2008 Ford Explorer XLT

[Tech By Trade]

Also, is the red light blinking on your dash, and if so, what is the pattern?

 

[Patricia McCluskey]

Also, is the red light blinking on your dash, and if so, what is the pattern?

It says check charging system in place of where the digital odometer reading is. I'm goin g to go to Harbor Freight to purchase a load tester.

 

[Tech By Trade]

Not the instrument cluster, the red light in the middle of the dash. It indicates the current situation with the PATS (Passive Anti Theft System). If it doesn't recognize the key, it will go into a failure mode and not allow the starter to crank.

 

[Tech By Trade]

Also, if you take out your battery and go to Oryleys or pep boys they will run it on a load tester for free, and tell you if your battery is bad or not, Though a load tester is nice to have on hand.

 

[imp]

How much does a battery load tester cost? Is this realistically workable for the average person needing a new battery every 5 years? Surely, such testers cost more than a battery. Buy one, find out the battery is no good, then buy a battery, and watch the load tester gather dust on the shelf.

Not the way to go, for me, anyway. imp

 

[dacaur2]

A harbor freight load tester can be gotten for about $20.... For someone with 3-4 vehichles in a household (including kids cars) its a pretty good investment. Heck, for $20 I would buy one just to avoid having to pull the battery and drive it down to be tested.... admiotedly the $20 harbor freight model only puts a 100 amp load on it, which might not be enough to detect the hearly stages of battery failure, but that should be plenty to diagnose a bad battery in this case.

 

[imp]

A harbor freight load tester can be gotten for about $20.... For someone with 3-4 vehichles in a household (including kids cars) its a pretty good investment. Heck, for $20 I would buy one just to avoid having to pull the battery and drive it down to be tested....

@dacaur2
OK, I had no idea that was the case, but would question the usefulness of a $20 load tester. By "load tester", we mean a device capable of applying a large load, like that of a starter, drawing several hundred amps maybe. Do you know of anything other than a starter motor which can carry say 200 amps for long enough to allow measurement of the battery's voltage under such load? And not burn up at the same time? The commercial battery testers I saw in garages and such cost hundreds of dollars. Even the Chinese can't match that, I think. imp

 

[dacaur2]

A load tester is not a complicated device. Literally all it is is a volt meter and a resistor with a big enough heatsink to be able to handle a few hundred amps for 10 seconds....

 

[imp]

A load tester is not a complicated device. Literally all it is is a volt meter and a resistor with a big enough heatsink to be able to handle a few hundred amps for 10 seconds....

@dacaur2
Which is exactly the effect of cranking an engine without starting it, no? What are we trying to "prove out" a battery, or bum starter? imp

 

[Patricia McCluskey]

@dacaur2
Which is exactly the effect of cranking an engine without starting it, no? What are we trying to "prove out" a battery, or bum starter? imp

Starter has been changed that's why it's believed to be the battery.

 

[dacaur2]

@dacaur2
Which is exactly the effect of cranking an engine without starting it, no? What are we trying to "prove out" a battery, or bum starter? imp

According to the OP, it wont turn over at all, just clicks.....

 

[imp]

According to the OP, it wont turn over at all, just clicks.....

@dacaur2
Don't know why no one "buys" the hydrometer idea. One bad cell in the battery limits high current flow, and often will not turn the starter, but will light lights. About $10, best little gadget available for battery testing, nothing else will reveal a bad cell. imp

 

[07EddyB]

@dacaur2
Don't know why no one "buys" the hydrometer idea. One bad cell in the battery limits high current flow, and often will not turn the starter, but will light lights. About $10, best little gadget available for battery testing, nothing else will reveal a bad cell. imp

They basically went out when batteries became maintenance free. Yes - you can rip the caps off but can you get them back on securely?
Also, a battery tester is crucial. Yes - you can test the battery with a standard meter while cranking the starter and see how low it goes. But - you are missing a crucial piece of information - is the battery drop because it was bad or was a bad starter pulling a greater load than it should?


You never get actionable information testing two suspect devices together.

 

[imp]

They basically went out when batteries became maintenance free. Yes - you can rip the caps off but can you get them back on securely?
Also, a battery tester is crucial. Yes - you can test the battery with a standard meter while cranking the starter and see how low it goes. But - you are missing a crucial piece of information - is the battery drop because it was bad or was a bad starter pulling a greater load than it should?


You never get actionable information testing two suspect devices together.

@07EddyB
Good points, all! I was not aware that all batteries have become "sealed". In fact, every single one displayed for sale that I've seen lately had removable caps. No, one would not want to rip open a non-capped battery. It is rather unfortunate that they do not "fuse" the starter as are the other devices. True, a bad starter can pull higher than normal current, and that's difficult to detect. imp

 

[Patricia McCluskey]

I'm back with the same problems. Got the starter changed, got the battery charged, but when I try to start it, everything goes dead. I'm at my wits end.

 

[dacaur2]

have you had the battery load tested? Now that the battery has been charged what does the voltage show while its just sitting there? Have someone watch the voltmeter on the batty while you turn the key, does the voltage drop and how much?

 

[Patricia McCluskey]

have you had the battery load tested? Now that the battery has been charged what does the voltage show while its just sitting there? Have someone watch the voltmeter on the batty while you turn the key, does the voltage drop and how much?

When I turn the key, all lights go out, disconnect the cables and reconnect, and the lights are back on. I'm baffled

 

[beauboy]

Have you replaced the negative battery post connector? I know it sounds elementary, but it's happened to me 3 times in 2 different Explorers. All else was working fine.

 

[Patricia McCluskey]

Have you replaced the negative battery post connector? I know it sounds elementary, but it's happened to me 3 times in 2 different Explorers. All else was working fine.

No I haven't but I'll give that a try. Thanks

 

[Tech By Trade]

Take the battery to a parts store for a load test. You can charge it all you want, but if it cant deliver the current required to engage the solenoid and turn the starter it is NFG.