Hot starting problem

[idealcms]

Hi, I'm posting this for my brother in law who doesn't have internet access ATM. Hopefully someone can shed a little light this. I searched the forums and found this, http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?p=2384295 , but its for a '94 and of course the guy never responded if it was fixed. Not saying its not a plausible fix. Just checking for alternate ideas before we get a chance to try this.

He's got a '97 with the V8, I believe its the XL model. Starts fine cold, but has an intermittent starting problem once operating temp. has been reached. Starter tries to crank, turns slightly as it would with an almost dead battery, but hardly gets a full revolution. It will not start for at least 45 min.

This started with the OEM starter, he changed the starter(NAPA), and the problem has persisted. A Ford mechanic(said he had been there 17 years) was troubleshooting the problem and couldn't fix it. Said he had never seen this before. A friend did a little testing with a multi-meter and found a ground wire that needed to be replaced, which they did.

This has let his wife sit more than once with their two children.

Appreciate any help on this. Thanks!

 

[shadowless127]

It sounds like a charging system issue.

When it reaches operating temperature does it run normally??

 

[idealcms]

Thanks for your reply! Yeah it runs fine at any temp. Not sure it would be a charging issue though. There's no problems cold or once the engine has cooled. He's tried boosting the vehicle during the non starting phase which didn't help at all. The alternator has been changed as well.

 

[shadowless127]

some other things it could be:

bad cam position sensor
bad coil packs
bad spark plugs

Try those.