Wont start

[thesleepyguy]

so the other day i was driving my 1993 ford explorer xlt 4x4, 4L and went into a store, after i came out and went to start it there was one loud click sounded like from the solenoid on the fender by the battery the truck has a new starter and i cleaned all the battery connections then went to a parts store and bought a new solenoid and installed it on the fender and when i try and start the truck i still get one loud click sounds and then nothing when i first start the key gets all the lights and sterio going good then makes that one click and thats it does anyone have any advise please im in a spot and need to get my truck working

 

[thesleepyguy]

i guess no one on here can help me?? thanks again guys great web site alot of help!!!

 

[1992fordgreen]

That means your battery is dead, and be patient. we were getting lunch.

 

[thesleepyguy]

how does that mean the battery is dead when i key it up the stereo, lights and everything works and when i try ed to jump start it with a truck it did the one click and that was it then nothing ???

 

[awood]

Now that I'm done prepping for the end of the world, I can add my 2 cents worth...

I've helped a lot of people over the years with issues just like what you described. Look at your battery terminals. Are they corroded? Any white or green fuzz? Any at all? Chances are there is. Take them apart. Clean them with the old water/baking soda rinse. Dry it. Most importantly, when it's dry, get the wire brush tool made just for batteries at your local auto parts store and use it. Use it on both the battery posts and the terminals. Wear safety glasses.

If that doesn't work, battery cables have been known to wear through the insulation on the frame or something. It happened to me. The cables are a pain to replace.

Good luck.

 

[1992fordgreen]

Whoops didn't see that, do what he said^^^

 

[geosnooker2000]

My money's on corroded battery cables. One or both. Good enough to carry power to your radio - NOT good enough to carry enough cranking amps to the starter.

 

[thesleepyguy]

so toniight me and my friend cleaned the battery termanals and the cables that hook to the battery, then noticed on starter the ground wire was not conected to the silinoid ontop of the battery we took the starter out hooked up the ground wire on the starter to the silinoid on the starter were it was supost to go then tryed to start the truck tryed a few times then had smoke coming from the starter not sure what it could be thankyou for the feed back I know I'm getting close just can't get it to start yet any idea if that ground wire on the starter might have fried my new silanoid on the inside fender? any sugestions id be greatfull for thankyou

 

[awood]

Now I'd carefully compare with a wiring diagram, that wire by wire everything is going where it should. Double check your terminals. If they're the crimp style. Tug on them firmly to make sure they're not loose.

If everything is good, then consider replacing the solenoid.

Any electrical device operates on smoke. If you let the smoke out, it wont work anymore!

 

[tweakedlogic]

Any electrical device operates on smoke. If you let the smoke out, it wont work anymore!

 

[thesleepyguy]

does the silinoid on the. fender act like a fusse could I have blown it ? or should I look at another new starter all together or both? my laptops getting fixed other wise id post some pics up been a bad week and need my truck to work as I got a new job to start after xmas and its my way around any sugestions guys? thank you. steve.

 

[awood]

The solenoid is a switch. It uses a small amount of current in small wires to control a large amount of current in large wires. They use a solenoid so you don't have large battery cables running inside the car to the ignition switch.

Here's a pic (hope it works)
http://www.americanmuscle.com/ford-starter-relay-8593.html

I don't have a pic of my setup but the way mine is oriented... if you were to look straight at it across the engine bay from the drivers side fender...the small connector is about the 10 o'clock position. There's two big wires molded together so they only go on the other two terminals one way. There's two other big wire terminals that both go on the bottom lug on the solenoid. (6 o'clock position)

Hope this helps.

 

[SwaintaN]

Got any more advice on this?

Im now having the SAME problem.. All my positive wires are good, ground wires are good, terminals are good.

Jumping dont work neither does a full battery.

Just the loud solenoid click.

Took my starter off and connected it to jumper cables, so starter is good, it engages, flywheel spins etc.

 

[awood]

Seems I've been mixing up my terms. The Starter Relay is on the fender. The Starter Solenoid is on the starter itself. My bad...

There's several directions you could go. How about using an old screwdriver and quickly touching together the two big lugs on the starter relay with the key on? If it cranks, your relay is bad.

If not, the red cable going from the battery to the starter, or the black cable going from the relay down to the starter could be bad. Or you still have a bad ground issue between the body, engine, and battery.

Or something isn't wired correctly. My diagram shows a red wire coming from the battery joining with a black wire coming from the power distribution panel and meeting together on the relay. (Diagram for a 93). The other side of the relay contactor is a black wire going straight to the solenoid on the starter.

 

[SwaintaN]

I got the battery set to overnight charge, when i went to use the battery it read out 11 volts but at starting it dropped under 9. So charging the battery again to see if thats it, also i think i have tried that before, just with pliers instead of screw driver. however im gonna try it again today with the battery fully charged.

 

[92exp4x4]

Sleepy guy,

Did you ever get your truck running? What was the issue?


Swaintan,

Your battery should not drop below about 10.5 volts while turning over the engine. You probably have a cell that is starting to short.

A fully charged fresh battery will show 12.8-13.2 volts static - meaning just sitting there. I'd say your battery is going bad. How old is it? Has it ever been discharged before?

 

[SwaintaN]

yeah it was fully drained before, this will be the 100thsomething time its been on charge... if i was to let the truck sit for a week, battery would be slap drop dead. its probably right over a year old.

what i did this last time, was hooked up the charger set it to engine start... while turning the key volts never dropped below 11 and battery sat at 14 with engine start option set on...

did the screw driver trick and just got loud click from starter.

 

[92exp4x4]

Yeah, your battery is screwed. You may not be getting a good enough connection from your starter/charger to turn the engine over, and the big thing is amps. If your battery is only putting out half or quarter of the amps, the charger may not be pushing enough to make the difference. You may not have enough to crank the engine, even on charge.

Since you need a battery anyway I would warrenty that one or get another and start there. Its impossible to isolate electrical problems without a good source of power.

 

[92exp4x4]

Also, did you check your truck for any amp draws? It makes me wonder why your battery goes dead after sitting for a week.

 

[SwaintaN]

thats what started my adventure was the battery going dead so much. No warranty on the battery was a new freebie.

i think what might killed the battery is i found a nick in the starter wire that was touching metal, so it grounded out.