Starter not starting

[mikegigabyte]

Its for my dads explorer, the solenoid wire on starter has no power while holding key on. I can use a screw driver to run starter and while holding the key on it wont start, ive personally checked all relays for ingition and starter but they all work and seem to work. Cold it be a ground? I can feel the relays click, and ive even swapped them around with other ones but nothing. When it died it did start for 3 seconds but stopped, then tried again and thats when it wouldnt start anymore. Im also wondering if the key has that stupid thing transmitting in it and maybethat went bad. We did also charge the battery for a hour before testing everything thinking the battery was dead. Anyways he having it towed, I was just curious if anyone has ran into this before. 2004 explorer 80,000 miles

 

[Lane24]

Not sure about different Gen. Explorers. My 93' Exploder had the same problem ( or at least similar). Mine ended up being the starter relay, or ignition relay, whatever its called, wire kept coming loose from the side of the engine compartment near the battery . I ended up finally double nutting it, and never had the problem again.

Are your battery posts dirty, or corroded? I had to clean my battery posts quite often on that thing to keep it starting properly.

Could be battery cables . They corrode from the inside out, so they may look ok, but may be corroded. Maybe try pulling on the cables while someone istrying to start the engine to determine which cable is bad. Mine were fat and bloated on the inside from all the corrosion. Looked like they had tumors.

Just a couple of suggestions.

 

[mikegigabyte]

only the neg had some fuzz on the post. I did check all relays but I dont think power went through the wire to the starter. I used a screwdriver to start the motor and my dad held the key in start but it would never start, like something else is keeping the engine from starting.

 

[ELVATO]

You don't have another key, do you? I thought when you put in a non PATS key, theft would flash, but that might just be on the older Ford cars.

This is what it says in the 03 Expy manual:

If a problem occurs with the SecuriLock system, the indicator will flash
rapidly or glow steadily when the ignition is in the ON position. If this
occurs, the vehicle should be taken to an authorized dealer for service.

 

[mikegigabyte]

Its my dads explorer, he was at my house trying to leave, and yes he has another key but he lives 40 min away so he had it towed to the dealership. I guess its fixed, but they said the battery was bad, which it may be and that it was also the key, they replaced the battery because it wouldnt start the engine, but I used a screwdriver on the starter a few times cranking it over while my dad used the key and it wouldnt start, so I think it didnt need a battery, even though its the original, they just wanted the sale.
I think he said total was around $300 or $400 to fix it.

Are these keys warrantied because if they charge him for one thats BS. He has no way to maintain that key to prevent it from going bad that should be a lifetime thing, and no way to bypass it either.

I was really sure it was the key as all relays clicked on and I even tested them to make sure the power runs through the contacts. It just sucks he lived so far away, I would of tried the spare key too.

 

[mikegigabyte]

I forgot to mention when my dad bought it new in 2004 they gave him the ford f150 book, so all the fuse locations didnt exist, so we threw out the book, I had to do alot of searching online to find a pdf of the book yesterday so I never looked into the PATS

 

[ELVATO]

https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenance/owners_manuals/default.asp

If you have 2 coded keys, you can make more copies. Just get some keys for cheap on ebay, have them cut, then follow the programming procedure listed in the manual. That way he can have a spare to try out.

 

[mikegigabyte]

https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenance/owners_manuals/default.asp

If you have 2 coded keys, you can make more copies. Just get some keys for cheap on ebay, have them cut, then follow the programming procedure listed in the manual. That way he can have a spare to try out.

the dealership charged fair prices, $23 for the new key, and $120 for a new battery, but over $250 for diagnosis. Maybe they charge low prices for parts but jack up the labor now. I believe before it was the opposite.

 

[Lane24]

$23 ain't too bad for a key. I bought a set of 2 for $12 ( They sent 4)on eBay but shipping was $8 and getting it cut was $3. So I guess I paid $23 too. I think I still have 3 that haven't been programmed or cut yet lying around somewhere.

 

[97_edition]

Had a similar starting issue with my 97 XLT yesterday. Drove it for an hour strait. Shut off the truck and 10 minutes later tried to start it, but it wouldn't start. All of my lights worked inside and out.Checked all of my fuses and battery, even tried getting a jump from a friend of mine. Nothing. When I would try to start it I could here the solenoid on the firewall clicking. So we used a pair of pliers to jump the starter and the starter would spin. Tired this while turning the key over and still nothing. Then we used the pliers to tap on the solenoid on the side of the starter (i used to have to do this with my old Chevy sometimes) and tried starting it with the key, and it started. I stopped at local auto parts store and picked up a new starter with the solenoid attached. The solenoid alone would have been about $35 OR the starter with the solenoid was $120. I am putting going to be putting it on tonight. This might help anyone else with similar problem.

 

[nvycrmn]

mike, i know this is a little off subject but is that a warn transformer brush guard on the front? i have my winch mounted behind my bumper but i want to move it to the front but the winch carrier doesnt fit on my brush guard now.