starter engaged, no start

[muck]

my wifes 04 explorer wouldn't start this morning. battery level was 12.56 volts. and I can hear the starter click. took the starter to parts store and it was tested good. dash light is blinking like normal. engine still does not turn.... what should I look at next?

 

[Travisfab]

Fuel pump/relay

 

[Number4]

At 12.56, your battery is at about a 80% charge and that could simply be a surface charge.
The battery must be taken out of the car and load tested. I'd probably have it charged the rest of the way as well.
As for your starter, all a parts store can do is test it unloaded as well. That test tells you nothing about its ability to turn over an engine. It might be able to engage and spin, but that doesn't mean it has the torque it needs.
If the cable to the starter is internally corroded, enough juice might not be getting to the starter. I have to tell you, internally corroded cables can be hard to spot. From outside, they can look perfectly fine. And the corrosion may be in only one spot. Still, the issue could be the starters ground as well.

 

[imp]

How could NO FUEL prevent an engine from turning over?? imp

 

[muck]

ya , someone just throwing **** against the wall.


im getting 12.2 volts to the starter.

when I turn the key the volts drop way down to about .5 volts

 

[Number4]

Sounds like a bad battery.

 

[imp]

ya , someone just throwing **** against the wall.


im getting 12.2 volts to the starter.

when I turn the key the volts drop way down to about .5 volts

The 12.2 yer measuring is battery voltage at no load on the battery. Turning the key to "start" dropping that reading that much indicates battery trouble, or cable trouble, or battery terminal trouble. imp

 

[cross6]

sounds like a bad battery, but you can check the cables by measuring the voltage drop from positive battery to positive starter terminal. Do the same for ground. Measure volt drop from negative battery to ground on starter.

Should be about .5 to 1 volts max under load.

Like this: http://www.autotechnician.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/volt-drop11.jpg

If it jumps to 10 volts or something then you have a corroded ground strap or something.

 

[imp]

ya , someone just throwing **** against the wall.


im getting 12.2 volts to the starter.

when I turn the key the volts drop way down to about .5 volts

If you are measuring this AT THE BATTERY terminals, it is likely the battery is at fault. However, a serious dead-short circuit, like a shorted starter motor, could also have the same result. In that case, I believe a click would be heard first from the starter solenoid.

Why not spend a couple of bucks for a battery hydrometer, and check each battery cell individually? Low cost, fast, picks up a bad cell or cells right away. I have seen batteries with a weak cell which would light parking lights, even headlights, but failed to turn over the engine. Look for a cell which checks much lower than the others. For example, if 5 cells check at "half-charge", and one checks almost dead, throw away the battery! imp