'98 5.0L Explorer Slow Crank Issue

[5.SHO]

Please help. Battery, starter, and alternator, are all good according to O'reillys. I'm ready to give up. The truck always cranks slow. Even with fresh charge.

 

[koda2000]

Have you replaced your battery cables?

 

[5.SHO]

That must be the problem. I'm going to give that a shot today. I am only a novice mechanic with no help other than the internet. So any bits of knowledge are greatly appreciated. I will be back with and update! Thank you!

 

[96eb96]

Parts store tests can be inconclusive sometimes.
If the cables test out....

How old is the battery? What is the voltage when you crank? Get a cheap multimeter and measure across the batt terminals while someone starts the car.

Starter could be tired too. Also check for corrosion on the starter terminals.

 

[5.SHO]

Parts store tests can be inconclusive sometimes.
If the cables test out....

How old is the battery? What is the voltage when you crank? Get a cheap multimeter and measure across the batt terminals while someone starts the car.

Starter could be tired too. Also check for corrosion on the starter terminals.

I got a starter from the truck dismantling place and still slow crank. I put multimeter to the terminals it reads 12v then when I try to start it, it'll drop to 7v. Battery is only a year old. I'm thinking it's the cables. I'm gonna go to pick n pull whenever I find a ride to get oem replacement that will be substantially less then a new oem replacement.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

7 is too low, I've been told by the local Carquest that anything below 9.5 under load means bad battery.

 

[koda2000]

7 is too low, I've been told by the local Carquest that anything below 9.5 under load means bad battery.

Bad battery or bad cables, but 7 volts is too low. My street rod has a real voltage gauge in it and the voltage drops to about 10-10.5 while cranking and it's turning over quite fast.

 

[5.SHO]

I've had a few people tell me its the cables. I put a brand new battery in and it did the same thing. I've tried a few batteries with the same result each time.

 

[Centaurus5.0]

How do the wires look around the solenoid? Are all the rigs grounding straps still good? Do you have any extra wires going to the battery like for a high powered stereo?

 

[RandomNerd2000]

Assuming you're fully stock, I'd check the battery cables, on both ends, check the starter end too.

 

[koda2000]

How do the wires look around the solenoid? Are all the rigs grounding straps still good? Do you have any extra wires going to the battery like for a high powered stereo?

While the body grounding straps are important, they really don't have anything to do with the starting system. The only ground that matters for starting is the main ground from the negative battery terminal. On a vehicle that's 19 years old, it's probably time to change the battery cables (Pos and Neg). The cables corrode internally increasing resistance and the terminal ends don't make good contact. There's also a wire that goes from the starter solenoid to the starter motor (sometimes copper braided wire) that tends to corrode. This should also be examined.

 

[Centaurus5.0]

Thanks for the clarification on the grounding straps koda.