Won't start - searched first & have questions

[richinspirit]

I have run down the battery in my '97 Expedition XLT 5.4 4x4 a few times in the last couple months, but I pulled the battery for a charge at a local parts shop and it ran again, each time.

This time, however...
I turn the ignition switch and get a click sounding like a good sized relay, and nothing else. Cabin lights go off, and it acts like it should turn over, but dead.

Got the battery charged and tested at an auto-parts store, and they told me the battery is good...

Searched and found the two torx screws for the shifter and my shifter was a bit floppy/loose, so tightened those... didn't help.

Found one possibility is the exhaust burning through a wire bundle near the passenger side exhaust manifold, then a fuse-24 under the hood... that isn't it, either.

However, I slept overnight in the driver's seat and when I woke up it exhibited these symptoms...

Wondering if I kicked something important loose that night... ???

Any help with this is appreciated, my budget for repairs is non-existent while I am looking for Information Technology work.

 

[BAD RONALD]

How old is the battery?

 

[richinspirit]

It is almost exactly 3 years old, and a motorcraft w/ 750CCA.

FYI: I have only had the vehicle for the last 5 months. Fairly new to me.

 

[stamp11127]

Why do you keep running the battery down?

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

automotive starting batteries are NOT meant to be deep cycled, doing so even once reduces its cca and reserve amp hour ratings. doing so many times will render it useless within a couple years. My girlfriend killed her battery three times over four months during the summer it was a two year old battery and never ran flat before, but, that winter, even when charged it could not turn the car over.


Go have the battery load tested. replace if low on cca then figure out whats draining the battery by doing a parasitic draw test.

 

[richinspirit]

Why do you keep running the battery down?

I am working out of my car a lot for hours at a time and run an AC inverter for my 17" laptop.

Most of the time it is not surprising. Voltage gets down to around 11.3V under around a 3-amp current draw. Need to install a good volt meter that is readable from the driver's seat, so I can avoid this in the future. Happened 4 times in the last 3 months or so.

 

[richinspirit]

Go have the battery load tested. replace if low on cca then figure out whats draining the battery by doing a parasitic draw test.

I did, and they said the battery is good. Maybe a second opinion, but I did and they said it's good...


...and, like I said above, the draw is from the inverter and my laptop for 4+ hours at a time. Usually get in trouble when I also turn on the stereo "for a little while" but then time gets away from me.

Doing Information Technology remote administration while on the road, business development activity to find more clients/gigs, and a job search for a good fulltime position.

 

[richinspirit]

...

However, I slept overnight in the driver's seat and when I woke up it exhibited these symptoms...

Wondering if I kicked something important loose that night... ???

...

Anyone have any suggestions regarding this part?

 

[Bedrck47]

would suggest that instead of sleeping in the car get a motel room

Also if you think you kicked something only you can tell by looking at the areas where your feet were depending if you were in the front seat middle row or the third row. Any other answer is just a guess

 

[stamp11127]

What did the auto parts store test the battery with?

Most of the toaster testers are chrome plated, short leads, have a meter on the front along with a rocker switch.

 

[richinspirit]

Just got a different auto parts chain to charge and test and the battery passed again. Hooked it right back up and same symptoms.

BTW, I do stay somewhere besides the Expy when the budget allows

 

[stamp11127]

What type of tester are they using?

Do you have a DMM?

 

[richinspirit]

The tester is a little digital read deal that clips to the battery terminal and can print out a CCA rating after the test.

I do not have a DMM. If I ever get paid the last bit from my client for my last job I will pick one up for this, however.

Anyone recommend a really cheap multimeter that works okay?

 

[stamp11127]

Harbor Freight has a few China junkers that is good enough for this - sometimes free - sometimes $3.

The type of testers you describe are the type that have passed failed batteries for me in the past. But the toaster type testers are simple and don't lie to you. If you can put the battery into another vehicle as a test that will work also.

BTW - you can get the trucker showers at all of the major truck stops for usually 9-12 bucks each time.

 

[richinspirit]

So, this may help...


Just jumped the solenoid with a screwdriver and the starter would not crank the engine. That means it could be the battery (if the store testers are passing it but it is still bad) or the starter... but anything else? Any relay or fuse that could still be interrupting things?

BTW: thanks for everything, so far!

 

[stamp11127]

Do you hear the starter engage the flywheel? Once you jump the solenoid it is a straight shot to the starter.

 

[IMINYOURCHAIR]

how do the battery terminals look? Inside the terminal where it seats to the battery, where the wire goes into the actual terminal, the connections on the starter, solenoid, and to/from the mega fuses. My truck does what you say yours is doing but I just keep re trying it till it starts. It's worse in cold weather and I have done it as many as 25x before it caught and actually started turning the engine over. All I got each time was a solenoid click and no noticeable battery draw. I haven't caught it on a dvom to get the actual battery voltage.

 

[richinspirit]

...
All I got each time was a solenoid click and no noticeable battery draw.
...

Stamp: This is exactly what mine does with no attempt to engage the teeth by the starter.

 

[richinspirit]

...

Go have the battery load tested. replace if low on cca then figure out whats draining the battery by doing a parasitic draw test.

You nailed it, this was the issue...

Going to be out over $100 for a new battery, looks like.

My son-in-law helped, and we pulled the starter out so a parts store could test it, and it passed testing. After we reinstalled the starter, he pulled his battery out of his truck and plugged it in to my Expedition. The Expy then started right up. I mean right up.

With it still running, we pulled his battery and then hooked mine back up and the engine started lugging to the point almost shut off a few times over the next 2 or 3 minutes. It was bad. Never seen a battery affect a vehicle like that before, ever. After leaving it running for about 45 minutes, and driving around for 10 minutes of that or so, it now starts again. For who knows how long, but it starts. Weird.

I need a new battery and do not have the receipt for this under 3-year old Motorcraft battery, so can't even try for a warranty replacement from the local Ford dealership. Kinda sucks.

 

[Bedrck47]

even if you had a receipt for the battery I seriously doubt that a local ford dealership would honor it if it wasn't purchased from them

Also amazing is the amount of times that you had the battery tested and was told it tested good

and the problem was a bad battery

Hopefully you will find a better way to use your computer rather than running the battery down