Odd no start diagnostic help

[Stomis]

The new to me 08 w/ a 6.0 is acting funny. In the morning Ill go to start it and the starter solenoid will just go DUNK and the truck will lose power. My clock will reset like the whole truck lost power totally but will instantly recover. Than Ill go to start it again and everything will be fine for the day.

I checked for loose wires and bad connections but didnt see anything. Has anyone ever seen a starter internally do that?

 

[Fordum]

99.9% of the time that is a bad connection from the battery and the rest of the truck. Either the positive or negative. Its possible for a dead short in the starter to do that if you have a weak battery or small battery.
But there is usually some smoke from the battery cables.
And I have never seen a starter shorted like that work again afterward.

 

[Stomis]

99.9% of the time that is a bad connection from the battery and the rest of the truck. Either the positive or negative. Its possible for a dead short in the starter to do that if you have a weak battery or small battery.
But there is usually some smoke from the battery cables.
And I have never seen a starter shorted like that work again afterward.

Guess I better wiggle more wires lol.

 

[Blue85]

I have had this same scenario with a bad connection to the battery and just last week with a bad connection at the starter motor. Although more commonly, it doesn't self-recover. The current you do get must clean the connection enough for it to work the next time.

If you had a shorted winding in the starter, then when it did turn, you would hear it pulsing.