Uh oh... Lemon or Bad Luck??? HELP!

[Ryoga]

We purchased a 93 Explorer 4x4 15 days ago and the truck has been running great! No clicks no ticks no nothing... It has always been that you turn the key and the car cranks without hesitation in a second or less.

My wife went out this morning to turn it over and it just hit. Didn't click like a low batery or anything. Checked the amp gauge and it all looked good. Stayed above the 11-12 mark while cranking. Battery seems to be a fairly new Interstate battery.

In spite of all of this I decide to crank up the TA and jump off the truck. You never know after all. I left the cable connected for about 5-10 minutes or so and then tried to crank it, no change whatsoever. Checked all the jumper connections-all good.

At this point I'm thinking the worst. I've had one car many moons ago that siezed up on us. It did exactly as this truck has. The power system is fine, the fuel system seems good, the starter its making the initial hit and not clicking... I'm really thinking it is mechanical... Just last night I was driving and didn't have a lick of trouble-the whole time I was admiring how well it was running in fact.

The bad part is if this is true I am burned-it was bought with an As-Is 30 day 50/50 warranty... Which means I have to pay half of everything-which might not be so cheap if that's what the problem is.

Has anyone got ANY other tests or thoughts???? I can't afford this at this time of year!

 

[Bashman]

Start with the simplest first. Check all you battery and starter connections to ensure they are tight and corrosion free. Turn the key to the "ON" position and turn on your headlights, if they don't work or are very dim, it's your battery. To check to see if it is seized, get a socket or wrench onto the the crank pulley and try turning it manually, if you can move it, it isn't seized.

 

[DarkFox1]

I think a 93 is too old to declare it a lemon, but, see if you can't get it code scanned, see what the computers saying, then follow that lead. If you have no way of doing that, and are unwilling to tow it to a shop to do it, check the starter, if you're not even getting a click that may be a lead to follow.

 

[Ryoga]

Went with everyone's advice and decided to concentrate on the starter. I did some more searching on the archives here and read where one guy said that he took some hot water from the sink and poured it in the general area of the start when his didn't start. His thoughts were that with the cold weather it had frozen in place. I tried this and sure enough it started right up without hesitation.

So now I need to figure out how to really fix this problem. Is this just a 'replace the starter' deal or is it something that will just happen from time to time, and just get used to it?

I am SOOOOO happy to find that this is all it is. I was really starting to love this ol' truck and didn't want to have to cash it in.

 

[DarkFox1]

ah, yer up north, hrmm, you know I saw a guy on the chevy truck forum (dont ask) that he has asort of.. space heater, that he rigged to sit next to his starter and he has a power chord running out of the hood.. and about 10 minues before he leaves for work each day he plugs it up to keep the starter from freezing.

this is kind of uh..... rigging.. but perhaps sometihng similar would work for you? or maybe something as simple as some insulation?

 

[Opera House]

I pulled my starter apart

and there is a large solenoid on the top that can be removed. A replacement for this is about $60 at NAPA. What I noticed is that water or dirt could get in the plunger area over time. I applied a light coating of a silicone oil to the plunger and when I put it back used a thin coating of silicone sealant on the mounting to keep moisture out. Also put some Lubriplate grease in the gears and slide mech. Wear on the brushes was quite minimal. Maybe yours just needs a dusting and cleaning.