I think it's the solenoid that is causing the problem. Because when we try to start it we don't see thestarter motor spinning at all.

Is there a simple way of diagnosing the problem?

thanks

 

Is the solenoid on the fenderwell or on the starter?

 

Not sure ... I will check tomorrow.

thanks for the fast reply.

 

It's on your fenderwell. It's a Ford, afterall. You have2 options to get the starter to spin.

1. Short the 'S' terminal to the battery '+.' That will rule out the ignition switch and verify it is the solenoid or not. And, you don't need much current carrying capacity in the jumper.

2. If shorting the 'S' doesn't work, you can short between the 2 big terminal (from the battery to the starter, basically). You'll need something that can take a lot of juice to do this. I've done this with a pair of pliers in a pinch, but make sure you don't get in the way of that 100+ amp surge.

 

^^^ Lol that brought back some memories of an old F-150 I used to have... good advice though...

 

Buddy had an f-150 like that, it was an auto and he left it in drive and jumped the solenoid. lmfao good times, good times........