Bucket truck not starting

D

DavidT

Location
Lafayette, LA
Help! I have been having problems with the starter (or so I thought) on my bucket truck. Some times it starts fine, other times, I have to use a screwdriver and touch the 2 bolts on the solenoid to start the truck. I rebuilt the starter, same thing, replaced the solenoid, same thing. Any suggestions?
 
Where should I look first, starter, solenoid, battery? Don't know if this helps but the problem started when I went to pick up the truck from the shop after having the clutch replaced.
 
Start at the battery, clean the terminals up, tighten them back down. follow the ground wire off the battery and make sure it is not corroded at the connection. you can also have your battery checked to see if its going bad at just about any shop or parts store. Good luck.
 
I have operated a skidder which had to be started in this way. Your batteries are fine. So is your starter as well as your solenoid. Start with the simplest and cheapest things first when troubleshooting. I am going to say that I think it is either a bad wire between the starter and the ignition switch or the switch itself. Get ahold of a test light and start following the power. You should get a power signal out of the starter switch when it is in the start position from a terminal that is otherwise dead in all other positions. This wire goes to the starter solenoid (one of the bolts you are using to hotwire your truck). My guess is that you have a bad wire (probably cut mostly through in one spot while you had the clutch worked on)--by the way, keep that clutch adjusted to no less than one inch of freepedal travel and it will last a lot longer--

Have you gone back to the shop where you had the clutch done to ask about the problem?

Good luck to you. Intermittent problems can be hard to diagnose sometimes, but I am sure that the problem is in the wire from the switch or the switch itself.

Let us know what you come up with.
 
One more item for the mix-some trucks- (and virtually all those with automatic trannies)have a neutral saftey switch to prevent starting with the truck in gear.
 
Stumper, the poster said he had the clutch repaired, so it is a standard transmission. However you may be close to the problem area, check and see IF this truck has a switch on the clutch linkage.

If we knew the breed of the truck and the rest of the particulars it would be a tad easier to figure out!
 
I think I fixed the problem. When I replaced the batteries after charging them, the truck would do nothing. I did have a grounding issue at the battery which I fixed. I also replaced a relay switch (would that be my inginition switch?). The truck has been starting fine so far. By the way, it is a Ford F800 with a Cumings diesel. Thanks for the help.
 
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