jj421
New Member
- Joined
- November 24, 2013
- Messages
- 7
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Carnation, WA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1997 Explorer Sport V6
Hey everybody! First time posting here, and I hope I can get some good advice. I own a '90 Subaru Loyale and am very familiar with the Subaru forum, so I hope this forum is just as good.
I'm not completely foreign to Fords or Explorers. My family also owns a '99 Mustang GT and a '99 Explorer XLT. But these cars are in good running shape, so I haven't done much work on them besides general maintenance.
Anyways, I've recently got my hands on a '97 Explorer. We recently moved and I noticed this sitting near the house. Talked to the landlord and found that a previous tenant left the car there due to an electrical problem. I told her I can buy it off of her and get it running again.
It's a 2-door, sport version. Dual range 4WD and the 4.0 OHV push rod V6. It also has the 5-speed manual transmission in it, which I think is pretty cool. The body is straight and interior is clean (it needs to be vacuumed and there is a rip on the passenger seat, but otherwise is in fantastic shape). What really got me about this truck is it has 342,429 miles on it! I love cars with high miles, since it means they've been driven and cared for. And they show how tough they are. It seems like the previous owner(s) have really cared for this car. The engine bay, exterior, and interior are clean. But it also seems like the previous owner(s) tried to fix things themselves, but didn't know how to do things properly. The tabs expired in August 2012, so I'd imagine it's been sitting for over a year.
The point of this thread is so hopefully you guys can help answer some questions for me. Again, I'm used to forums. I know how important the search function is, and I've been searching. Just between school and work, I don't want to post an individual topic on every little problem. I was just hoping one thread could be used to work on all the problems.
Keep in mind too that there's supposed to be an electrical problem on this car. Where? I don't know. That's all the information I've been told about it.
So first thing's first, she won't start. Obviously the battery was dead, so I put in the battery from our '99 Explorer. With the key in the "on" position, the dash lights came up, turn signals worked, door chime worked, etc. Put the key into the "start" position, and everything goes dead and quiet. No click or anything. I put the blame on the loose/corroded battery terminals.
Today I went out and bought terminals. I also charged the old battery and the battery from our Mustang (the Mustang just sits). Installed the new battery terminals. The old battery was shot, but I have the Mustang battery charged up. I put that in the Explorer and connected the battery cables.
Now when I turn the key to the "start" position, I get nothing but a single click. Sounds like it's coming from the firewall. I notice that when I turn it to the "start" position, the parking brake light comes on and the two 4WD lights turn off (on the instrument cluster). When I apply the parking brake, the car still does not start. I've also tried stepping on the regular brake. No luck. I don't know of any safety features like that besides the clutch switch, so I don't know if that makes a difference. Also, all fuses look good.
Tomorrow I'm going to look at the starter motor. Going to check the connections and maybe pull (and bench test) the starter.
I've also noticed that if I leave the key in the "on" position, there is a chime coming from the passenger footwell. What does this mean? What is this for?
Now, other problems I face:
The dome light stays on, no matter the position of the dimmer switch or if all doors are closed. I pulled the bulb from the main dome light, but the trunk one still stays on. Checked the parasitic drain on the battery, and it was about 2 amps. Is this high/low? Again, that rear dome light was on.
The headlights don't work. Neither the low beams nor the high beams work, period. The filaments in the bulbs look okay. I've done a bit of research, and the multifunction switch and headlight switch are frequent culprits. I'd suspect the multifunction switch since the turn signal stalk is loose. All other lights work.
Driver side door handle feels disconnected. You can open it from the inside, but the exterior handle just kinda flops around. Is this a common problem? Easy fix?
Previous owner took off the plastic piece around the steering column, and now the steering wheel is loose. It move all over the place. It looks like there's a black piece behind the wheel that has been broken?
The hood shocks are shot. I'll see next time I go to the junkyard, but are these easy to replace? Also, the hood doesn't close. Looks like the lever has been rusted, but you can still pull on the hood release cable. I'll need to get a second person to look at it.
The rear window doesn't have any shocks or anything to hold it open. The rear window is loose too. The hatches on the top don't hold it tight. Also, one of the rear window defog cables came off. Looks like soldering it back on would work?
How do I open the trunk? Haha, do you need a separate key? If so, I don't have it.
Sorry for the long post, but hopefully you guys can help me through some of these things. Right now, I'm mainly concerned about the no-start condition. I want to get her running before doing any other work. So anyways, thanks for any help!
I'm not completely foreign to Fords or Explorers. My family also owns a '99 Mustang GT and a '99 Explorer XLT. But these cars are in good running shape, so I haven't done much work on them besides general maintenance.
Anyways, I've recently got my hands on a '97 Explorer. We recently moved and I noticed this sitting near the house. Talked to the landlord and found that a previous tenant left the car there due to an electrical problem. I told her I can buy it off of her and get it running again.
It's a 2-door, sport version. Dual range 4WD and the 4.0 OHV push rod V6. It also has the 5-speed manual transmission in it, which I think is pretty cool. The body is straight and interior is clean (it needs to be vacuumed and there is a rip on the passenger seat, but otherwise is in fantastic shape). What really got me about this truck is it has 342,429 miles on it! I love cars with high miles, since it means they've been driven and cared for. And they show how tough they are. It seems like the previous owner(s) have really cared for this car. The engine bay, exterior, and interior are clean. But it also seems like the previous owner(s) tried to fix things themselves, but didn't know how to do things properly. The tabs expired in August 2012, so I'd imagine it's been sitting for over a year.
The point of this thread is so hopefully you guys can help answer some questions for me. Again, I'm used to forums. I know how important the search function is, and I've been searching. Just between school and work, I don't want to post an individual topic on every little problem. I was just hoping one thread could be used to work on all the problems.
Keep in mind too that there's supposed to be an electrical problem on this car. Where? I don't know. That's all the information I've been told about it.
So first thing's first, she won't start. Obviously the battery was dead, so I put in the battery from our '99 Explorer. With the key in the "on" position, the dash lights came up, turn signals worked, door chime worked, etc. Put the key into the "start" position, and everything goes dead and quiet. No click or anything. I put the blame on the loose/corroded battery terminals.
Today I went out and bought terminals. I also charged the old battery and the battery from our Mustang (the Mustang just sits). Installed the new battery terminals. The old battery was shot, but I have the Mustang battery charged up. I put that in the Explorer and connected the battery cables.
Now when I turn the key to the "start" position, I get nothing but a single click. Sounds like it's coming from the firewall. I notice that when I turn it to the "start" position, the parking brake light comes on and the two 4WD lights turn off (on the instrument cluster). When I apply the parking brake, the car still does not start. I've also tried stepping on the regular brake. No luck. I don't know of any safety features like that besides the clutch switch, so I don't know if that makes a difference. Also, all fuses look good.
Tomorrow I'm going to look at the starter motor. Going to check the connections and maybe pull (and bench test) the starter.
I've also noticed that if I leave the key in the "on" position, there is a chime coming from the passenger footwell. What does this mean? What is this for?
Now, other problems I face:
The dome light stays on, no matter the position of the dimmer switch or if all doors are closed. I pulled the bulb from the main dome light, but the trunk one still stays on. Checked the parasitic drain on the battery, and it was about 2 amps. Is this high/low? Again, that rear dome light was on.
The headlights don't work. Neither the low beams nor the high beams work, period. The filaments in the bulbs look okay. I've done a bit of research, and the multifunction switch and headlight switch are frequent culprits. I'd suspect the multifunction switch since the turn signal stalk is loose. All other lights work.
Driver side door handle feels disconnected. You can open it from the inside, but the exterior handle just kinda flops around. Is this a common problem? Easy fix?
Previous owner took off the plastic piece around the steering column, and now the steering wheel is loose. It move all over the place. It looks like there's a black piece behind the wheel that has been broken?
The hood shocks are shot. I'll see next time I go to the junkyard, but are these easy to replace? Also, the hood doesn't close. Looks like the lever has been rusted, but you can still pull on the hood release cable. I'll need to get a second person to look at it.
The rear window doesn't have any shocks or anything to hold it open. The rear window is loose too. The hatches on the top don't hold it tight. Also, one of the rear window defog cables came off. Looks like soldering it back on would work?
How do I open the trunk? Haha, do you need a separate key? If so, I don't have it.
Sorry for the long post, but hopefully you guys can help me through some of these things. Right now, I'm mainly concerned about the no-start condition. I want to get her running before doing any other work. So anyways, thanks for any help!