Starting problems

[dennisbrownjr]

Hello everyone. I'm new to this site and this is my first posting. Please be gentle Anyway, I have a 1997 XLT 4x4 with an OHV 4.0L V6 and 115,000 miles. It's been great so far except for an annoying little problem I recently acquired. Sporadically, when starting the ignition, it will be completely dead for about a second then start like normal. It seems as if the battery isn't connected for that instant. After it starts all my presets on the radio are gone, so that leads me to believe that I indeed lost a connection to the battery. The battery checks out fine and it runs great other than that. I'm not sure where to go next. If anyone has had this problem or has any ideas on how to fix it I would be most appreciative. Thanks!!!

 

[cjbarron5]

clean your conections at the battery and by you saying the battery checks out great is that voltage or amperage? you can have 13 volts but with no amps it does you no good

 

[dennisbrownjr]

I don't know. I had a battery store test it for me. They didn't give me any details. I'll try giving the terminals a good cleaning and see what happens. I heard regular Coke will desolve battery acid. If that is true then what the heck does it do to my stomach :fire:

 

[jgilbs]

yes, coke is a very strong electrolyte(excelent chrome cleaner as well). since it is very acidic, it will conduct electricity well, allowing your car to start.(used the trick on my old 'yota that had bad battery clamps) but i dont know if i would use coke to "clean" the terminals. it will leave a sticky residue which will attract dust and gunk, and before you know it, the problem will be worse than it is now. use baking soda to neutralize the acid, then scrub it off. Get some dielectric grease and apply it to your terminals before reattaching the clamps to help keep them clean and conductive. also besure that your grounding points are solid and the wires arent corroded.

 

[dennisbrownjr]

Well, I cleaned the terminals and the starting problem seems to be taken care of. However, I took it into the mechanic for a grinding noise up front and he says I have three bad tires, one of the ball joints needs replacing, the shocks are shot, the rotors and brakes are bad, and to top it off, on the way home, the AC stopped working. If that isn't bad enough when I got out of the truck the handle for the seat back recliner broke off. This thing only has 114,000 miles and has been babied. Is all this normal for 97's or am I just having some real bad luck?

 

[dennisbrownjr]

One other thing... I had another Autozone and a mechanic check the battery because of what cjbarron5 said. After the first Autozone said the battery was fine, the other Autozone and mechanic said it needs replacing. I guess I can add that to the never-ending list of repairs for this vehicle.