Paducah, KY
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Joined: 05/23/2008
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Here are a couple of things you can try to troubleshoot the problem and determine if it is the starter or the relay. I am speaking of the relay that will be mounted under the hood on the firewall, the fender well or possibly to the side of the radiator on the front cowling, but not on the starter ( I have never seen a Ford with one mounter on the starter). There may be more than one similar looking relay, as the boost circuit often uses the same type. Have someone turn the key to the start position while you locate the source of the clicking sound. Once you have found it, this will be the one that relays power to the starter. There will be two large cables attached to it, one from the battery and one to the starter as well as one or more small guage wires. Use a volt meter or a test light to determine which cable goes to the battery. It should be 'Hot" all the time. If neither is hot, you have a bad battery cable. If one cable is hot, have someone turn the key to start while you test for voltage on the other cable ( the one going to the starter). If you do not detect voltage there, you have a bad relay and need not look further. If you do detect voltage on the cable to the starter, there may still be a problem with the relay. That problem would most likely be burned contacts inside the relay creating high resistance internally. That in turn leads to low amps on the cable to the starter (and probably too low to crank the engine). I have seen many, many more bad relays than bad starters. In fact, I have never replaced a starter on any of my personal vehicles and I have owned a vehicle for the last 48 years.
Other problems could be cables with high resistance. And as stated earlier, high resistance means low amps. Ohms Law states that I(amps)= E(volts)/ R(resistance), So assuming that the battery voltage remains constant, the higher the resistance, the lower the amps.
My advice for what ever it is worth is this. If I was considering replacing the starter, I would replace the relay also. They are not expensive, probably $20 at Autozone. I would replace the relay first, and if that doesn't fix it, replace the starter. Most auto parts stores will check the starter for you free of charge if you have it off the vehicle.
2004 Silverado 2500 Crew Cab 4x4 6.0L 3.73
2006 Dutchman Tundra 26RL-DSL
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gdraft
Ca
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That is some awsome advice..........I will try that and let you know....i want to thank EVERYONE who has replied with the info....hopefully soon I can return some advice
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