Not starting... Could it be the load somehow? Please help!

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Tommy VanNess

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Quick replies are appreciated.



My ST won't start. It runs perfectly and there have been no symptoms to clue me in to what could be going on. Here is the situation:



I drove down to the hardware store to pick up some stuff for a new deck I will be building. It drove down here fine, no problems. I have loaded up and I have some pier blocks, some gravel, and some lumber, but nothing that would scare me from hauling. The only other note I can provide is that I did tie it down with straps including the one close to the bed 12 volt access.



For some reason it just won't start. Battery, dash and everything else looks good. Any thoughts on why it won't start? Much appreciated.



Tommy
 
Quick update,



It did start, but only after I released the tie down near the 12v supply.



I have no idea what would cause this.
 
I think that you should look for bare wires at the outlet. It may blow a fuse!
 
I will do some research in my '04 wiring manual. It would be odd that the power port is related to the igntion. Not the way I would wire it. I will check back unless someone beats me to it.
 
How old is your battery? Last time you had it load tested? Eliminate the obvious before tearing into wiring, etc. Just sayin'.
 
Battery is only about a year, just replaced it last year. (Duralast Gold) Also when it wouldn't start, the dash lit up as normal.



As for the wiring, I have no idea. I would imagine it was a short of some kind. I was careful not to crank too hard on the strap because we have the composite beds in our STs, but there was a bit of flex in the side.



It was the weirdest thing. Sorry I was pretty panicked when I wrote the original post. It wouldn't start, and of course the forklift of the lumber yard needed to go right where I was parked.



This will bug me though. Nothing like this has ever happened in the 200,000 miles I have had it. Thanks for the responses guys. I will keep you posted and let you know if I find anything.



Tommy
 
I'd check integrity of battery cables and connections. Disconnect both cables to avoid shorting. Check neg cable for good ground. Check pos connection at the starter. Clean/tighten as necessary.
 
Could be the starter. Mine failed with no warning whatsoever. Worked fine when I went to work one day, and on the way home that afternoon, I stopped at a gas station. Came back out and she wouldn't start at all. New starter cured the problem.
 
The rear 12 volt access is on it's own fused power and ground circuit so unless someone has done some additional wiring back there the 12 volt access has absolutely nothing to do with the vehicle starting or not.



I find it funny that no one has asked the most important question....When it wouldn't start did it crank and not start or did it not crank????
 
Thanks for the responses guys. I have some time tomorrow to get into it and I will check the wires and leads. (with my free meter from Harbor Freight lol)



I will definitely check the cables and Train Trac got me wondering about the starter. At 200,000 miles I have never had an issue, but maybe there is some wear and tear on one of the wires.



As for the crank, it didn't crank at all. The dash lit up as normal, but when turning the ignition to start... nothing. Which makes me wonder about the connections to the starter, like it didn't get the signal somehow.



Thanks for the input guys. It was a weird freak thing that I hope to get to the bottom of.



Tommy
 
Have you checked the fuel inertia switch? Your symptom is what happned to me as well. I had a no start issue once, then fine for a little, then no start again. It was the inertia switch, on the firewall below the glove box. On mine everything appeared normal, just no start.
 
I don't see any relationship to tying down your load and why the truck will not start.



I think it is just a coincidence, but I would first look at the Steering column wiring harness. The tilt wheel in Gen-1 Sport Trac's is known to cause very erratic, intermittent problems with anything wired through the steering column...which includes the starter and ignition.



I had a problem where my wife would intermittently tell me that the Sport Trac would not start that day? I would come home from work to check it out, and it would start just fine? I checked the battery and everything was just fine. This occured numerous times over the period of about a month.



Eventually, my wife went to visit relatives in Louisiana and right on que, the Truck would not start one morning. She had it towed to the local Ford Dealer there (all under warranty) and they played with it all day and could not get it to start o figure out what the problem was. Finally, one of their techs remembered the problem with the tilt steering column pulling on the wires in the steering column, and sure enough, that was the problem. He corrected the problem and everything worked fine without any further problems.



...Rich
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My 02 also wouldn't start once after I parked at the store

. It would not crank, still had power to turn on radio/lights/locks etc... it was a loose battery cable, the positive had loosen at the post. It wasn't off the post, just loose enough not to make enough contact. Tightened it and good to go.
 
My '94 Explorer goes through a starter about once a year for some reason. Sometimes they go without warning, but sometimes they'll work fine most of the time and not work at all at other times before they quit all together.



I would check all the connections and clean the battery terminals and cables first though.
 
My '94 Explorer goes through a starter about once a year for some reason
Click to expand...



The bigest killer of a starter are weak batteries. Have your battery checked. It might be borderline. You can have a weak battery and not know it. Especialy with newer FI motors that start quikly on first crank. After that the altenator is feeding plenty of juice. So you dont realize the battery is bad.



Next is dont buy rebuilt starters. They only repair what is wrong and clean and paint.

Remanufactored starters, have every thing replaced. Except the armature, unless it is bad. The armature gets tested thourly and the windings painted and baked. Next is the $$ for brand new. I always buy remanufactored. Unless I find it is somthing I can fix. Brushes, solenoid, etc. I tear down starters and altenators before I decide what to do.
 
Weak batteries have not been the problem, but maybe the wiring between the battery and starter. I did pull another harness from the salvage yard a few months ago, but haven't swapped it in. I was getting reman starters from O'Reilly's until they said they wouldn't warranty any more of them. The last one was a new one, and it lasted a year and a half. (Put that one on in McDonald's parking lot. -10* F at the time!) Current one is also a new one. Next one will probably be the last one. The Explorer is getting tired, but still dependable.
 
Duane,



Years ago I had a car, the main cable to the starter was bad. When I changed it. I striped the jacket off the old. It was acid corroded, the full lenth.

That was my problem.



I had forgot until you mentioned it...GL
 

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