Electrical problem - won't start! --- UPDATE

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Eric Pennal

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I need help from some experts. please.



I climbed into the Trac to drive to work this morning. Dome lights came on as usual. Put the key in the ignition switch and turned it to the first notch. Everything seems normal until I turn the key all the way to start. The entire electrical system shuts off instantly. No sounds, no lights - nothing.



After a while, the system resets itself - until I try to start again. Same thing again. I disconnected the battery for 30 seconds or so, thinking it may be a gremlin. Same outcome.



My wife is taking me to work now, so I don't have time to try to diagnose the problem until tonight. In the meantime, I thought I'd let this cook on the message board and see if someone can help me narrow this down to a few things to investigate when I get home later.



Thanks for your help in advance.
 
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My best guess would be starter or fuel pump. However with the starter, it could also be a loose ground. If your battery new?
 
First off, put it in neutral and try to start it. If it starts, it is your neutral safety switch.



If it still doesn't start, lift it up and while the wife is trying to crank it, tap the starter with a hammer. If it starts, the starter is bad. If it does't, I still would not rule out the starter. It could also be the solenoid on the starter. A test light will tell you if the starter is bad.



Climb under the vehicle with the aligatror clip on the frame. Next, find the single heavy wire going to the starter. With someone trying to crank the engine, the light should come on. If it does, it is the starter. If it doesn't come one, the solenoid could be the problem.



As for fuel pump, no. As far as I know, fuel pump, working or not, the engine will crank.



As usual, check battery cables, and try a jump start in case it is just the battery.



Let us know what you come up with. I am interested in what you come up with. If you want, I can give you my phone number if you need to be talked through anything.





Tom
 
As soon as you apply a load (starter) everything shuts down. You don't say how old the battery is so first, try jumping it, if that doesn't work then borrow a battery, change it, and see if that solves the problem. If you rule out the battery then as Tom said, it could be a bad starter, solenoid, or cables. Good Luck...
 
It sounds to me that it is the battery. But,,, Caymen has a point on a easy test to at least figure out if it is the neutral safety switch.



I am betting you have a dead or shorted cell, thus, not enough amps to engage the starter...



And jump starting OFTEN will not do it as you will not get past the shorted cell...
 
All good suggestions. You've all been great help.



I'm at work right now, but I'll try your ideas when I get home. I'll take it one step at a time. Tom, you've come up with several good tips. Thanks.



I thought I might even connect a code reader to it to see if it threw any codes.
 
Sounds like a loose or broken battery terminal...



Todd Z
 
Eric......since you are here in the Dallas area too and it's been friggin hot....my bet as well is your battery is shot. If the terminals are good and tight and you can't jump start it, I agree as well that it's got an internal short as Eddie stated.



There was another member on here that just had the same issue and couldn't jump start his....turned out to be just a bad battery.
 
I got home too late last night to diagnose the problem. I'm working on it now, though.



Will a battery with an internal short still provide voltage? My voltmeter is showing 12.43V across the terminals. This is a 100 month, 750 amp Ford battery that I've had for less than 20 months. I hope it is the battery because this battery has a 36 month free-replacement warranty.



I'm going to try jumping it when the wifey gets home later this morning. I'll post the results of this adventure once I know the outcome. :)
 
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Just because the battery will indicate the proper voltage, does not mean it can carry the load (the starter). If after jumping the battery and the truck starts, measure the voltage (at the battery) to be sure the alternator is charging properly. If so, take the truck to where you purchased the battery and let them do a load test to determine if the battery is functioning properly. At that time you will either have solved the problem, or eliminated the battery as the problem. Due to the age of the truck, I would think the starter would be your next area of interest. Good Luck...
 
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Like Les said, just because the battery shows good voltage, does not mean it is good. I had the same issue with my son's Sable and we just replaced the battery. Works fine now. Battery was only about 2.5 years old, but things happen. Try jumping it.
 
A good fully charged battery will be 12.5 to 12.6 vdc..

Put your volt meter on the battery and watch as you turn the starter. If it falls bellow 10vdc. Either the battery is bad or the charging system has not been effecient enough.
 
I decided not to wait for my wife to come home for a jump start (for the car, I mean ;)), so I started preparing to try some of the other things you all recommended. The positive cable connector seemed seemed just a little loose on the battery post, so I tightened it real good. Turned the key to see if I could replicate the failure before moving on to the next diagnostic step, and it started right up! That's all it was. I guess I've never had a cable connector come loose before, because I've never seen a battery problem cause the effect I experienced. I mean, the entire electrical system shut off like I'd been zapped by a UFO. Being late for work, I didn't have time to start tinkering with it. It was as if some kind of main relay or circuit breaker was being tripped. I thought - why not tap into this great resource of automotive knowledge while I'm away for the day?



I want to thank everyone for your input. I'm keeping a printout of this thread keep with my service manuals and other bits of knowledge I've gained from this website. Caymen, thanks for your offer to help offline.
 
First thinkgs first, and the most obvious is to check the battery. Makes no difference if it's new or old, they all dies sooner or later. If you have good battery voltage, then you could have a bad multiswitch connector in the steering column that routes you lights, turn signals ignition, etc and most everything throught that connector. I you don't have much slack in the cable and you move the column tilt, it can pull the connector apart.



The fact that th lights go out when you try to start it sounds more like a battery problem...It could even be corrosion or bad cables.



...Rich
 
Eric.....



Glad to hear it was just a loose connection......you got lucky :)



It's always best to look for the easy stuff first.....loose connections, bad fuses.



Since your terminal was loose, you might want to go ahead and remove and clean them with a wire brush....places like Auto Zone, etc sell those kits for your posts and connectors.
 
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Caymen, thanks for your offer to help offline.
Click to expand...



Anytime. A good number of members here have my phone number and they know that are more than welcomed to call me, day or night, for help. I will do whatever I can.



That is how people stick together.





Tom
 

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