Prove your Mustang knowledge

poolee · Mar 1, 2004

All right, situation is...
Key in the ignition, car is in park, turn the key to "on", all the idiot lights are normal, the fuel pump primes, radio turns on. Turn the key to "start", and all you hear is the faint click of the solenoid. No spinning starter, no roaring exhaust, just crickets out by the road. In the distance, a baby cries because she can't see your beautiful car rolling down the street destroying all ricers and Z28s in its path.

This problem just started up last Thursday at work. About 3 hours after I got to work, I went out to go to the gym, the starter didn't spin, so I tried again and it fired right up. On Saturday afternoon, it did it again, so I checked all my high current fuses and then the anti-theft fuse. After about 15 minutes of looking around for problems, it mysteriously starts. Then it ran fine for the rest of the day. I probably started it 3 or 4 more times that day. It sat in the drive on Sunday. Then, this morning I went out to go to work and it didn't start, so I looked around for a couple of minutes and then drove the Firebird. The battery is only a year old and the alternator is 5 months.

Anyone got a similar horror story, or a really big bat?

"Fix Or Repair Daily" is turning out to be a reality.

THANKS FOR PLAYING!

millatime · Mar 1, 2004

could be that your starter is going...or could be a problem I had on my old car. If you don't have the terminals screwed tightly enough on the battery it will sometimes not start. you might want to check these two things out.

jmichalicek · Mar 1, 2004

Mine did this a few weeks ago. Started up fine in the morning, I went to leave work and nothing. Tried a few more times and it works. Same thing next day... cranks right up in the morning, nothing at work. Has worekd fine since then. No ideas wtf the deal is.

Bone Racing · Mar 1, 2004

the starters have a round spinning wheel on em with ridges kinda like a stars POINTS....it moves when u try to start the car....

u prolly started the car and it stopped prinning BETWEEN the POINTS

thats why u see people HITTING the starter sometimes...to move it to where the METAL ignition fork touches the points

99SCGT · Mar 1, 2004

CHECK THE BATTERY CONNECTIONS FIRST. THEN CHECK FOR CORROSION UP INTO THE BATTERY CABLES THEMSELVES BY CUTTING BACK THE INSULATION A LITTLE. AFTER THAT CHECK CONNECTION AT THE STARTER. IF OK THEN CHECK THE SYSTEM FOR HIGH RESISTANCE BOTH NEG SIDE AND POS SIDE. IF THIS IS OVER YOUR HEAD TAKE IT TO A SHOP. WITH THE SYMPTOMS YOU DESCRIBE YOU HAVE A LOW BATT OR HIGH RESISTANCE IN THE SYSTEM SOMEWHERE.

NiteRydaGT · Mar 1, 2004

Sounds similar to what happened to me when my TPS(Throttle Positioning Sensor) went out. Car started fine one minute, nothing the next. Give that a shot.

'96&'01Stang · Mar 1, 2004

It is probably either the battery or the battery cables like 99scgt said

Roger_4.6_96 · Mar 1, 2004

i had a similiar problem and thought it was the starter. turned out to be my alarm

Dan_Soprano · Mar 1, 2004

99SCGT said:
CHECK THE BATTERY CONNECTIONS FIRST. THEN CHECK FOR CORROSION UP INTO THE BATTERY CABLES THEMSELVES BY CUTTING BACK THE INSULATION A LITTLE. AFTER THAT CHECK CONNECTION AT THE STARTER. IF OK THEN CHECK THE SYSTEM FOR HIGH RESISTANCE BOTH NEG SIDE AND POS SIDE. IF THIS IS OVER YOUR HEAD TAKE IT TO A SHOP. WITH THE SYMPTOMS YOU DESCRIBE YOU HAVE A LOW BATT OR HIGH RESISTANCE IN THE SYSTEM SOMEWHERE.

Nicely said. Also, if your starter got really wet recently then there could be corrosion on the brushes inside the starter.

StangJonGT · Mar 1, 2004

99 times out of a 100 this is a connection issue. Check all of your connections, battery first, and see what you find. A simple cleaning with an anti-corrosion fluid and wire brush will probably make it run like new.

Jon

poolee · Mar 1, 2004

SR 97 GT said:
Sounds similar to what happened to me when my TPS(Throttle Positioning Sensor) went out. Car started fine one minute, nothing the next. Give that a shot.

This intrigues me...the car had been idling quite high occasionally after starting, cold and warm. Most of the time it idled normal, sometimes it would get up to about 1800 for a few seconds. This just started about a month ago. I was attributing this to a dirty IAC or old vacuum lines.

Was the TPS the only thing keeping the car from starting?

You know how when you try to start the car and you're either still in gear or the clutch isn't pushed in all the way? Everything is normal but it won't turn over. That's how this feels.

I checked the battery side for corrosion, but I can't get under the car to check the starter, so I'll hit the rack later this week (if I can get there).

Thanks for all the inputs. I'll keep this updated. No one likes to search the forums and look up unresolved problems.

JB9789 · Mar 1, 2004

I have seen a leaking injector causing this problem but it ended up bad.
hydrolock!!!

do you smell a fuel smell?

asthmaticZeater · Mar 1, 2004

StangJonGT said:
99 times out of a 100 this is a connection issue. Check all of your connections, battery first, and see what you find. A simple cleaning with an anti-corrosion fluid and wire brush will probably make it run like new.

Jon

now, i know there are 40 some people throwing out suggestions here trying to prove their mustang knowledge. but im with this guy. ive had this same thing with mine. id go to start it and itd just click, so id try it again a few times, clicking each. and randomly, itd start. go to start it next time, bang. 45 minutes later, clicking.

check your connections. my battery connections were good so i took the ones off the starter and cleaned them. havent had the problem since.

cltgt · Mar 1, 2004

my car did that for a while. Went away after i had to replace the starter...

'96&'01Stang · Mar 2, 2004

asthmaticZeater said:
now, i know there are 40 some people throwing out suggestions here trying to prove their mustang knowledge. but im with this guy. ive had this same thing with mine. id go to start it and itd just click, so id try it again a few times, clicking each. and randomly, itd start. go to start it next time, bang. 45 minutes later, clicking.

check your connections. my battery connections were good so i took the ones off the starter and cleaned them. havent had the problem since.

n0v8or · Mar 2, 2004

Mounted on top of the starter, but usually considered integral to it, is a combination actuator/contactor (fancy name for a big fat relay). When you turn the key to "start", the actuator pushes the drive gear into mesh with the flywheel. Near the end of the stroke, contacts complete the circuit between battery and motor.

While I agree that poor battery connections and a high resistance cell are more common causes, I have had the actuator assembly become "gummed up", and intermittent. Four out of five times the actuator will not advance far enough to close the contacts. This actuator can be replaced separately, but most just buy a complete new starter, since you have to remove the starter anyway to clean and/or replace the actuator. This problem is not unique to Fords.

Daves4.6GT · Mar 2, 2004

This Isn't Mustang Knowledge.......anyone with a battery could tell you its a bad Connection...... wiggle the battery connection.....it should be fine.
Dave

merc123 · Mar 2, 2004

My Cougar had a problem like this. Turned out to be the starter and flexplate in the transmission (AOD).

NasaGT · Mar 2, 2004

This is exactly what my car did - Ford replaced the starter.

'96&'01Stang · Mar 2, 2004

NasaGT said:
This is exactly what my car did - Ford replaced the starter.

yea like Ford service centers are the best

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