No crank or start - 98 Explorer

[stevenphenna]

I have a 98 Explorer that now won't crank or start. The battery is new, so I know that's not the issue. I've cleaned corrosion of the battery cables, but am thinking I may need to replace those. No issues with fuses.

When I take the battery cables off and then put them back on, I'm able to get the headlights/dash lights on sometimes, but other times they go off. Even when headlights are on, if I go to start it, it doesn't crank or turn on, and it kills the headlights/dash lights. When this first happened, I was able to start the car with a jump battery.

Any ideas? I'm a bit of a noob so any advice is appreciated. My plan is to try new cables, then if that doesn't work, perhaps take the starter off and get that tested.

 

[Pete Deering]

I have a 98 Explorer that now won't crank or start. The battery is new, so I know that's not the issue. I've cleaned corrosion of the battery cables, but am thinking I may need to replace those. No issues with fuses.

When I take the battery cables off and then put them back on, I'm able to get the headlights/dash lights on sometimes, but other times they go off. Even when headlights are on, if I go to start it, it doesn't crank or turn on, and it kills the headlights/dash lights. When this first happened, I was able to start the car with a jump battery.

Any ideas? I'm a bit of a noob so any advice is appreciated. My plan is to try new cables, then if that doesn't work, perhaps take the starter off and get that tested.

Sound like you have a bad ground connection too the body by the battery.
Do you have a test light or volt meter?
Place the positive meter cable on the battery positive post and take the black meter cable and connected too the body or engine ground point and see if it light or you get a voltage reading.

 

[stevenphenna]

Sound like you have a bad ground connection too the body by the battery.
Do you have a test light or volt meter?
Place the positive meter cable on the battery positive post and take the black meter cable and connected too the body or engine ground point and see if it light or you get a voltage reading.

I will get one and try this, thank you. What voltage reading would I be looking for?

 

[C420sailor]

Agreed. You likely have massive resistance somewhere. Either caused by corrosion or a poor connection.

I’ve had nearly identical symptoms from a loose battery terminal clamp. Just enough of a connection to run the lights and radio. Try to crank it and the high current would heat and melt that connection ever so slightly, gapping it, and the truck would go totally dead, instantly.

 

[Pete Deering]

I will get one and try this, thank you. What voltage reading would I be looking for?

I will get one and try this, thank you. What voltage reading would I be looking for?

You can either test for voltage, which I mean is 12 volt DC.
When using a test light. You (connect) place the red lead on the positive lead on the battery positive and take the black lead (negative) and when you touch any ground point the test light will light.
With a multimeter, you can test for voltage ,same as above and you can also measure for continuity.
Set on voltage , you will measure the voltage at the battery posts. Then measure at the terminals and elsewhere.

 

[stevenphenna]

Agreed. You likely have massive resistance somewhere. Either caused by corrosion or a poor connection.

I’ve had nearly identical symptoms from a loose battery terminal clamp. Just enough of a connection to run the lights and radio. Try to crank it and the high current would heat and melt that connection ever so slightly, gapping it, and the truck would go totally dead, instantly.

Thank you. I did clean some corrosion off the terminal clamps, but I think there is still quite a bit, and the wires themselves don't look too great. I think I will try replacing these and see what happens.

 

[stevenphenna]

You can either test for voltage, which I mean is 12 volt DC.
When using a test light. You (connect) place the red lead on the positive lead on the battery positive and take the black lead (negative) and when you touch any ground point the test light will light.
With a multimeter, you can test for voltage ,same as above and you can also measure for continuity.
Set on voyage , you will measure the voltage at the battery posts. Then measure at the terminals and elsewhere.

View attachment 445618

View attachment 445619

Got it, thank you. I will try this.

 

[410Fortune]

If there is enough wire left you can cut off the bad ends and crimp on some copper lugs to act as new battery terminals
You can clean the copper strands to get rid of the rest of the corrosion
Sounds like classic battery cable connection issues

 

[stevenphenna]

Thanks all - got it up and running. I think the issue was the battery terminal connectors. When I tested them with the multimeter, I got pretty low and variable voltage, likely due to corrosion. Cut them off, stripped some of the wire (looked good further down), and replaced with new terminal connectors. Started up just fine after that!