starting issue - one click

[eric mentzer]

greetings. 1996 explorer 4.0 ohv. 88k miles. went to start engine hot and one click. then nothing each second additional tries. banged on starter with wrench. started right up no struggling. also noticed clock radio and presets were cleared like a power loss. battery is a year old. dc voltage on battery sitting in garage is 12.71 volts. running voltage is 14.17 (started right up). i coulda swore last time i checked running volts it was 15.## a few monthes ago. Any advice? trying not to be a parts changer, done enough of that haha.

 

[Mbrooks420]

You shouldn’t have over 15 volts. You probably have a cable or connection issue. Just the starter being bad shouldn’t default your presets.

 

[eric mentzer]

connections at battery and relay seem good. wonder if locked rotor amp on starter would drop voltage enough to reset clock. fuse didnt go, although i didnt engage it for very long. not sure if they are slow-blow fuses or not. just wierd hitting the started it fired right up. maybe dead spot on windings? ive seen oil burner motors do that, very intermittent.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I wouldn’t think so. 9 volts will keep the memory.

 

[toypaseo]

Check for corrosion between the battery terminal and the cables. I had a turn key, click, and everything dead issue. That corrosion was part of my problem.

 

[donalds]

When my starter did this I rebuilt it
I wouldn't tap on that starter it has permanent magnets in it
If one of the four brushes is worn out you get a click and most times a voltage drop
When you tap on it you Jared the brushes and bam it started it
If the negative brushes or one of them has worn you get high resistance from positive to your ground causing big voltage drop and heat when you turn the key
When you turn the key You will hear a click the starter solenoid engagement
Starter will not turn or will turn slow

If it was me I would check all connections Inc the main fuse if every thing is good rebuild or replace the starter

 

[96eb96]

There are three things involved:
Fender mounted relay (on the drivers side), which is controlled by the key. Cheap, not a bad idea to replace, get the Motorcraft one.
Starter solenoid on the starter (pushes the bendix (gear that engages the flywheel) and switches power to the main starter motor)
Finally the starter motor.

The above two are replaced when you get a new starter. They are connected with an exposed, braided copper wire that you can see from the fenderwell.

We assume all cables are good.

It is possible to easily rebuild a starter. You can get the parts on ebay. I replace the solenoid and and brushes. Could be the relay or solenoid is getting tired. My braided brush wire was completely rotted out.

Removing the starter is doable but a big PITA.

 

[donalds]

This is where I got my rebuild kits starter alternator


Rebuilder in a box

 

[koda2000]

I can't count how many times this has happened to me over the years. Each time it was due to a bad connection at the battery. If the starter was the issue you wouldn't have lost your clock and radio pre-sets.

14.x volts is perfect. 15 volts would be too high.

Remove the battery terminals, clean the posts and cable ends with a battery brush. If you have repair ends on your cables, check to make sure they haven't loosened up. You should be fine afterwards.