Trouble shooting problems with your starting system

When trouble shooting a problem with an electric started engine ie; a suspected faulty starter,solenoid,ignition switch etc. it is common to 'jump' the solenoid, this is done by connecting the two large wires at the solenoid , on most vehicles the solenoid is connected directly to the starter (its the smaller cylinder) however it is very common for ford to mount them on a inner fender, you can simply follow your positive wire coming out of the starter, it will lead first to the solenoid then finally to the positive battery terminal, the solenoind consist of three wires, two large ones and one much smaller, one of the large wires will lead to the positive battery terminal, the other large wire, directly into the starter , the small wire is the power supply to the solenoid (operated by your ignition switch) which is what engages to connect the two larger wires, if you jump the two large wires *(i commonly use a wrench or two screwdrivers whatever it takes , be carefull of the sparks, or loom yourself a switched wire for more safety)* the engine should turn over! it will not start unless you turn on the ignition... this is a simple way to 'bypass' the solenoid for trouble shooting purposes, this example i just used a week ago and determined that i will have to remove the starter for a closer inspection, as it was just replaced two weeks prior! in this case the starter was shot. more on that some other time.