Full Disclosure – This is just our own process. What you do with this information is up to you, and you are responsible for your own actions.
What are your symptoms?
- Starter struggles to crank after a drive? If so, then your issue is most likely “Starter Heat Soak”. This is a very common problem with our Lincolns due to the location of the starter. See Explanation below.
- Starter cranks fine but car will not start after a drive and engine is hot? Could be “vapor lock”. This is also common. Take a look at upgrading to an electric fuel pump with this link. https://chinoandsons.com/elementor-1275/
- Turns key and starter will not crank when cold? Could be neutral safety switch, starter solenoid, or the starter itself. You will have to perform a series of simple tests to determine which one is the culprit. Here is a video we did awhile back. https://youtu.be/NkH-HkM1fSs?si=hNkSNj34caWEDXNy
Starter Heat Soak
Symptom – Lincoln starts fine when it’s cold. It struggles to turn over or crank after you drove it. For example, it struggles to crank after you had a 20 min drive to the gas station.
Diagnosis – Your starter is unfortunately right by the exhaust manifold, and it is suffering from “starter heat soak”. It requires more amp to turn it over. If it struggles to crank, then the ground cable at the battery will be quite hot.
Solution – Install a 1 or 2 AWG cable from the engine block to the battery neg terminal, from the positive terminal to the starter solenoid, and from the solenoid to the starter. There should be a bolt behind the alternator above the oil pan to secure the cable. You should also make sure there is a cable from the neg terminal to the body right below the battery tray. We use the cables below.
Engine Block to Neg Terminal of Battery is usually 2 ft. Here is the link. https://amzn.to/4sFjfjQ
Positive Terminal to Solenoid is usually dependent on the years. 61/62 has the solenoid further away. We typically use this one for 63/68. https://amzn.to/4qTdNIm
Starter Solenoid to Starter – Determine your length. We usually use a 3 footer for 63/68 yrs. https://amzn.to/4sFjfjQ