2002 F150 wont start just clicks

[240SX_89]

I just bought a 02 F150 and it hasn't giving me any problems until this morning. I went to go start it and all it did was click once. Could it be the starter. I know its not the battery because it has a full charge and all the lights and radio works. It has the Triton V8 with about 158k miles. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[240SX_89]

Could the cold weather been part of the problem. It has been in the 30's but this morning it was 5 degrees.

[dfordski]

Jumper lg. posts on solenoid w/key on. No start, remove, clean & re secure connectors starting w/ Bat. Terms., Pos. starter Term. & Grounds at fenderwell & block. Save bench check of starter for last as the seldom fail catastrophically w/o some initial signs of impending dysfunction. General consensus on solenoid replacements: Avoid off the shelf Autozone. Motorcraft always a good default choice. I'd start by makeing sure I had 12+ volts at Battery or attempt a jump assisted start.

[Mutsky]

One easy way to tell if it is your battery connections or not is to turn the headlights on and then attempt to turn the engine over. If the lights go out, my experience has been this usually indicates the battery terminals are corroded to the point of only being able to pass a fraction of the current required to turn the engine starter over, since the inductive load of the starter draws all available current that the corroded connection can pass, most of the other electrical load dies.....Even though you may have a fully charged battery, if the connections aren't clean and tight, you can't pass the battery's potential energy to the electrical loads. If the lights stay on, then I'd go check the solenoid connections and solenoid, then the starter itself.

[240SX_89]

Well it died on me today luckily it was as soon as I got home. The first thing that happened was the battery light turned on then the radio turned off and then the abs light turned on. When I got home I turned off the truck and tried to turn it back on and it wouldn't. All that happens is the gauges go up and they come back down.

[rockwood84]

take the battery and get it load tested it will have to be at full charge for them to do this. cold and heat are hard on batteries as most either fail when its cold or when its extremely hot.also the battery could have a bad cell .if the battery checks ok on the load test.check and clean the terminals, a corroded terminal will not let the alternator recharge the battery. could be the starter as the solenoid engaging [the click]but the starter not turning the gear.you can check this by taking the starter off and using a pair of jumper cables to see the stater is engaging and turning.i bought a new starter from autozone for my e-150 and told the guy to bench test it to make sure it was a good one ,as i lived 40 miles away. he told me "good to go" so i put it on and all i got was a click. i checked the battery charge [good] and ended up taking the stater off and checking it using jumper cables. the new starter bendix was popping out but the gear was not turning. i drove the 40 miles back the next day and went ballistic for about 20 minutes got my $$$$$$ and went to carquest and bought one, put it on and it cranked right up....

[mudslinger88]

Also, a little preventative maintenance, with the radio shutting off and guages going out like that, I would take the alternator in and get it bench checked. It doesn't cost anything and it should only take about 20 to 25 min to get it off then same to put on. Post back the results.