No Start when cold

[bornmad]

The other day i came home from the airport after it being below freezing and my explorer took a bit to start. I wrote it off as it being cold and the battery just needed to be charged/driven. Its a 45 mineute drive to my house from the airport, more then enough time to charge the battery.

The next day i went to start the truck and it wouldnt start. it would crank and crank all day long and nothing would start it. I ended up taking another car to work and when i got back home tried the truck again. It took 6-7 long cranks before it turned over.

I read where people were having problems with the key so i drove the car to where there was a spare key. Once i got there i turned off the truck and for kicks and giggles i turned it on with the original key. The car turned right over no problems.

What would cause the truck to be a hard start when cold and start right up when its been sitting like that? I have never had the truck do that in the 4 years i owned it. My father in law has had it since new.

I am not getting any lights on the dash. It currently has 109k miles on it. Any help would be appreciated as Ford wants a good chunk of money to look at it.

 

[fordnut71]

look at the starter relays. they will have less resistance once they are warmed up an wont give full power to the starter if cold. also check the grounds an cables for corrosion.

 

[bornmad]

Tried the relays, however last night only got down to 40, and it started on the first crank... i will have to wait until it gets super cold. No corrosion on the battery terminals...

 

[keleko17]

My wife's 99 is having a similar problem. So far, I have read to replace the Idle Air Controller, and EEC relay under the hood. I am still researching today, and plan to hit the store tonight for parts. Hope it helps.