04 v6 one click when trying to start

wmburns said:

WOW!

Are you able to bar the motor over by hand from the front crank damper?

IF so likely this is a starter issue. Will need to trouble shoot to see if the starter is getting enough current to do it's job.

Have you checked the battery terminals? Are they clean and tight? Has the battery been tested?

Where does the "click" come from? The starter or somewhere else?

Turn the head lights on. Are they bright? Do the head lights dim when attempting to crank the motor?

Howto perform charging system voltage drop test
https://www.stangnet.com/mustang-fo...perform-charging-system-voltage-drop-test.56/

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wmburns said:

I suspect that you do not understand the purpose of the head light test. The test is not to just ask if the head lights work. The essence of the test is to deduce how much current the stater is drawing by LOOKING at the brightness of the head lights.

IF the headlights do NOT DIM at all THEN that means the starter isn't drawing any current.

IF the headlights dim slightly during cranking THEN that means likely the battery and starter is drawing a normal amount of current.

IF the headlights go out during cranking THEN that either means there's a weak connection or the starter is drawing too much current.

Think of this a "low tech" hillbilly current draw test.


What we are trying to determine is IF the motor is locked up internally and that is the reason WHY the starter isn't able to crank over the motor. If baring a motor over by hand it's NORMAL to have some resistance during the compression stroke. The trick is to know the difference between normal compression and a motor that has internal "issues".

The resistance of a normal compression has a "springy" feel to it. In addition if moderate pressure is applied to normal compression the motor will continue to turn slowly as the compression bleeds off.

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wmburns said:

Sooooooooooooooo have you considered that the motor is indeed locked up?

Because the motor was locked up forcing the original starter to turn a locked motor burned up the original starter.

New starter works but is still unable to turn over a locked up motor. But the new starter draws more current during it's failed attempt. Kills battery.

New battery is now able to supply more current. Along with the new battery and starter the current flow is enough to get the battery cables hot.

IMO it's a bad idea to focus next on the battery cables. If the motor is locked up all this will accomplish is burning up a new starter and draining a new battery. This is why the first test given was to find out IF the motor could be barred over by hand (not locked up).

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