Explorer Cranks But Wont Start | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

Explorer Cranks But Wont Start

kmac59

Member
Joined
September 29, 2015
Messages
48
Reaction score
4
Location
Houston, Texas
City, State
Houston, TX
Year, Model & Trim Level
2015 Explorer Limited
I've been having this issue for quite some time. Thursday was 4th time for 2015 Limited it to be towed back into the dealer. The 1st or 2nd time, they replaced everything in the fuel system trying to figure out the issue. 3rd time, they get off tow truck, it starts right up. They have it for a week trying to figure out to no avail.

On Thursday same thing happens. Running great, go to the store, come out... cranks and cranks. Sounds like it's out of gas. Call tow truck... The driver says, "bet when it gets on truck pointing down, it will start". Sure enough, started right up.

Had it towed to the dealer as I'm so frustrated that this truck I want to keep is so undependable. Can't take a trip in it.

Talk to the dealer this AM...says they are waiting to hear from Ford but that will probably not be until late in the week. It's running fine now, they keep going out and starting it. I'm going to go pick it up as I know it will run fine for a month or two.

Anyone ever had this issue and figured it out?

I thought I'd be keeping this one as it really is the only vehicle I've ever wanted to keep this long; however, now I'm ready to sell it and get in line for the 2020s.

Thanks for your help!

s!Ahdg1yzVyPU0gvhWT-N3Ze_g2eHIFg
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Keep thing documented just incase you go for a lemon law buyback.

Just guessing but if it starts find when on a angle it would point towards the fuel tank pickup. What is the fuel level when this happens? Is it lower than 1/2 a tank or does it do it on a full tank?
 






Keep thing documented just incase you go for a lemon law buyback.

Just guessing but if it starts find when on a angle it would point towards the fuel tank pickup. What is the fuel level when this happens? Is it lower than 1/2 a tank or does it do it on a full tank?

Lemon law on a 2015 (4 year old vehicle)? Not happening.
 






It might only be a 3 year old vehicle depending on when it was first sold.

But different states have different laws as far as lemon laws.
 






Full tank of gas. I've even run Chevron high octane and a fuel cleaner once a month.
 






Check the battery for kicks. I've seen so many weird voltage items with these vehicles that it wouldn't surprise me at this point if the crank sensor didn't return a signal, spark plugs failed to fire, fuel pump failed to do its job, etc.
 






Went and picked it up from the dealer. They have no clue. Pretty much said they've done all they can unless they hear back from Ford..."
I'll email you." I'm not holding my breath.

Service advisor did ask if it was happening when it is on full tank... maybe some valve is air locked or something. I'm not sure if it's full or not. It was full tank this last time.
 






Check the battery for kicks. I've seen so many weird voltage items with these vehicles that it wouldn't surprise me at this point if the crank sensor didn't return a signal, spark plugs failed to fire, fuel pump failed to do its job, etc.
New battery... although the + battery terminal keeps corroding up very fast. I had cleaned a few weeks ago and then when this happened, it was crazy corroded again. Cleaned good but it didn't help with cranking.

Might be worth taking the terminal off and doing a very good cleaning. Thanks for that idea!
 






New battery... although the battery keeps corroding up very fast. I had cleaned a few weeks ago and then when this happened, it was crazy corroded again. Cleaned good but it didn't help with cranking.

Is the car showing any codes? Lost com with sensor X, etc?

These codes might be there even in absence of a check engine light, etc.
 






Is the car showing any codes? Lost com with sensor X, etc?

These codes might be there even in absence of a check engine light, etc.

No codes... Service Advisor said if they had some code they'd be able to trace the issue.
 






I've seen the powertrain codes be quite transient... if I were you, I'd get a laptop with FORScan on it and an ELM327/OBD-II reader, then when the car exhibits the behavior at home, go scanning while the issue is still present.

Still have a sneaky feeling that there's an electrical issue here.
 






No codes... Service Advisor said if they had some code they'd be able to trace the issue.
Do you have a battery charger that can be used to jump-start or the ability to 'jump' the vehicle the next time it doesn't start?
An overcharging alternator can cause the battery to overproduce hydrogen gas which in turn can cause the terminal to corrode quickly. By jump starting, you would bypass the positive terminal connection to your own battery. See if it starts.

Peter
 






Do you have a battery charger that can be used to jump-start or the ability to 'jump' the vehicle the next time it doesn't start?
An overcharging alternator can cause the battery to overproduce hydrogen gas which in turn can cause the terminal to corrode quickly. By jump starting, you would bypass the positive terminal connection to your own battery. See if it starts.

Peter
Peter,

It will crank and crank and the tow truck driver did connect his portable charge to the battery (even though I told him the battery was not dead).
 






I've seen the powertrain codes be quite transient... if I were you, I'd get a laptop with FORScan on it and an ELM327/OBD-II reader, then when the car exhibits the behavior at home, go scanning while the issue is still present.

Still have a sneaky feeling that there's an electrical issue here.

Disconnected the battery and the + copper terminal is badly corroded/disintegrating. Only one copper ring connecting to the battery.

I will need to replace the terminal which I see from Ford is $350 for the copper one. Aftermarket one is cheap but it is a silver metal. Does this matter?
 












Maybe a bad fuel pump module. Ford had a recall for a bunch of them in the Flex and Taurus.
 






Disconnected the battery and the + copper terminal is badly corroded/disintegrating. Only one copper ring connecting to the battery.

I will need to replace the terminal which I see from Ford is $350 for the copper one. Aftermarket one is cheap but it is a silver metal. Does this matter?
I believe you mean to say 'connector/clamp' instead of "terminal". The terminal is the post on the battery itself and can't be replaced. The connector/clamp is what is on the end of the cable that goes to the battery. Check out the last page (#5) of the link to the thread shown in post #15 above.

Peter
 






I believe you mean to say 'connector/clamp' instead of "terminal". The terminal is the post on the battery itself and can't be replaced. The connector/clamp is what is on the end of the cable that goes to the battery. Check out the last page (#5) of the link to the thread shown in post #15 above.

Peter

Thank you Peter and all! Good information. I'm going to replace this battery clamp and see how this impacts the starting issue.
 






I ordered the complete battery connector off (Thanks Peter!) The price has definitely come down from when I first looked.

Took apart all to clean and install new connector and found the deformed + post on the 1-year-old battery. This had happened before with the original battery. The technician told me it was because of high temperatures in Houston... er, it's hot everywhere and my vehicle spends most of the time in the garage. Anyway, got new connector installed (old one was completely corroded with only one band in contact with batter post) and going in to get the battery replaced this AM. Thanks "Thefranchise 713"... I'm hoping you are right with the electrical causing the no gas/starting issue.

20181230_150159_resized.jpg
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





I've seen the powertrain codes be quite transient... if I were you, I'd get a laptop with FORScan on it and an ELM327/OBD-II reader, then when the car exhibits the behavior at home, go scanning while the issue is still present.

Still have a sneaky feeling that there's an electrical issue here.

I'm not sure if you hit the nail on the head with this one but have found a big issue. Once I replaced the battery connector and saw the deformed battery case under the + pole, I brought it to NTB who installed the battery in 2017.

They replaced the battery for free, however, stated they had seen this issue when the voltage was fluctuating. They ran a voltage test and found that is was up and down. They are recommending a new starter. I would have thought alternator... I told them I wanted to hold off because I'm going back to the dealership to find out why after all these breakdowns, 2 batteries, new connector, they never found this issue with the voltage.

Has anyone experienced this problem with the fluctuating voltage on their Explorer? I'm really hoping this is the problem with it not starting.

Thanks!
 






Back
Top