2003 mountaineer randomly doesnt start

[Xenowolf]

I own a 2003 mounty 4.6L and recently took it into the shop because of this problem.. They told me they found nothing wrong and couldnt duplicate the problem so they returned it to me, I've taken them video of the incidents and they still do nothing.. Every time i take my car to them something else goes wrong..

Now: my passenger air bag light turns on on my dash and flashes 3x then 4x then stays repeats and eventually stays on for 10-15 minutes before finally turning off..


Symptoms of no start:

I turn the key, and theres only the click of the key and no starting noise or attempted starting noise. This happens over and over as i attempt to start it and randomly it will start like normal.

-It doesnt happen every time
-It doesnt refuse to start for over about a minute usually
-Slamming the door -SEEMS- to help but its unknown because of how random the problem is
-occurs in cold starts and restarting after driving
-Battery is fairly new
-Ive tried with AC, headlights, radio, dashlights, and interior lights turned off and it still occurs
-I have an amp/subwoofer and ive tried disconnecting it and problem still occurs

Some days it happens, others it doesnt.. happens in cold weather, rainy weather, hot weather.. doesnt matter, its completely random.


The mechanics at mercury said that there could be a problem with the PAT and that it drew a code but because they couldnt replicate it they shrugged it off...

The problem will NEVER occur infront of the mechanics, but I drove my car out of the shop and into their parking lot and turned it off only for it not to start again... but of course they didnt see it.


Has anyone had a problem like this?

Ive tried with my normal key and the spare set of keys and it still happens..


If anyone knows how to fix it please let me know because it gets annoying...

Some days I'm in a hurry and it just refuses to start and then starts up fine after making me wait..



Oh one more piece of info that is probably useless: The first time this happened to me i was in a rush to head to the hospital to meet up with a family member in the ER... I jumped in the car and went to start it quickly and it just wouldnt start for about a minute and a half.. then finally it started and didnt repeat the problem for a whole day after and now it happens atleast once a day.


Thanks for any help and tips,

-Chris

 

[BrooklynBay]

Clean the battery terminals.

 

[Donner]

Miami, welcome (2006)! Take it from the shop, and to a dealership's service department. Ef the shop... it they can't find it, don't wait until you stall on the freeway or something... get it fixed.

 

[Xenowolf]

Clean the battery terminals.

They are clean, and tight, I've tried everything I can think of.. and I dont want to take it to the mechanics so they can break something else again.. They fixed a broken door ajar sensor on one of my doors and now my passenger door randomly refuses to lock with the rest of the doors and I have to lock it a few times to make it work.

Thanks for the help though.

 

[BrooklynBay]

You said that the PATS threw a code. What was the code number?

 

[Xenowolf]

You said that the PATS threw a code. What was the code number?

The mechanic didnt say.. he really didnt tell me anything other than he couldnt repeat the problem... and he complained about my rigging of my E-fan because at the time I had it tie strapped to my radiator. But, this problem has been occurring since long before I started doing anything to the car.

I forgot to mention that when the car starts "Check charging system" or "service charging system" comes up on the message center for a FRACTION of a second after having the starting problem.. But again my battery is good and the alternator should be good.

Please help... haha

 

[lholley33]

I had this problem with my 99 Explorer 4.0L. Did the dealer thing and everything else. No help. Finally pulled the starter relay in the power distribution box under the hood and slightly bent the relay prongs so better contact was made with the socket. This was over 2 years ago and no problems since. Worth a try.

 

[Xenowolf]

I had this problem with my 99 Explorer 4.0L. Did the dealer thing and everything else. No help. Finally pulled the starter relay in the power distribution box under the hood and slightly bent the relay prongs so better contact was made with the socket. This was over 2 years ago and no problems since. Worth a try.

First time I took it to the mechanic i told them it was the starter relay and SUPPOSEDLY they replaced it but its hard to tell... and problem still occurs..

My friends 2000 Ford F-150 had the starting problem and he bought his starter relay at advanced auto and it fixed the problem for him..

I was looking at my fusebox in the manual and I've got both a starter relay and an ignition relay.. so it could be the ignition relay i suppose (IF the dealer actually replaced the starter relay)....

I'll let you all know how it goes, till then keep the help coming please.

Thanks,

-Chris

 

[JCUZ]

Symptoms of no start:

I turn the key, and theres only the click of the key and no starting noise or attempted starting noise. This happens over and over as i attempt to start it and randomly it will start like normal.

-It doesnt happen every time
-It doesnt refuse to start for over about a minute usually
-Slamming the door -SEEMS- to help but its unknown because of how random the problem is
-occurs in cold starts and restarting after driving
-Battery is fairly new
-Ive tried with AC, headlights, radio, dashlights, and interior lights turned off and it still occurs
-I have an amp/subwoofer and ive tried disconnecting it and problem still occurs

Some days it happens, others it doesnt.. happens in cold weather, rainy weather, hot weather.. doesnt matter, its completely random.


The mechanics at mercury said that there could be a problem with the PAT and that it drew a code but because they couldnt replicate it they shrugged it off...

The problem will NEVER occur infront of the mechanics, but I drove my car out of the shop and into their parking lot and turned it off only for it not to start again... but of course they didnt see it.


Has anyone had a problem like this?

Ive tried with my normal key and the spare set of keys and it still happens..


If anyone knows how to fix it please let me know because it gets annoying...

Some days I'm in a hurry and it just refuses to start and then starts up fine after making me wait..



Oh one more piece of info that is probably useless: The first time this happened to me i was in a rush to head to the hospital to meet up with a family member in the ER... I jumped in the car and went to start it quickly and it just wouldnt start for about a minute and a half.. then finally it started and didnt repeat the problem for a whole day after and now it happens atleast once a day.


Thanks for any help and tips,

-Chris

Yes, we also have this problem. If it's as simple as the starter or ignition relay, I'll cry. We've taken it to Ford, and of course it started every time for them, so they can't fix what isn't broken! It mostly happens to my wife, though it has happened to me a few times too. We have 4 keys between us, and doesn't appear to matter what key is used; it's totally random.

My fix is this:

1. Open door, and close door.
2. Lock door.
3. Unlock door.
4. Poke tongue out of mouth and hold to left just so.
5. Pull key out of ingition, turn key over and re-insert into ignition.
6. Start car (or try to).
7. If step 7 doesn't work, hold key in start position for a count of 30.
8. If 8 doesn't work, repeat steps 5 onwards.

It eventually starts.

I'm going to look into fixing/replacing starter and ignition relays over the weekend.

 

[lholley33]

Reference my last post. The actual problem I had was the contact between the relay prongs and the socket. I would pull all the relays and adjust the prongs just to make sure that you are getting good contact. Another way to troubleshoot is to have a helper tap on the individual relays while trying to start the engine. I could actually feel mine arching in the socket when I did this. Hope this helps.

 

[Xenowolf]

Yeah slamming the door, rocking the car, hitting the steering wheel... turning the key over.. all of those SEEM to help but its still unknown because of how random this problem occurs.

What seems to help the best is when my friend gets out of the passenger seat and walks away from the car.... It apparently hates him.. lol

I bent the contacts on the ignition relay and the problem still occurs.. but it seeeeeems to be less frequent so I'll let you all know how it goes.

Thanks for the help,

-Chris