Tech Tip By Ron Geier Ford PMGR Starting Problems The Ford PMGR series of starters has been on most Ford products since the late 1980s. The starter appears to be a generally good assembly and is now being serviced regularly as the vehicles age. These vehicles have an “S” termi- nal that “feels” loose. The terminal has a locking tab that locks into the round hole in the “S” terminal on the solenoid. This terminal can be damaged during removal and cannot be “tightened” in the same way as the more common replacement terminals. In order to remove an original terminal when serv- icing the starter, the locking tab must be depressed. When the locking tab is depressed, the vehicle “S” terminal may not have enough surface contact with the solenoid. The primary symptom of this problem is intermittent starting. This situation has caused increased war- ranties for local rebuilders. The original terminal is available from the Ford dealer as part of the fire- wall switch to starter complete wiring harness only. The local dealer does not stock this harness and it’s too expensive to be used routinely in the aftermarket. The only practical and economical solu- tion available to rebuilders appears to be replacing the original terminal end with a replacement crimp slide connector. Some of the rebuilders that I have talked to may add the slide connector to all of their Ford PMGRs with an insert explaining its usage. The Ford dealers in my area do not recognize this as a problem area, but they are replacing some number of the complete switch to starter harnesses under warranty.