Ignition / Relay / Electrical issue 1996 Exploder

[GKGREEN]

OK....so check this out......

I have had ZERO issues with my 1996 Explorer starting until this evening.
I went out to get my son (home on leave from the Marine Corp) from the movie theater and it would not start. I have been running him around all day with no problem.
SYMPTOM:
I go to turn it over and it seems the electrical system just shuts down. I hear a click and then nothing. I come back out 15-20 minutes later and I have electrical power. I go to crank it again, hear a "click" and the electrical goes out again.
I have tried jumping the solenoid (same issue as if I were trying to start it with the ignition), taking the neg cable off, and looked at the fuses and relays. The fuses are good but I cannot tell if the relays are good or not.
BTW.....the battery is a week old and the inside lights are bright when I open the door so I know it's not the battery.

HELP !!!!! Please !!!!!!!!

 

[albi1cnobi1]

Sounds like you could have either a bad primary wire to the starter or a bad starter itself. The starter wires can get corroded inside the insulation and it increases the resistance of the wire until the circuit is compromised. The other thing may be the starter itself. Sometimes when they go bad they can pull down the whole electrical system.

 

[GKGREEN]

Sounds like that might be a good place to start. Will that come on all of a sudden ? I had no symptoms until this evening.

 

[bill06447]

Once again, throw away those crappy temporary fix bolt on battery cable ends. Get a cable with the end soldered to the wire. More times than not, these are the root of most electrical problems.

Bill

 

[albi1cnobi1]

Sounds like that might be a good place to start. Will that come on all of a sudden ? I had no symptoms until this evening.

Usually the corroded wire issue shows some symptoms before hand but not always. The starter issue can come with no warning.

 

[JimMadsen]

Just went through this without the losing of all power.

Check this thread:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=397743

There is a checklist on here, I will see if I can find it

 

[JimMadsen]

Here it is:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=264205

 

[GKGREEN]

Ok....so, I change the starter and now have zero electrical. I made sure that the battery is full ((12.6v) and nothing....???????...

thanks!

 

[firepop5]

Are you in a cold weather area? The battery may show 12.6V under no load, but may not have enough power to start the engine. See how many volts it reads while trying to start the engine. How old is the battery? Have it tested by Autozone or another chain. Once you have ruled out the battery and starter, than proceed to the next level.

 

[GKGREEN]

I am not in a cold weather area. I just changed out the starter and the battery is a week old .
I had juice yesterday but not today. Weird

 

[albi1cnobi1]

Check the mega fuse next to the battery distribution box. If you accidentally touched any starter wires to ground that fuse would have blown, and then you would have no juice. Here is a diagram of the charging and starter circuits.

 

[GKGREEN]

I will check it out when the sun comes up....Thank you ! and Merry Christmas !

 

[albi1cnobi1]

Merry Christmas to you too! And good luck.

 

[bill06447]

Check your connections. Don't just look at them, actually take them off and CHECK them...

Bill

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

Ok....so, I change the starter and now have zero electrical. ......

Explorers and Fords in general have had trouble with the
negative battery cable where it bolts to either the starter
bolt or another nearby bolt. Corrosion tends to build up
at this connection. You might try cleaning this connection
(if you haven't already) and see what happens...

And thanks to your son for his service.

 

[GKGREEN]

OK.....so, the issue (after I put in the new starter) was that for some reason I didn't get the positive nut all the way on the starter and it was arcing every time I went to start the ignition........how dumb was that ??????....and it took my brother looking at it to bring it to my attention......grrrrrrr

Thank you for all of the advice !!!!!

G