starting problem

[cruisertom]

96 f350 have not had starting issues till two days ago when I came out of work and tried to start, almost caught a couple of times but cranked till I fried the starter solenoid. Replaced starter and would only start if I gave it a shot of ether. Then would start everytime after in ran for a couple of minutes. Let it sit overnight unplugged and same problem.
I tested the glow plug solenoid and has power on one terminal but not on the other side with the key and wait to start light on. Pulled the oil temp sensor connector to test the glow plug solenoid because the engine was warm when I tested it. If it has a bad glow plug solenoid it should still fire or try to and run rough till it warms up right.
Thanks for any help, I have tried searching but is hard to wade through all the issues that aren't quite like mine, or the ones where guys throw parts at it and don't actually fix the problem. Is there a diagnosis page for this?

[csdwarf11]

You say you are NOT getting power on both sides of the glow plug relay? You need to have power on both sides when key is ahead, when you turn the key off you should NOT have power on both sides.(try this again when the motor cools down to be sure). If you have no glow plugs and temperatures are low, it is very possible the truck will not start, and it may not even ATTEMPT to start.

If you issue is a bad relay, the stock ford one can be expensive, ive seen threads floating around about aftermarket ones you can buy that are much,much cheaper and actually can help! look into that.


Try to avoid the ether, just plug it in if you need to use it before you get the problem addressed.

[cruisertom]

I have power to one side when key off and when key is on still only one side is hot. I can hear a click, but no power on both sides.

[csdwarf11]

Sounds like your relay is bad...if you glow plugs aren't getting power, dont expect your truck to start very well in any cold weather.