Just bought a 2000 Mercury Mountaineer

[wwiding]

Hey guys. I just bought a 2000 Mercury Mountaineer. It's the rear wheel drive model with the V8. I was looking for a cheap vehicle for my drive to work since my van has been hit twice, while parked, and is starting to look like a pile of junk.

I'm not much of a car guy and don't really know much about mechanics. The oil was clean and didn't show any signs of head gasket issues. The owners had every receipt for all the work they've had done to it, and proof of every oil change. The alternator is brand new, the fuses were brand new, it's got an aftermarket remote start and an all new suspension. I noticed right away that the cables leading to the battery were in pretty rough shape, but they're cheap to replace and the SUV started right up.


Fast forward a few days and now the SUV won't start at all. It's not even attempting too. The lights don't work unless I bang on the battery cables to seat them better so I'm going to start with replacing those and I'm willing to bet it'll run just fine again.

I don't want to diagnose any starter issues until I replace the frayed battery cables. The terminals were so corroded it looked like yellow frosting sitting on top of them, so I picked up a new battery as well.

Thanks for the awesome forum guys!

 

[CDW6212R]

Welcome to the forum.

The battery cables are not easily replaced, they are obsolete. So corrosion in the cables is a big deal. Have the terminal ends already been cut off? That is a huge mistake, the bolt on replacements are poor long term answers, they eventually corrode at the cable(much faster than the original terminal). So always save the OEM terminals for as long as you can.

The ground cable you can find an generic replacement with little trouble, it simply goes to the block near the battery. The power cable goes to both the starter, and the power distribution box(PDB). The only decent choice is a new generic cable to go to the starter, and another one that can bolt to it, and the PDB. Take your time hunting those terminal ends, there are higher end stuff that run $20-$30, the cheap in store brands are typically only $4-$10.

 

[wwiding]

I think I can save the positive terminal and cable, but there's no chance with the negative since most of the terminal has corroded off completely. It might be worth grabbing a few positive cables from my local auto salvage yard just in case.

 

[CDW6212R]

Good thoughts. The ground cables are almost basic, unfortunately they are built into the cable set which includes the power, and AC wires. So just leave the old ground cable in, or cut out what is easy to. That's another thing I'v wanted to get at local JYd's the battery cable sets. I had one spare which I put on my 91 Lincoln, it's much better than those old types.

 

[wwiding]

Good idea. I'll make sure I don't cut more ground wire than is necessary. After that, I'll focus on the relay, solenoid, and the starter itself.

 

[CDW6212R]

The starter, solenoid, and relay are together, the trigger wire goes down to it also. The starters are great, the OEM units are super reliable and plenty strong. I bet it's just not getting juice.

I went through that for years with my 91 Lincoln, and it turned out to be the positive battery cable. The high optioned vehicles have cable corrosion issues much worse than lot option cars. You just have to drive them semi-regularly, and keep the cables very clean, coated with anti-corrosion etc.

You can handle it knowing what it needs.

 

[Dono]

How about rock auto? They are not oem parts, but better than what you currently have.

 

[CDW6212R]

Standard is a good brand, I'd get those. Good find Don.

 

[wwiding]

I'll order those. Unlike my local auto store, rock auto has never sent me the wrong parts.

 

[wwiding]

The tow truck is going to bring it home tomorrow. It's sitting at a camp ground down the road, right next to the office. I know the employees well so I don't have any worries about it getting broken into.

 

[CDW6212R]

Very good, you will love that truck once you get a little service work done to it. My 98 Mercury had nothing go wrong in the first ten years I had it, besides the front drive shaft CV joint(noise when I first got it in 2003).

 

[wwiding]

I got her home. Turns out she's all wheel drive, not rear wheel drive. Whoops. Good thing the tow truck driver knew better than I did (-:


Here's a picture of some weird wire I found, barely hanging on, in the drivers side fuse panel:

Here's one of the positive terminal:

Some random purpal and white wire coming through the firewall from some weird looking module near the obd2 port:

The negative terminal:

 

[Mbrooks420]

Welcome to V8 Mounty club. The wire in the fuse box is hilarious. If only they made a crimp on terminal exactly for that purpose........ oh that’s right, they do. I’d follow that bad boy out and find out what they’ve added or ‘fixed’.

 

[CDW6212R]

Ditto, try to locate and remove any non stock wiring, especially remote starter power connections. Lots of people cut the main power wires at the ignition switch, and/or splice to them poorly. There are "T" harnesses available for these, and most cars, which just plug into the ignition wiring and provide extra power points/wires.

That striped white/purple wire is an OEM wire, the white one might not be.

Being AWD, check all four tires for sizes, make sure the diameters match closely. Does it have the front drive shaft under it? That can be a sign of having bad tires, or the transfer case if they didn't catch the tire issue in time.

 

[wwiding]

Welcome to V8 Mounty club. The wire in the fuse box is hilarious. If only they made a crimp on terminal exactly for that purpose........ oh that’s right, they do. I’d follow that bad boy out and find out what they’ve added or ‘fixed’.

I couldn't believe that wire when I saw it. I don't know any thing about cars. I'm googling and using this awesome forum to figure all this out and even I knew that wasn't right.

 

[wwiding]

Ditto, try to locate and remove any non stock wiring, especially remote starter power connections. Lots of people cut the main power wires at the ignition switch, and/or splice to them poorly. There are "T" harnesses available for these, and most cars, which just plug into the ignition wiring and provide extra power points/wires.

That striped white/purple wire is an OEM wire, the white one might not be.

Being AWD, check all four tires for sizes, make sure the diameters match closely. Does it have the front drive shaft under it? That can be a sign of having bad tires, or the transfer case if they didn't catch the tire issue in time.

I'll try to track that wire down. I wonder if it has any thing to do with my starting issues. I followed the ground wire from the battery down towards the bottom of the engine, but I can't figure out where it leads. When I disconnected the negative battery terminal, the wires crumbled in my hand. I cut them down and taped it off for now, I'll cap it later.

I appreciate the help guys.

 

[CDW6212R]

The ground wire goes to the closest corner of the block, near the oil filter and oil pressure sensor. You can leave it in place, and bolt the new one to the original spot(one bolt holds that).

 

[wwiding]

The ground wire goes to the closest corner of the block, near the oil filter and oil pressure sensor. You can leave it in place, and bolt the new one to the original spot(one bolt holds that).

Thank you. I'll bolt it up in the morning.

 

[wwiding]

New ground is installed. I'm finally getting a clicking noise when I try to start it, but it still won't start. I'm going to try and jump the battery since I've tried to start at least twenty times in the last week on this battery. It might not have enough juice.

 

[CDW6212R]

Check the voltage, it needs close to 12v to be able to crank it, low 11's and the battery is drained a lot.