Starter Wiring....

[Jerad]

Hey all.. popular topic apparently... Anyways, last time I changed my oil, I noticed a small plastic cap fell off from what appeared to be the wiring for the starter, or at least that was my guess... anyways, it was busted which left the wiring just below the oil filter exposed... Just this week my starter died on me, or so I thought.. I started to replace the starter and noticed that the wiring was very dirty and grimy and it arced when the ignition was turned... I cleaned the connections and the starter works now.. but I'm still skeptical... Should those connections be protected by a plastic cover or tape? or is it OK exposed like that? I called ford to see if they had that plastic covering, but they said if it exists, it must be part of the starter assembly... any help is appreciated, thanks!

Jerad

 

[Mr Anonymous]

When I replaced my starter a few months ago, the existing starter had the red plastic cap to cover the two solenoid terminals, but it wouldn't fit the new starter since one of the two terminals on the new solenoid was about 1/8" taller than the other (the old solenoid had equal-length terminals).

What I ended up doing was getting a couple of those vacuum hose caps they sell at the auto parts store and they worked nicely to cover the terminals & the nuts, although a little of the lugs from the cables are still exposed.

I routinely squirt the area around the starter cables with CRC Lectra-Motive electrical parts cleaner after I change the oil. I've tried just about everything to avoid getting oil on the starter when removing the filter, but inevitably some still gets on it. The CRC cleaner cleans it up nicely and evaporates in a couple of minutes.

 

[Jerad]

Thanks dude.. thats exactly what I was looking for.. ideally I'd like to find a new stock red cap, so if anyone knows how to get ahold of one, let me know... in the mean time, I'll use your method... thanks!