No crank no start looses all power.

[Nwest750]

Hello, the problem I have is when I turn the key to the start position I loose all power. No windows, locks, radio, nothing zip nada. I take off the battery cables and reconnect them and I have everything powered again. Everything works fine until I turn it into the crank position and I loose all power again. I have replaced the PATS transponder. I thought it's was the key but the locksmith didn't rip me off and told me it was doing something different than if it was the key. I cleaned the battery terminals as we'll. I'm looking for any and all ideas so I can run through everything tomorrow. I have also checked the fuses inside. I am going to check more outside tomorrow but I am trying to not have to guess all day what it might be.

 

[Nwest750]

Hello, the problem I have is when I turn the key to the start position I loose all power. No windows, locks, radio, nothing zip nada. I take off the battery cables and reconnect them and I have everything powered again. Everything works fine until I turn it into the crank position and I loose all power again. I have replaced the PATS transponder. I thought it's was the key but the locksmith didn't rip me off and told me it was doing something different than if it was the key. I cleaned the battery terminals as we'll. I'm looking for any and all ideas so I can run through everything tomorrow. I have also checked the fuses inside. I am going to check more outside tomorrow but I am trying to not have to guess all day what it might be.

Sorry vehicle is a 2002 4.6L explorer

 

[D Hook]

How's the battery? Cold weather will make a weak battery fail completely very unexpectedly. Mine did the same thing a couple years ago on the first cold snap. If the battery is over a couple years old, I'd suspect that first and battery cables next. There's some recent posts about the positive cable being corroded deep inside the jacket where you can't see it, causing a poor connection when trying to crank the engine.

 

[FordFool2]

Check and see if your starter cable is shorting to ground. This cable has been know to cause problems.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=287097