Electrical Gremlin- Starting Issue

[AZMike427]

SPF751 with a fresh Shelby aluminum FE427. So every now and then it won’t start. I recently had a new engine installed but it did the same thing before. At first I thought it was when it was hot so I thought maybe the starter was overheating but it did it recently after a brief first start idle. I get a click with an almost sort of hollow sound like the starter is clicking but not turning the engine over. Battery is good and the starter was just replaced with my new FE. I checked connections around the battery, grounds and the battery switch. Any help or ideas are appreciated!

[Tom Wells]

Mike,

I've encountered similar symptoms. The cure is shown in this link, just at the beginning: installing a remote ford solenoid/ chevy starter | Grumpys Performance Garage

After installing the remote starter solenoid my click-click problems went away. It seemed redundant to me at first - why would I need a solenoid in series with the one on the starter? All I know is that it works on both my big block cars. I also think Ford would have done away with it instantly since it cost more - and yet they included this setup for many years.

If I have a click-click now, I know the battery is going, so I replace it and all is well for another xx years.

If your car already has this setup, perhaps the solenoid on the firewall is bad, or maybe it's the battery.

Hope this is some help,

Tom

[Tommy]

Even though you have looked already, check both ends of the positive and negative battery cables for good clean contacts. And check where the cables attach to the connectors. Also check the ends of the ground cable that likely connects the frame to the battery negative near the starter. Poor connections are the cause the vast majority of the time.

[Blas]

Check the chassis ground near the battery and the wire to ring post connector crimp.
When the problem occurred, are your headlights and horn operational?
Is your ignition switch original to the car? (1999)
Feel free to text or email me with your contact number and we can chat.,
Blas

[jhv48]

If your spf is like mine, you already have a remote starter solenoid on the passenger side firewall.
Your symptoms mirror a dying battery.

[mrmustang]

Originally Posted by jhv48

If your spf is like mine, you already have a remote starter solenoid on the passenger side firewall.
Your symptoms mirror a dying battery.

Or a bad ground, or a bad engine to chassis ground, or a bad starter solenoid, or a bad battery. In that order


Bill S.

PS: Does the OP have a 1 wire alternator installed? If so, perhaps the diodes have gone bad within, even showing a charge on the gauge, this too could be the root cause, as I found out this past weekend.