92 explorer starts when IT WANTS TO

[electric88]

newbie here. have a 92 explorer that refuses to start, except when it wants to.the problem is intermitant start sometimes works with the key, but most times have to get out and pop the hood to jump the start relay posts. 3 shops, both ford dealers in town, and 2 mobile mechanics have worked on this problem (just over $4,000) to no avail. I have replaced starter, batt, start relay on fender, batt cables, ignition sw on colum under dash, and checked every wire i could find associated with getting the piece of junk started. i'm at my wits end and am about to drag it out in the desert and blow it up. has any one else had this problem? if so please help. as to the question" does it start in neutral?" the answer is it does nothing in park, neutral, or any position required to start. get a click then nothing. fuel pump and all other electrical work perfect. has a mind of it's own and starts when it wants, not when I want.

 

[pickupman6]

will it start in neutral?

 

[Anime]

Could be a flaky neutral safety switch, or clutch pedal switch. Could even be a fuel cutoff switch acting up, but that would be highly unusual.

Could also still be the starter depending on what you have. Usually the starting problems with these happen when the battery cables corrode from the inside, or the starter brushes wear down. "New" starters aren't always good, especially the low quality junk from China. Some of them don't work right and are flaky out of the box, either from internal issues or the attached solenoid. Same with the fender solenoid. You might also check the wiring and be sure it's solid. Loose bolts or dirty connections make a difference.

That's incredible you've spent over $4,000 without a fix though.

 

[pickupman6]

when u say u jump sth fendermount solenoid do u jump the two big terminals or the bat side and the s terminal. when u turn the key to start do u have 12v at the s terminal. if u dont then that rules out the starter, cables, solenoid, and battery.

 

[electric88]

all electrical working perfect, does not start in neutral, or park.
will start with the key only when it want's, otherwise have to jump start solinoid on fender

 

[electric88]

have 12v everywhere it is supposed to be. the solinoid is jumped with ascrewdriver on the large nuts

 

[electric88]

it will work with the key when it want's, sometimes i get 3-4 days where it works perfectly and then it goes back to no start with the key, and i'm back to jumping the solinoid

 

[pickupman6]

do u have 12v at the pink wire on the park/neutral sw wit the key turned in the start position if so how about the red and light blue

 

[electric88]

made sure that the starter was good, had it tested right out of the box, and did not buy reman went with new. the desert kills reman items. went through 9 on my 61 F100 before i found one that would work properly on a 496ci engine. learned my lesson on that one

 

[electric88]

tested every link and wire associated with the start circuit also checked neutral safety sw and replaced because leaking trans fluid from top

 

[electric88]

explorer came from auction and ran perfect for 2 years before this problem. was bought for my roommates daughter, who beat the livin snot outa it before she dumped it on the street in front of my house. have had to do alot of work on it since. this problem has been going on for about 6 months. most of the money was spent on other people trying to fix it. am trying to do this now without throwing more good money after bad

 

[pickupman6]

well if u checked everything then u missed something or it wouldnt be working . u never answered me when i asked if u have 12v atthe s terminal on the solenoid with the key in the start position. if u do then theres your problem. the starter system on these things arent that complicated and spendin 4g on it is ridiculous u would have to replace it all 10 times to spend that much.

 

[pickupman6]

id find someone else to work on it. youre gettin ripped off.

 

[electric88]

sorry was not ignoring you, was looking for the schematic i wrote all the readings on for the voltages on each wire with the switch in all positions. could not find it, and while looking for it i knocked the laptop off the work bench and broke the screen. had to replace screen before i could get back to you. i am well versed in electrical wiring as i am a certified aircraft electrician ( F-14A Tomcat by Grumman Aerospace Corp), also had to rebuild my first car from the ground up electrically ( 77 toyota corolla - electrical fire, purchased for $50.00), and for the last 20 years have been working as an apartment maintenance tech repairing a/c's, appliances, building wiring, etc., etc. SO before you tell me i'm stupid, each person, or shop ( 8 total, count them) that touched this truck charged on the average $400-450 to look and throw parts at it, not to mention the parts and time that i've spent, so you can see why i'm getting pissed off. now .... tiraide over, back to the issue at hand. since i have not been able to locate the notes, i had to wait for a friend to come over to turn the key so i could get new readings for you, NOW HERE'S THE PART THAT PISSES ME OFF, THE PIECE OF JUNK STARTED RIGHT UP AND HAS BEEN WORKING EVER SINCE!, so now i will have to wait untill it quits again before i can get readings again. any other suggestions?

 

[FarmTruk]

edit...nevermind.

I re-read the thread and your issue is different than what I experienced.

 

[electric88]

thanx for the reply all the same, shows that someone actually reads these things. i see you list a 94 explorer, have you had any weird stuff with that one? my 61 F100 was notorious for having things go wrong.

 

[FarmTruk]

thanx for the reply all the same, shows that someone actually reads these things. i see you list a 94 explorer, have you had any weird stuff with that one? my 61 F100 was notorious for having things go wrong.

I've had several issues over the years, but nothing that stymied a diagnosis like your situation.

The response I'd typed before re-reading was that I had a start/no-start issue that went on for about a week.

Turned out to be fuel pump relay. When it didn't start, I never heard the FP energize. By tapping on the relay with a screwdriver handle, it "unstuck" and the FP powered up, allowing the X to start.

I still have a few issues that need to be addressed once the weather gets back warm. I'm reading up on this forum to make a repair/maintenance plan of attack.

 

[Tony H]

Is the Solenoid on the Fender grounded well against the Fender?
What I'm saying is. Did you clean the surface of the fender when you mounted the new solenoid.

Wondering if there is a break in the Small wire running to the Starter . making it intermitent