2011 Ford F-150 5.0L - Intermittent No Start
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General Information: The customer came in with a complaint of an intermittent no start on his truck. He said he would get a hammer, tap on the starter, and it would start up. Sometimes he wouldn’t have to use the hammer, sometimes he would. He didn’t see a pattern like if it did it hot or cold. It was just random.
First Thoughts: It sounded like a starter to me. What do you think? Seems like an easy fix. I’ve done these starters plenty of times. They have the pesky bolt on the top where you can’t see. You have to use a certain combination of sockets and extension to get it out. They are not my favorite starters to replace, but it can be done!
Diagnostics: There really wasn’t much diagnostics with this one. The truck started with me every time I cranked it. I tried to replicate the customer’s complaint but it would always work. The thing that confirmed a starter for me though, was when I inspected the wires on the starter.
Note: it’s always a good idea to do a visual inspection.
You can see where the customer has been beating on the starter with a hammer in the first picture.
I decided to lightly shake the wires to see if maybe they were loose. Then I took a picture of what happened next.
The start wire stud on the starter broke off in my hand. It felt loose for a second then it felt really loose when it came off.
The power wire on the starter felt fine when I wiggled it, but the start wire just came apart.
More than likely, when it wouldn’t start, it just didn’t have good contact. When the customer beat it with the hammer, it probably shook enough to give it a better contact.
What fixed this? A new starter.
I put it on there and bingo. It started right up.
Visual inspections come in handy with diagnostics. Don’t forget to look before you make a final decision!
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