rusty65

Hey guys, Im back

So I finally started my rebuilt motor for the first time today. Sounded pretty good once i got the gas pedal to come off the floorboard. Anyways, I only had it running for about 30 seconds when I noticed a decent amount of smoke coming from the passenger side of the engine bay. I know my headers are supposed to smoke a bit, especially with the heat wrap I had to use, but this seemed to me like my starter was smoking pretty decently. Sure enough, I run over to shut it off and my starter keeps running. as well as the the smoke. So i tore my + battery cable off and got it to stop. Ive just bought a new motocraft starter solenoid, one of the good ones, and my starter and alternator are both less than a year old (was using them on the 289). Ive also got all new cables for my battery and solenoid. So, Im wondering what could my problem be? Maybe my ignition switch? Thats the only thing I can think of unless I either got a bad solenoid or my starter/alt have gone bad in the last 2 months of sitting in my garage.

Any help you guys can give me would be great. Got to get this sorted out so Im not car-less for college come friday.

Heres a short vid, I run off at the end when I see all the smoke....

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid1260.photobucket.c om%2Falbums%2Fii580%2FGagesaurus%2FMOV018.mp4">

Or if that doesnt work, heres the photobucket:

http://s1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii580/Gagesaurus/

rusty65

Another issue that I ran into was what looked like a little bit of oil in my radiator after it got started. Im hoping that it was just a bit of oil that was left behind when the engine builders assembled it, and not a leak in, say, my head gasket.

There was only the littlest bit (so far as I could see) and it gathered right there at the radiator neck so I stuck the edge of a towel in to soak it out. Any thoughts on this as well?

And finally, the only other thing that gives me cause for concern is how HOT my alternator was. Nothing else on the engine, with the exception of my headers, was even remotely as warm as my alternator. I could still hold my hand on it, but boy was it warm.

rusty65

Update:

After doing some more research I read that my starter running could also (apparently) be caused by a bad ignition switch staying in the crank position. So, armed with some more info, I made a trip down to the parts store with my old alt and starter, got em tested and they both failed. Got a new alternator and starter as well as a voltage regulator (alternator says to replace them at the same time) and the ignition switch. Replaced all of those things to go with my new solenoid, engine ground cable, and battery/starter cables.

Cranked it up again, and the starter keeps running.....

The guy at the parts store said it could be a bad ground, but I scoured the spots on both my engine and the firewall where I have my primary engine ground cable hooked up. Then I got the thinking that the starter solenoid may be grounded through the two tabs where it mounts to the engine bay since there is no ground cable running off of it. Is this the case? Ill scour the spots where that mounts as well in the morning just in case.

Again, any help or previous experience you guys can share would be a huge help. Dont want to have to keep winging it with the changes, or else Im likely to kill off a bunch more of these new parts Ive just replaced.

rmodel65

probably a sticking starter solenoid...try tapping it with the plastic end of a screw driver and see if its stops

nstaller

my 65 did the same thing, turns out it was the starter. I would check the starter wire at the solenoid(un-hooked from solenoid)and make sure that it is only hot in the start position. Does it still do it when you jump the starter out at the solenoid?

scootchu

If it's an old model starter, it's most likely the solenoid on the apron like rmodel said, if it's a newer hi-torque starter it has a solenoid on it which could also be the problem.

rusty65

Thanks for the input guys.

Just tested my solenoid on the fenderwell (resistance and voltage in every possible configuration of the key including crank) and its good, as well as the starter being brand new (got it tested before I even took it home to make sure the gear would retract etc). Im gunna give testing voltage at the end of the starter cable a shot, but I think Ive narrowed it down to a poor ground (im thinking the solenoid grounds itself through its mounting tabs) so Im going to clean that up.

Then if after all of this I still have problems, Im told it could be an old worn out wire running to the S terminal on the solenoid touching another worn wire allowing it to continue receiving 12v power even after I let off cranking. To combat this, Im thinking if I run a separate switch altogether from the battery terminal on the starter to said switch, then from the switch to the S terminal, that Ill be able to selective send power to my starter and hopefully have a temporary fix. Any thoughts?

Thanks again guys!

rmodel65

pull the wire going to the solenoid and see if it stops cranking?

rusty65

Thanks guys,

I just ended up taking it to a local auto shop and dropped it off since Im leaving town in the morning. Was hoping to get it taken care of myself, but hey, what can ya do

Thanks again for the input