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Performance Upgrades - Maintenance - Modifications - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street Trucks. Covering the Explorer, ST, Sport, Lincoln Aviator, Sport Trac, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Aerostar. Featuring H.I. - Human Intelligence.
i cannot figure out the problem behind my 95 xlt not starting i have replaced the starter, fender mount solenoid, and battery. the negative wire shows 0 resistance and postive wire is showing 0 resistance i have tried to jump the solenoid but no go i am posting this to see if i might have the wiring wrong so any pics for the fender mount solenoid wiring and starter wiring would be much appreciated if my wiring is right then all i can think of now is to let the ford house have it and get a PITA bill!!!!!
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Please explain a little more. Does the starter attempt to turn the engine over, is there a clicking noise or just nothing at all?
If it is nothing at all and you know your battery, cables, and starter are good I would suspect the ignition switch starter contacts or the wiring from the switch to the solenoid.
Bridge the large terminals on the solenoid, if the engine turns over then you have eliminated the cables, battery and starter as the problem. If the solenoid is known to be good then I would check what I posted in the previous post.
fuses and relays are fine and the only thing that happens is when i turn the key i get one click and when the key springs back there is one click so i assume my fender solenoid is getting power but not turning the starter over i get all lights and buzzers but not start i really dont wanna have ford work on it as THEY ARE REALLY BIG F**K TARDS TO BEGIN WITH and always give an outrageous bill
fuses and relays are fine and the only thing that happens is when i turn the key i get one click and when the key springs back there is one click so i assume my fender solenoid is getting power but not turning the starter over i get all lights and buzzers but not start i really dont wanna have ford work on it as THEY ARE REALLY BIG F**K TARDS TO BEGIN WITH and always give an outrageous bill
Do you have 12V at the starter terminal? There should always be power there.
Maybe the new starter is bad? The solution should be pretty simple. It is a very low tech setup.
Here is a wiring diagram:
I believe he tried doing that according to the first post. A bad starter is a possibility. Not impossible especially if reman. He should double check the wiring though.
I believe he tried doing that according to the first post. A bad starter is a possibility. Not impossible especially if reman. He should double check the wiring though.
i was afraid of that and i will pull the "new" starter i have and have it bench tested at autozone in the morning and much thanks for the diagram i am right on my wiring but yeah will update when starter gets tested
if the starter is good what then?? just take to the ford house and have a diagnostic ran?? i did not hear any funny sounds from the engine when i parked it so i can eliminate the possibility of a locked engine right??
im still not sure of the correct wiring i will post a pic in my photobucket of the wiring i have so you can tell me if its the right way or not thanks for all the feedback
yeah tell me about it man this is my first ex had it for amost a year now and never had this kind of problem out of it and really dont know what to do at this point as i have tried the many many ways of testing everything and all has checked out good but its still not starting
and PENSA my solenoid wires hook up like this:
top and bottom larger posts have a "c-style" wire that slips right over thelarger solenoid terminals with no problem
the top large terminal has just that hooked to it
the bottom has a white wire(looks like coming from the a/c compressor and is just long enough to reach the bottom terminal) and a black wire on it(coming out of the firewall harness and is long enough to reach both terminals) as well as the "c-style" wire
there is a small terminal on the left side(closest to the firewall) that a red(ignition) wire goes
and the right side small terminal has nothing hooked to it as it is blocked by the "c-style" wire
with that wiring i have all power and sounds and get the clicks from the solenoid
if i put the white wire on bottom terminal and black wire on top terminal i have almost no power to lights or sounds ect. and no clicks from the solenoid
so i suppose i have the wiring for that right
and my starter of course can only hook up one way:
looking at the starter from up top is red ignition wire, then is positive wire from battery then is a small silver wire hooking the starter mounted solenoid to the starter, and on the very bottom is the negative wire from the battery
As suggested, you can do yourself a favor and check for voltage with a meter at your starter.... if its not there, then that's your problem. Get a helper to turn the key to start and get your meter out. Once you have determine this, then you can move to the next step of either removing the starter (bad) or tracking back your wiring (ie. no voltage).
yeah tell me about it man this is my first ex had it for amost a year now and never had this kind of problem out of it and really dont know what to do at this point as i have tried the many many ways of testing everything and all has checked out good but its still not starting
and PENSA my solenoid wires hook up like this:
top and bottom larger posts have a "c-style" wire that slips right over thelarger solenoid terminals with no problem
the top large terminal has just that hooked to it
the bottom has a white wire(looks like coming from the a/c compressor and is just long enough to reach the bottom terminal) and a black wire on it(coming out of the firewall harness and is long enough to reach both terminals) as well as the "c-style" wire
there is a small terminal on the left side(closest to the firewall) that a red(ignition) wire goes
and the right side small terminal has nothing hooked to it as it is blocked by the "c-style" wire
with that wiring i have all power and sounds and get the clicks from the solenoid
if i put the white wire on bottom terminal and black wire on top terminal i have almost no power to lights or sounds ect. and no clicks from the solenoid
so i suppose i have the wiring for that right
and my starter of course can only hook up one way:
looking at the starter from up top is red ignition wire, then is positive wire from battery then is a small silver wire hooking the starter mounted solenoid to the starter, and on the very bottom is the negative wire from the battery
the problem was all the above(battery, starter, and solenoid) but the first starter i bought was bad from the get go and my solenoid(fender mounted) wire harness was bad too. the bottom solenoid terminal wire(i think is the "ignition" jumper) inside the "c-shaped" wire harness head was jacked up and it kept blowing the starter as when i would start it it would cause a sudden power increase to it and it would lock up so i am getting a new wire 2nite and and new starter in the morning(GOTTA LOVE LIFETIME WARRANTYS!!!!!) and will be back on the road by thursday thanks for all the help glad i am on this site!!!! but i really gotta get me a code reader it would save me so much money!!!!!
the problem was all the above(battery, starter, and solenoid) but the first starter i bought was bad from the get go and my solenoid(fender mounted) wire harness was bad too. the bottom solenoid terminal wire(i think is the "ignition" jumper) inside the "c-shaped" wire harness head was jacked up and it kept blowing the starter as when i would start it it would cause a sudden power increase to it and it would lock up so i am getting a new wire 2nite and and new starter in the morning(GOTTA LOVE LIFETIME WARRANTYS!!!!!) and will be back on the road by thursday thanks for all the help glad i am on this site!!!! but i really gotta get me a code reader it would save me so much money!!!!!
okay heres the deal i bought an "oem replacement" from online and the company sent the wrong wire after charging me $127($102-wire/$25-twoday mail) they sent me the (-) wire not (+) positive and now i have to wait for a refund but i need to know where the best place to get real oem replacement battery cables from i have searched other threads but only come up with links to the wrong cables or cable ends and no links for the 95-96 4.0 models. I need the (+) wire harness for 95-96explorer 4.0 which is the starter wire(from battery), solenoid wire(fender mounted from battery), and starter solenoid wire(starter mounted from the solenoid on fender) all in one harness. I asked ford and they said $158 w/o shipping and it would take almost a week to get in!!! i have a friend that works at oreilly's and he said is better to buy oem than make a wire true or no??
heres the current problem with my ex: (+) wire from fender mount solenoid to starter mount solenoid melted as i went to start my ex this past thursday i have no clue why i need help figuring this out as well but just need the new wire in first and should i go ahead and keep the new wire?? oreilly's checked the (-) wire and said it was fine to use it got 0.00 resistance. and since this is still starter related should i go ahead and bench test the starter just to make sure it didnt fry??(this is my 2nd "new" starter from autozone)
I am not sure what to make of your statements... BUT..... "a surge of power" from anywhere isn't going to "blow" your starter.... and the "surge" ain't coming from a solenoid regardless of condition. You have a major problem. Yes, benchtesting your starter will help determine if it is functional. hopefully, it will prove true or the replacement will be functional. Burnt wiring is not a good sign..... more than likely a ground hooked to the wrong location OR trying to start a seized motor. Get a meter and measure things in terms of resistances and voltages.
One last thing as mentioned.... when was the last time this motor actually turned over. I would suggest that it might be seized which is causing you starter grief both in terms of burnt wires and "dead" starter. Might want to try turning the thing by "hand" just to check things out (of course removing plugs will help in this test). This is just a thought. However, if the "on board" starter solenoid isn't pulling up then its more likely you have a ground in the wrong place.
Taking off that starter is a PITA .
A melted wire is most likely a shorted wire. Two starters being bad is not impossible, but unlikely. You can try y2kford.com(you may have to call), they are an online discount dealer. How about a salvage yard? car-parts.com may help. It is not 100% necessary to have the ford one, if you know what you are doing.
You could probably make that harness if you can find wires at az or orielies that duplicate the wire gauge. Look at the wiring diagram. The large one is just a battery cable and the small one is around 12 ga, and you can crimp appropriate ends or find a wire. Many replacement starters make you crimp a pigtail anyway.
However, If you are connecting it wrong or the starter is somehow drawing too much current it will melt again. The only mistake I can see is connecting one of the starter wires to the explorer or starter body(short).
One more thing.. I heard of issues with after market fender relays. I would definately put a ford one on there.
some online places offer the wire but dont trust then good example-->i called one and got the shaft as they sent me a negative wire not the positive and charged me $127 for it even when the item listing picture and part# is the the same at motorcraft.com for the positive one(i am still fighting with them to get my money back) anywho i decided to just get it from ford (good call because the guy gave me a discount on it and it was only $113(originally listed at $158+tax&ship) i havent put it on as i am at work and just got it today but i tested the starter again at AZ and it passed so all is in brand new condition. my question is this: where i crimped the ignition(solenoid to starter jumper wire) looks like it somehow arked out and thats what caused the wire to melt/short but do i have to actually heat-shrink the connector end sleve after crimping it?? i cant really aford to buy much more but when i hook it all up what measures can i take to make sure the wire does not fry again??
thanks for the help
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some online places offer the wire but dont trust then good example-->i called one and got the shaft as they sent me a negative wire not the positive and charged me $127 for it even when the item listing picture and part# is the the same at motorcraft.com for the positive one(i am still fighting with them to get my money back) anywho i decided to just get it from ford (good call because the guy gave me a discount on it and it was only $113(originally listed at $158+tax&ship) i havent put it on as i am at work and just got it today but i tested the starter again at AZ and it passed so all is in brand new condition. my question is this: where i crimped the ignition(solenoid to starter jumper wire) looks like it somehow arked out and thats what caused the wire to melt/short but do i have to actually heat-shrink the connector end sleve after crimping it?? i cant really aford to buy much more but when i hook it all up what measures can i take to make sure the wire does not fry again??
Are you taking about the small terminal wire on the starter? Damn straight that should be crimped, heat shrunk or wrapped in electrical tape with wire ties. If that touches the starter body you creating a dead short which will melt your new harness.
The other thing you can try are "screw connectors" They look like a tube where you unscrew both ends, stick a wire in each end then when you screw them tight a plunger holds your wire tight. No tape or heatshrink. Ask the guy in the autoparts store, walmart has them by the auto electrical connectors.
