2ndcovenant
Member
- Joined
- March 20, 2015
- Messages
- 41
- Reaction score
- 1
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2002ExplXLT 4x4 4.0L 6cyl
Hi Folks,
My 2002 explorer 4x4 xlt worked fine to get me to the gym Saturday night but as I tried to leave, the Theft light came on and the engine would not crank. Eventually I got it to crank, after disconnecting the battery on three different tries and finally lowering the steeling wheel.
Since then, I could drive it a few different places and each time, as I would try to leave each place, the same thing would happen. Theft light and wouldn't crank.
Last night, I went to a store and finally it would not crank back up no matter what I did so I walked home.
Today I got a tow truck driver to take a look at it with me. We found a couple of things. First: the posts on my battery were not thick enough for the clamps to get a solid hold on them even when tightened as much as the clamps could tighten, both negative and positive. I have purchased three clamps for this battery since June and two cracked all the way through as I tried to tighten them enough... neither tightened enough. The third and current clamp is a marine battery clamp which got as tight as possible (not tight enough it seems).
The driver said that the wiring from the negative cable was coming out from the clamp and since the clamp wasn't tight enough to begin with, the battery was not feeding all of the needed electrical components. We put all of the wiring back into the clamp and tried to start it but the starter was trying to work, we could hear it clicking, and the fan belt and the radiator fan both started to move a bit but then,... in the fuse box, I hear a loud rapid fire clicking below Fuses 51 and 52. When I touch the two fuses, I can feel a mechanical clicking below Fuse 51.
When the driver and I tried to turn on the truck after leaving the battery disconnected for 15 minutes, strangely enough, the theft light did not go off any more than it should when it is Not in Theft mode and when I put the key into run and start, the gauges and lights started moving and lighting up quickly and erratically but the theft light stayed working as it should under normal circumstances. When I took the key out of the ignition, the theft light stayed working correctly under normal circumstances... the theft light did not go into Theft mode, and therefore did not think that the truck was being stolen.
I don't know what is going on. I can't tell whether it's a wiring, fuse, or theft problem. Any ideas? Also, I called the Ford dealership and was told that their programming computers only go back to 2008, so they can't help if its a key or ignition antenna that needs replacing.
My 2002 explorer 4x4 xlt worked fine to get me to the gym Saturday night but as I tried to leave, the Theft light came on and the engine would not crank. Eventually I got it to crank, after disconnecting the battery on three different tries and finally lowering the steeling wheel.
Since then, I could drive it a few different places and each time, as I would try to leave each place, the same thing would happen. Theft light and wouldn't crank.
Last night, I went to a store and finally it would not crank back up no matter what I did so I walked home.
Today I got a tow truck driver to take a look at it with me. We found a couple of things. First: the posts on my battery were not thick enough for the clamps to get a solid hold on them even when tightened as much as the clamps could tighten, both negative and positive. I have purchased three clamps for this battery since June and two cracked all the way through as I tried to tighten them enough... neither tightened enough. The third and current clamp is a marine battery clamp which got as tight as possible (not tight enough it seems).
The driver said that the wiring from the negative cable was coming out from the clamp and since the clamp wasn't tight enough to begin with, the battery was not feeding all of the needed electrical components. We put all of the wiring back into the clamp and tried to start it but the starter was trying to work, we could hear it clicking, and the fan belt and the radiator fan both started to move a bit but then,... in the fuse box, I hear a loud rapid fire clicking below Fuses 51 and 52. When I touch the two fuses, I can feel a mechanical clicking below Fuse 51.
When the driver and I tried to turn on the truck after leaving the battery disconnected for 15 minutes, strangely enough, the theft light did not go off any more than it should when it is Not in Theft mode and when I put the key into run and start, the gauges and lights started moving and lighting up quickly and erratically but the theft light stayed working as it should under normal circumstances. When I took the key out of the ignition, the theft light stayed working correctly under normal circumstances... the theft light did not go into Theft mode, and therefore did not think that the truck was being stolen.
I don't know what is going on. I can't tell whether it's a wiring, fuse, or theft problem. Any ideas? Also, I called the Ford dealership and was told that their programming computers only go back to 2008, so they can't help if its a key or ignition antenna that needs replacing.
