Coyote gen 3 starting issue, again

[cfriedman67]

Coyote with a couple hundred miles on it. Turn the key to the right, gauges sweep, fuel pump primes, turn key all the way to the right and it might crank over maybe once and that’s all. Sometimes it makes a clicking noise. The battery is good and fully charged as I had it tested last week. Any thoughts on what the issue could be?

Thanks Craig

[Traveller]

Check fuel pressure. My gen 2 would crank but not start when the fuel pressure was to low. Apparently a safety cutoff when there is not enough fuel.

It's a long shot since it's been running for a while, but it's something to check.

[cfriedman67]

Fuel pressure when I turn the key is around 55. Still the engine only turns over maybe once and then starts to make a clicking sound. Did your engine turn over/crank and just not start?

[edwardb]

Could be wrong (obviously...) but not aware of any safety cutoff on fuel pressure. The Gen 3 (like the Gen 2) briefly cycles the pump to build pressure when ignition power is first switched on. Then turns the pump on full once the engine starts. It should keep cranking regardless of fuel pressure. But the fact you have 55 PSI (which should be 65 for a Gen 3 BTW) suggests that's not the problem anyway. Likely IMO you've got an electrical issue of some kind. For whatever reason, your starter isn't getting full 12+ properly grounded volts. I'd measure the voltage at the battery posts when trying to start. Should stay above 12 volts. If good there, measure the voltage at the starter when trying to start. Should also be above 12 volts there. Several posts in the past have cited similar issues and turned out to be bad/marginal grounds. Always a chance the starter itself is defective.

[Jones375]

I had the bolt holding down my ground wire back off a bit and it was doing that. It was intermittent until one day it finally would not start. The symptoms you described was exactly what I had.

[rich grsc]

Do you have a good ground cable from the engine block to the frame? Even though you checked the battery voltage, it may still be bad. Try a different battery?

[Fman]

I had this same symptom on my Toyota Tundra, ended up having battery tested and they said it was fine but would still not crank engine properly. Ended up replacing with a new battery and it fired right up. Not sure how accurate the battery testers are these days, I would definitely look into replacing the battery first. If it ended up not being your battery I bet you could more than likely return it.

[cfriedman67]

Yes I do have a good ground to engine bock to frame. Double checked and cleaned the frame again we’re it’s connected.

[cfriedman67]

I had my wife crank the engine and the volt meter dropped to around 8,9.5 etc…. I also tested the starter the same and had the same result. Do I need a new battery?

[edwardb]

Yes I do have a good ground to engine bock to frame. Double checked and cleaned the frame again we’re it’s connected.


I had my wife crank the engine and the volt meter dropped to around 8,9.5 etc…. I also tested the starter the same and had the same result. Do I need a new battery?

Either the battery or a bad/intermittent connection somewhere. But you're making progress on the diagnosis with that finding. If you're probing directly on the battery positive and ground and it's dropping that much, yes the battery is suspect. You could try jumper cables or another battery to further confirm.

FWIW, I use two engine ground straps. Was recommended to me by several builders some years ago. One on the LH side from the block to the frame. A second on the RH side directly threaded under one of the starter mounting bolts. A belt and suspenders approach for sure. But makes sure the starter always has a solid ground since it's the biggest draw. Not saying that would necessarily solve your condition. But for me anyway has been a successful build strategy.

[rich grsc]

As I suggested swap in a different battery, I'm sure that ones no good.

[cfriedman67]

It’s the battery. The annoying think is I had tested last week at NAPA and they said the battery was good. It showed 12.4 volts. Besides Rich and Fman telling me it’s the battery I felt certain as I had it tested last week. As a last ditch effort I put a charger on the battery and after 30 minutes or so It turned over once and then started to click. So off I went to NAPA to get a new battery and rule that out. Different person at NAPA this time, tests the battery and he said it’s no good. The end result was I got a discount on the battery for the poor diagnosis last week but who cares. I would have taken a correct diagnosis in the first place and less aggravation. Thanks to everyone as usual who chimed in and helped me solve the problem.

Craig