Wont start omg

[Lift]

So Far Everything on this v8 swap i have cheaped out on has bit me in my ass. Now i think this darn thing is cursed.

My 302 ranger wont start.... hmmmmm well the battery is in the bed, i used 2 gauge home depot house wire rated at like 1200amps cause i cheaped out, it worked fine for about 6 months until now.

My starter is brand spanking new, just replaced it, my ford relay is new, my battery is new... But it cranks like a dead battery and the ground wire connected to the battery gets hot. Cranks fine with the sparkplugs out. Im assuming that the starter isnt getting enough amperage to turn the engine over. I Checked ALL OF my connections and they seem to be good. MAybe there is corrosion or something in my wire somewhere causing resistance? Im stumped, please help.

 

[97RangerXLT]

my guess is that your house wire didn't stand up to the weather very well and somewhere down the insulation where you can't see it it has corroded.

take another peice of wire and jump the one that is in the truck from the battery to the starter. see if that solves your problem.

AJ

 

[tmcalavy]

Ditto...bad connection or corroded or partially broken wire. Go to tractor supply, or a welding supply house and get some 2 gauge wires for that beast, then wrap them or reroute them to protect them better.

 

[Frank The Tank]

I'm guessing that low amperage has been slowly killing your starter and you need both new wire... And a new starter.

 

[Lift]

seriously i just put the starter on like only tried cranking a few times with it.

 

[Andy D]

Could be a bad rebuilt starter. That happens a lot with starters. I would also check the ground strap between the engine and the frame. You can test the cables by backing it up with a jumper cable. If it cranks better, the regular cable is bad. If nothing helps maybe the engine seized

 

[adsm08]

i... cheaped out on

Found the problem. Start over, it will be easier.

 

[naford]

What wire is getting hot? That would the wire that has the most resistance. Probably just a bad connection. You have to keep in mind that distance equals resistance and every connection equals resistance. You might try a thicker wire than a number 2 depending on the distance.

 

[Lift]

Could be a bad rebuilt starter. That happens a lot with starters. I would also check the ground strap between the engine and the frame. You can test the cables by backing it up with a jumper cable. If it cranks better, the regular cable is bad. If nothing helps maybe the engine seized

Like i said the engine turned over just fine without sparkplugs in it, its not seized. I was going to work on replacing all the wires in the starting system today, but unfortunately i had an accident at work and broke my foot in 4 places...

 

[4.0B2]

sounds like a weak starter...either b/c the battery is weak, starter is weak, or wiring issue somewhere.

Like adsm08 said.... don't cheap out. I'm paraphrasing but.... whatever lol

 

[Lift]

Ok guys i replaced ALL of the Starting system wiring all the cables and connections have been done and the grounds have been checked. Still cranks like a dead battery so the only possible thing i think it could be is a junk starter?

 

[kuivinenj]

did you replace the wire with more house wire? the amps house wire is rated at is Ac not Dc.. Dc requires more wire surface area then Ac IE smaller gauge wire braid in same gauge wire do to Dc will heat up more over a distance creating more resistance and causing amperage to drop

 

[tmcalavy]

Anything special about that 302 and tranny? Some Ford engines required a spacer in there so the starter would line up right and mesh with the ring-gear/flywheel. If the starter gear doesn't mesh right it won't have enough umph to turn the motor over. Pull the starter and turn the engine by hand to check the condition of the ring gear visually...you'll have to lay under the truck with a light to do this. Sometimes the parts guys give you the wrong part just cuz their stupid computers say it will fit...it might fit and bolt up okay, but have a different ring gear or need a spacer. Also, what condition is your battery in...it's gotta have 12 volts exactly or it won't crank that V8...anything less, even like 11.5 volts, won't do it. Should have a solid 12 volts at rest and a little over 13 after the engine and alternator kick in and start charging the battery. Break your problem down into 2 or 3 maybes, then track each one until you eliminate the doubt or the problem. Keep it simple and you'll find what's wrong without throwing $$$ out the window on parts: check flywheel, need a spacer?, check starter (load test), check cables/wiring again, check battery...in whatever order you prefer. Hang in there.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Some numbers for battery voltage;
http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php?action=1&id=30


Voltage Drop Testing.

OK, let's see if I can explain this right. When you measure the voltage on a battery by putting the positive ohmmeter lead on the positive terminal and the negative lead on the negative terminal, you are actually measuring the voltage pressure between the two terminals. The positive terminal reads 12.6 or so volts and the negative terminal reads zero. The wiring circuitry in the ohmmeter subtracts the negative lead voltage from the positive lead voltage (12.6v-0v=12.6v) and you end up with the reading 12.6 volts. What does all this mean ? Well, if you connect the positive ohmmeter lead to where the power starts. Like the positive battery terminal, and the negative lead to where you want the power to go, like a starter. Now run the starter. You should get a ohmmeter reading of zero. If you get a reading, that is the voltage drop. This indicates resistance in the starter cable or in the connection to the battery or starter. Another way of thinking on this is that the voltage drop is the number of volts that you lost over that connection. The reading you get on the ohmmeter is number of volts you have lost. You can test the ground connection side of the starter too. Connect the negative ohmmeter lead to the negative battery terminal and the positive ohmmeter lead to the starter body. Again, crank the starter. A DC circuit should use all the available voltage, so the reading should read close to zero or not more than .4 volts.

Copied from;
http://www.dansmc.com/electricaltesting.htm

 

[Lift]

did you replace the wire with more house wire? the amps house wire is rated at is Ac not Dc.. Dc requires more wire surface area then Ac IE smaller gauge wire braid in same gauge wire do to Dc will heat up more over a distance creating more resistance and causing amperage to drop

Nope bought all new CAR battery wire and a new starter. Also picked up a 1000 cranking amp battery. AAAnd going to wire a ground from the starter relay to the engine block to the frame.