1999 expy leaves damsal in distress :(

[Yudaman]

I am inclined to agree with the others posting that you have a battery issue.
I have seen bad batteries show 12.5 volts with no load, but when load is added drop to 6 or 8 volts. Your computer needs a certain amount of voltage to function and control all of the vital ignition and fuel systems.
Most battery stores offer free battery tests. Next time you get it started take a trip to your local battery store (interstate/exide etc.) and have them do a load test for you. If your battery is only putting out 200amps, you have an issue.
Age also means SQUAT when it comes to lead acid batteries. All it takes is hitting a pothole in the road to damage a plate inside the battery. After all, the material that makes up the plates is a metallic substance the consistancy of thick oatmeal.

 

[Stoned06]

I also come to the conclusion of a battery being bad. The fact it is taking longer for disconnect times to restart the car makes it sound as if the battery is getting weaker as time goes on.

 

[KWT2000]

i have come to the conclusion as to there could be 3 things and they need to be load tested (most places do it for free)

1 the battery bad

2 the starter is bad or going out (next time it happens smack the starter with a hammer or the lug wrench works well also)

3 the solenoid is bad (check voltage at the solenoid with key off then check resistance across the solenoid with the key in the crank position)

also check the ground wire from the battery all the way till it ends and all connections in between

 

[Lightnig]

wierd, I have just developed a similar issue in the last few weeks.


Key to on, everything works fine

Key to start, lose any and all power to all systems - no lights, no radio, no nothing. Like turning the key to start disconnects the battery.

Key off then on again - still nothing, completely (seemingly) disconnected battery.

And no, no click, clunk, chunk, clicka, or any other noise, just electrical completely dead. No, not a dead starter/solinoid, I've driven around the block enough times to recoginze that one right off the bat.

Disconnect battery, reconnect, and everything works grand. Lots of power every where and the truck starts again.

Battery is fine (tested), cables are fine, terminals are fine (New terminals and cable ends last weekend), starter is fine (tested), ignition interlock so-so, sometimes have to sute the shift lever all the way up to get it to detect it is in park, but that is not this issue.


Now, keep in mind that this is an extremely intermittent issue, only happens once every week or two. Jump in go to start it and completely dead, disco and reconnect the battery and it's great for another week or two.


My first thought was the GEM, but nothing else is wonky, just the occasional no power/no start.


Thoughts?

 

[FordandPolaris]

wierd, I have just developed a similar issue in the last few weeks.


Key to on, everything works fine

Key to start, lose any and all power to all systems - no lights, no radio, no nothing. Like turning the key to start disconnects the battery.

Key off then on again - still nothing, completely (seemingly) disconnected battery.

And no, no click, clunk, chunk, clicka, or any other noise, just electrical completely dead. No, not a dead starter/solinoid, I've driven around the block enough times to recoginze that one right off the bat.

Disconnect battery, reconnect, and everything works grand. Lots of power every where and the truck starts again.

Battery is fine (tested), cables are fine, terminals are fine (New terminals and cable ends last weekend), starter is fine (tested), ignition interlock so-so, sometimes have to sute the shift lever all the way up to get it to detect it is in park, but that is not this issue.


Now, keep in mind that this is an extremely intermittent issue, only happens once every week or two. Jump in go to start it and completely dead, disco and reconnect the battery and it's great for another week or two.


My first thought was the GEM, but nothing else is wonky, just the occasional no power/no start.


Thoughts?

Sounds like the system is overloading. Almost like you have a short that is triggering a breaker or something in the comp that is reset with the disconnecting of the battery. Electrical is not my best category though so I could be way off.

 

[Lightnig]

Sounds like the system is overloading. Almost like you have a short that is triggering a breaker or something in the comp that is reset with the disconnecting of the battery. Electrical is not my best category though so I could be way off.

Hmmm, interesting thought

As a matter of fact, this truck was a field work truck in it's previous life and was loaded with add-on communications devices; boosters, docks, phones, hands free, mic's, speakers, etc...

Over the last few months I have been working at removing to unneeded devices and cables. I wonder if I got half of a system partially removed and the remainder causing me my current grief...

Thanks F&P, I will have to look at that more closely this weekend.

 

[toms89]

wierd, I have just developed a similar issue in the last few weeks.


Key to on, everything works fine

Key to start, lose any and all power to all systems - no lights, no radio, no nothing. Like turning the key to start disconnects the battery.

Key off then on again - still nothing, completely (seemingly) disconnected battery.

And no, no click, clunk, chunk, clicka, or any other noise, just electrical completely dead. No, not a dead starter/solinoid, I've driven around the block enough times to recoginze that one right off the bat.

Disconnect battery, reconnect, and everything works grand. Lots of power every where and the truck starts again.

Battery is fine (tested), cables are fine, terminals are fine (New terminals and cable ends last weekend), starter is fine (tested), ignition interlock so-so, sometimes have to sute the shift lever all the way up to get it to detect it is in park, but that is not this issue.


Now, keep in mind that this is an extremely intermittent issue, only happens once every week or two. Jump in go to start it and completely dead, disco and reconnect the battery and it's great for another week or two.


My first thought was the GEM, but nothing else is wonky, just the occasional no power/no start.


Thoughts?

My guess would be you have a break or bad connection that intermittently opens with heavy load on your main feeders or grounds. The fact that disconnecting the battery returns power leads me to believe it is somewhere close to it. Possibly fuseable link?!

By the sound of it it stays open when it does occur till you disconnect battery. With a helper you could test for voltage at various points as you attempt to crank (put load on it). Or even do "wiggle test" with terminals or wires to test for results.

 

[Lightnig]

Ok, dug a little deeper and found that the main battery ground cable was not as good as I thought it was.

While the end I re-terminated seemed clean when I did it last weekend, I cut back the insulation a bit further and found a big knot of corrosion and acid residue build up. So cut back the cable to where it was clean, and replaced the cable end. Not sure if was the cause and/or possible fix for what I was experiencing, but we shall see.


I've changed over to marine type battery terminals and am now using ring connectors for all battery cables. Just the ticket when one wants to add or change cables. The initial reason I changed over was that the previous owner did a very poor job of wiring the cables for the winch. All they did was stuff the bare ends of the #2 cables into the OEM style battery terminals, so over time both sets of cables got really corroded and cable strands were starting to break at the insulation. After changing to ring terminals, which I both crimped and soldered, I don't think I will have that problem again...

 

[pretty baby]

Ok so now i've had my heater core blow .....so I am wondering if there was a leak coming from it this whole time, and if its possible that it was dripping on my starter or solenoid that would have contributed to my intermittin starting issue.

 

[stamp11127]

Doubt it. Your starting issue is most likely an electrical problem. The only way to tell would be to open the starter up and look for coolant contamination.

The starters on some of the buses at work are oil soaked plus rain and mud soaked at times. Their failures are due to wear and tear from having to start so many times.

 

[Lightnig]

typically, a leaking heater core will show up in the interior first. If it was not leaking enough for a puddle to appear on the floor mat, then chances are very good that the amount leaking down the outside of the firewall was minimal. Certainly not enough to affect the starter.

Unless you have some bad battery cables, then maybe the moisture could possibly be causing a dead short. That's a stretch though.


Regardless, it would be worthwhile to check (or even simply replace in the name of Preventative Maintenance) all your battery cables.

 

[pretty baby]

as time has passed I have also noticed a few other little qwirky things that happen when my truck wont start .........A. if my cd player engages and actually decides to play music......truck wont start the next time it gets shut off.
B. my door locks no longer lock when the vehicle starts moving.
C. if I lock or unlock with the key or the F.O.B the truck does not start, if I leave it for a half hour then try again it works. in this case ive tried disconnecting the battery ..doesn't work. it just has to sit. my theft light does not change its blinking patterns at all. replaced the drivers door actuator, but didn't make a diff.