93 explorer eddie wont start

[explorermomof3]

Hey there, i bought a 93 explorer eddie bauer edition on feb 13th. ran awesome, drives awesome i love it..started right up without any problems...then a couple weeks later...went to start it, and it took it a 3 times before it finally started...ran pefectly fine. then a few days later it did the same thing. then this past sunday i went and met a friend for dinner...started right up, ran fine. had my dinner, went to go home.......wont start! all i hear is a clicking sound when i turn the key. the lights on the inside are on and bright as normal. we left it there overnight and went back the next morning and for the heck of it tried to start it, and it started right up!!! so we said lets bring it home!! so i drove it home and drove perfectly fine. we replaced the starter relay. but it still wont start. all we get is a clicking sound. we have replaced the battery terminals as well. we are thinking its the starter solenoid or the starter itself...any ideas?????????????

 

[geoph1986]

Welcome explorermomof3,
If you suspect the starter, while someone is trying to turn it over, have another someone give the starter a whack with a hammer. If the starter is on it's way out this can bump it from a "dead spot". If it starts, then I would say it's your starter. If not, check all your connections for corrosion. Ground, Battery, connection at the starter, & solenoid. If still no go, I would try the solenoid. Also, battery cables themselves go bad. They rot from the inside out. But, you said it starts, then it doesn't, then it does...I would check all connections first. I've also have had bad batteries give a similar scenario. Hope this give you a little bit of help, and good luck.

 

[explorermomof3]

thanks. we will try that once the weather warms up this weekend. its currently 22 below with the windchill. i should add that we did try to "jump start" it with the jumper cables because we initially thought it was the battery as well.......even with doing that, she wont start, all we get is the clicking sound that comes from what we believe is the starter relay...im a little bit confused with that actually....in a 93 is the starter solenoid on the fender wall or is it attached to the starter itself?? the part we replaced which we thought was the solenoid is on the fender wall. and thats the part that the clicking noise is coming from.

 

[fixxxer]

That is the starter relay on the fender, the starter solenoid switch is bolted to the starter motor, passenger side of the engine, underneath the engine, towards the back of the engine.

 

[explorermomof3]

thanks for clarifying that up for me because on the box the relay came in, it says solenoid on it, not relay and we asked for the starter solenoid go figure!

 

[geoph1986]

You can also check the starter by jumping it right at the positive post on the starter itself. I had an econoline van years ago that gave me the problem that you are describing, and it turned out to be a bad positive battery cable. They can look fine on the outside, but are corroded inside. It really seems like you have a bad connection. I understand not wanting to be out in the cold, it's been between 32 & 38 below (Celsius) here for the last few days. If you don't understand Celsius all you have to know is that at -40 we're the same.

 

[fixxxer]

Unfortunately, the relay is called a solenoid by some manufacturers. What I am referring to is this; (smaller cylinder on the bottom)

and the starter solenoid (relay) on the fender is this;

 

[explorermomof3]

the part that we changed was on the fender wall not on the starter itself. This is the part we replaced:

we will also check all the cables on the battery as well.

 

[fixxxer]

The starter solenoid on the starter motor could be bad as well, they look like this when bad;

 

[fixxxer]

The way your describing the solenoid "chattering" when you try to start the Ex really does indicate not enough current going to that starter motor. Definitely check the battery cables and have your battery load-tested.

 

[explorermomof3]

hmmm thanks! well i guess what we will do before we got spending $60.00 for a new starter is to test the starter to see if that is indeed the problem first...if that is working then move on from there. obviously its something in the "starting system" since once it did start it ran perfectly fine. i know i found something on here about how to test the starter and the "other" solenoid. (and i do have the Haynes repair manual as well)

the funny thing is, we bought this to be our "dependable" vehicle since our other one, 91 jeep cherokee isnt as dependable ha ha ha go figures it'd break down before the jeep!

 

[fixxxer]

Once you fix the issue with the starter (I'm putting my $ on the battery cables being at least part of the problem) you will find the 1st gen Ex to be a VERY dependable vehicle.

 

[geoph1986]

Mine has 338,000km on it, and is now needing some major stuff, like a new transmission. Xcellent vehicles!

 

[explorermomof3]

my husband just went to try and start it, no go, still just the clicking and now he said the dome light and door lights arent on...so tomorrow he is going to check the battery terminal cables.....because before he changed the terminals......the dome lights and door lights were all on and normal brightness..........also he mentioned...that after starting it...the normal check engine lights on the dash come on and go off like normal, but then the battery light is now on...but that might be from the battery terminals which he did today. i didnt notice the battery light indicator on before he changed those out. i wouldnt doubt that the cables are part of the problem! oh and theres 205,000+ miles on ours

 

[fixxxer]

I'm at 249K, just about to hit 250,000, maybe by next weekend!

 

[ld50]

I went through this several years ago, and found this bulletin:


"FORD EXPLORER / MAZDA NAVAJO
NO START CONDITION

1992-1993 Ford Explorers and Mazda Navajos, May exhibit repeated no start conditions. Ford suggests that technicians inspect the condition of the battery cables and any other wiring harness in the vicinity of the battery for signs of corrosion. The condition is easy to spot as the cables will have become swollen and discolored from the battery acid emissions. To cure this condition, all suspect cables should be replaced with new, and a new battery cover (Ford part # F3TZ-1OA687-A) should be installed over the battery to prevent this condition in the future"

I found that my battery wiring was stiff and inflexible up to about 6 inches from the terminals. They were in fact badly corroded.



later I also had a problem that was similiar. Took the starter out and had it "bench tested" at a parts store. it checked out okay. I put it back in and it fired up. Parked it and next startup it just clicked again.
I decided to buy a new starter and never had a problem since.

-very frustrating when these things happen.

 

[explorermomof3]

just thought id share a picture of my explorer:

 

[explorermomof3]

interesting bulletin.......my truck doesn't have any kind of cover at all over the battery. yes its very frustrating when these things happen especially when it happens 3 weeks after buying it and when you don't have money to put out on parts.

 

[geoph1986]

interesting bulletin.......my truck doesn't have any kind of cover at all over the battery. yes its very frustrating when these things happen especially when it happens 3 weeks after buying it and when you don't have money to put out on parts.

Mine doesn't have a battery cover either. I too know the frustration of needing to fix something and not having much money to do so. On the plus side, once you figure out what is causing the problem, I'm sure it will be pretty cheap to fix. Another thing I figured I'd mention is, if your positive battery connection is constantly fuzzy with corrosion (I don't know if yous is or not), it is a good indication of a bad ground. Hang in there, this site is full of knowledgeable people, and they are great at helping find and fix problems.

 

[explorermomof3]

Mine doesn't have a battery cover either. I too know the frustration of needing to fix something and not having much money to do so. On the plus side, once you figure out what is causing the problem, I'm sure it will be pretty cheap to fix. Another thing I figured I'd mention is, if your positive battery connection is constantly fuzzy with corrosion (I don't know if yous is or not), it is a good indication of a bad ground. Hang in there, this site is full of knowledgeable people, and they are great at helping find and fix problems.

well im hoping its relatively cheap. we have already spent 15.00 on the relay which wasnt the problem. well we did replace the terminals because they were pretty corroded. how would we know if it was a bad ground or not?? thanks. yes there certainly are great people here that know what theyre talking about.