Shorting starter cable?

[Tate Myrick]

Okay...I am in San Antonio and I have not found many four wheeling trails (haven't had time to look I guess) and my transfer case is not working. Okay I have been planning to fix that later, but I have now come to a mandatory repair. I have not been giving my Explorer much TLC, and I have ignored an electrical problem. About a year ago I badly mangled the battery clamps and so I clipped the wires and added new clamps. This worked for a while, but about three months ago my problem began. I would get into my Explorer and turn the key...no lights. I quickly found a fix for the problem, but in reality it was not a fix.



I opened the hood and jiggled the wires on both posts. Many times this restored power and I could crank it. Tonight, this was not the case. I jiggled and jiggled and finally power was restored. I tried to crank it, but there was no turn over. My starter wire (the wire near the battery that might lead to a relay; I do not know the wiring diagram) had previously melted on the air intake and I cut it and resoldered it.



I took this soldered wire and hit it to the battery. I have previously done this successfully, but not tonight. Tonight I heard the pop of a circuit breaker or fuse. I did not think I had popped either one so I continued to jiggle the wires. After some time power again came back. Again I tried the wire with the same result. Needless to say, the third time I did not use the wire.



When the power actually came back the third time, I had my friend try to start it. Again I heard the pop. It was the same reaction that I had before. We did not have adequate light to work on it, so it is now sitting...powerless.



Has anyone had similar problems. I plan to replace the battery and starter cables and I hope that this will be enough. Any input is appreciated.

 

[Dignan]

Well, at least your battery didn't explode.

 

[raven2]

I never had this problem, but I read many posts about the factory battery wires go bad insde the insulation and corrode or break apart, and look fine on the outside. Maybe try replacing them.

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91 Sport
"Drive it like ya stold it"

 

[Ira]

Had a similar experience with mine. Only difference, sometimes you hit the key and it cranked, sometimes it didn't. Went so far as to change the solenoid and even bypass the solenoid. To make a long story short, it was the brushes inside the starter itself. There are 4 brushes from what I remember. One of them was almost totally burnt up (worn out). I went to a starter shop and got a brush card with all 4 brushes and the retainer for about $16 and replaced it. Since then, no problems at all with it cranking.

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Ira
91 XLT 4x4

I used to be schizophrenic, but we're OK now...No we aren't...Yes we are... shut up.

 

[mrboyle]

Not to sound rude, but as a ASE certified mechanic (I fix cars, technitions "diagnose" cars) I run into people all the time who try to take the cheap way out and find out later that it wasn't the best (or cheapest) idea. How much did you pay for your Explorer? Is saving $20 on parts worth the risk of being stranded or worse yet, while you are under the hood "jiggling" the wires did you ever consider that you can spike your computer and fry it? Thoes replacement ends are designed for a temporary repair only. They leave the cable ends open and exposed to the air. Any part of the cable exposed to air will corrode causing resistance in the cable. Resistance causes heat, and heat causes electrical components to fail faster.
Go down to the local parts house, buy the correct cables, replace them, charge your battery and see what happens!
If you still have the problem try by passing the silenoid wit a remote starter button, if this fails fix or replace the starter.
I am sorry if I jumped on you a little, it wasn't personal, and I hope everyone understands my point.


[This message has been edited by mrboyle (edited 04-24-2000).]

 

[Ken Hayes]

I was one of the unfortunate ones who's factory cable became defective internally. I found it after replacing the solenoid, pulling the starter and having it checked at Autozone, and finally troubleshooting with a multimeter. The cable corroded internally and developed resistance near the terminal clamp. I went to the local Autozone to buy the cable and found out it's a dealer item. $56 at the local Ford place(And that's just the positive cable assy.) It took an hour to install, but no more problems.

I don't recommend the cheaper solution of buying replacement ends. The copper strands will corrode in the open air, always. The "pop" sounds like one of two things. 1) Starter 2) you have resistance in your line that causes a spark gap, hence "pop".

The main power feed on my Explorer goes to the starter switch solenoid first, and then off the same tap to the big junction/fuse box on the fender. The Big cable from the battery only supplies the "heavy" current to the starter. The small cable from the starter switch solenoid to the starter is just the trigger to the starter solenoid.

Good Luck

 

[Tate Myrick]

Thank you everyone for the help. Mr. Boyle...how can you spike the computer? I was going to email this question, but you did not list your email. I checked prices and places and NAPA was the only one to carry a replacement. Here Ford wanted to charge me around 45 for the positive and 19 for the negative. I purchased the negative. NAPA was charging 25 for the positive and 33 for the negative and so I purchased the negative from NAPA. It has been great fun installing these cables, but I hope that the problem will be emilinated or it is just a solenoid.