No crank

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Sam Odajima

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I was working on an coolant leak in the emtal line that runs to the rear. Took it for a long drive and the line is fixed but when I went back out the best day my expy won't crank.

So I had the battery checked and it registered as bad. So I replaced the battery and still no luck. So I cleaned and replaced the battery connection ends. Still no crank. So I replaced the starter (which was still under warranty). Still no crank. I checked the relays and could hear them click when I tried to start the expy but I went ahead and replaced them to be sure. Still no crank. Lost. Any advice/help would be appreciated.
 

TobyU

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Slow down on replacing parts until some diagnostic work is done.
Put it in N and try then back to Park and try.
You can pull starter relay and connect 87 and 30 term to make it crank to show if starter and battery are good.

Have had a lot of problems with older town cars with corrosion on the maxi fused in the fuse and center under hood.
They get water and salt on them and the terminals don't make connection even though fuse is good.

That's the first place I start on a Town Car with no crank but the trucks don't seem to have this issue very often.

Could be ignition switch but too. You can get back to the starter relay and use a test light or volt meter on the 85 and 86 terminals to see if you have power when the switch is in the start position. This is a good test for ignition switch. Not 100% but a good basic one.

There are some fusible links near the positive battery terminal and cable too you can check.
 

Adieu

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Take a tester to the battery

If it has 1 iffy cell, it'll measure 11 volts or so and will power stuff like locks and will click, but won't crank at all
 

Hamfisted

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I wish people would always state the year and engine size when they ask for help.

If it's an '03-'04 check the PCM relay in the fuse box. It's the top right relay in the box. Look for any melted plastic or burned terminal ends. Swap the PCM relay with one of the others on the top row and see if you get any crank and start. If that is the issue you can expect to replace the fuse box soon.
 

Yupster Dog

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I was working on an coolant leak in the emtal line that runs to the rear. Took it for a long drive and the line is fixed but when I went back out the best day my expy won't crank.

So I had the battery checked and it registered as bad. So I replaced the battery and still no luck. So I cleaned and replaced the battery connection ends. Still no crank. So I replaced the starter (which was still under warranty). Still no crank. I checked the relays and could hear them click when I tried to start the expy but I went ahead and replaced them to be sure. Still no crank. Lost. Any advice/help would be appreciated.
So if the truck was running before you got under truck and after it is not working the first thing I would check is the ground wires.
Do a voltage drop test to see.

https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/voltage-drop-testing-for-no-start.26144/
 

TobyU

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I'm unclear on what you mean by 87 and 30 terminal?
Typical relays have five terminals on them. Underneath the relay they are Marked 85 86 87 30 and 80s. The 85 and 86 terminals are your low voltage that energize relay when 12 volts is applied. The 30 and 87 is the switching part of the relay that connects the 30 amp draw that makes whatever device Runs run when the relay is engaged. So if you connect the wires in the holes for the 87 and 30 go the device in this case the starter should spin if everything else is good.
If you do that with the horn relay the horn will blow.
 
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