Car won't start (Electrical I believe) PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!

[98XplorerSprt]

This is so damn frustrating :fire:
Thats the end of my rant and here is what happened. Car is a 1998 Explorer Sport, almost 90K on it.

My headlights would not turn on except in situations where I held the the blinker thing towards me to turn on the high beams, high beams wouldn't work when I pushed it forward and it locked in place. Anyhow I think I know what the problem is as i'll explain now.

So I figure it has to do with something inside the base of the steering wheel since if I play with the blinker thing sometimes it finds the sweet spot and the headlights work. So I proceed to take the steering wheel base apart. I unscrew the blinker thing and disconnect the 2 connectors attached to it. I see the small connector seems to have a "burnt" look to it, thats gotta be it. So I assume I need to replace this connector and wires. I take part of the dash apart and find that the wires snake down to a connector near the OB2 port. So I disconnect that connecter and find that some wires stary off and are attached to a yellow box which slides on and off easily.....So now I have these wires hanging here doing nothing.

Now to where I may have F'ed something up, my mother wanted to go to the gym and asked if the Explorer was drivable, I thought it was so I turned the key and click click click is all I hear....nothing the car is dead, but the radio and everything works just fine. I figure, **** these connectors must have something to do with the car starting, so I plug everything back together and try to turn the key.....again nothing but click click click......

So what the hell do I do now? I checked all the fuses and they look good.....Please someone help me and hopefully this doesn't cost too much to fix :roll:

By the way, I don't believe its the battery because when I turn the key 3/4 the radio and everything else works just fine.....I'm clueless

 

[IZwack]

did u trip the anti-theft?

ur sure all the wires are put back ? noting crossed?

even if the radio works fine, that doesnt mean theres enough power to turn the engine.

 

[Robb]

The click click click is a (at least one) starter solenoid doing what it is supposed to do. If you were getting that without the harnesses plugged under the dash, those aren't your problem. Your problem exists somewhere between the first solenoid and the starter.

As IZwack suggested, it sounds like you just don't have enough voltage for the starter to turn.

 

[98XplorerSprt]

Thanks guys, in the morning i'll hook up my battery charger and see what happens.....I just got in, I was switching the relays to see if maybe that was it, and all I was getting were the clicks.....I really hope its the battery, I will be so excited....

 

[98XplorerSprt]

Praise the good Lord.....The car has started.....it was the damn battery!!!

I feel much better now
Thanks guys

 

[JakeWV96]

your terminal connectors are probably dirty, disconnect them from the battery and really clean them well with a wire brush that should do the trick, make sure you do a really comprehensive job and then reconnect them and give it a shot.