starter switch? I think I just have bad wiring - - -

[Jill]

to preface:
my starter, solenoid, battery, alternator, and relay are good. this is fact.

when I turn the key forward the efi primes like usual, and then I get a single click and then nothing. it's not my starter. it's not the same kind of noise that a bad starter makes. it's very quiet and sounds sort of mechanical.

I've been starting it from the solenoid with a piece of copper pipe for the past few weeks. it started TWICE on its own, randomly, on different days.

all of a sudden, a few days ago, it decided to start magically working again.



also, my dash lights are doing strange things:
+ ONE bulb will randomly be out when I turn my car on, and sometimes it comes back on when I put it in gear or just while I'm driving. this changes from day to day.
+ my airbag light flickers on and off some days, but then is solidly on or off. it never flashes like it's used to.


+ there was a short somewhere and going over a bump moved the bad wire somewhere?
+ something is wrong in my steering column?

opinions?

[P72Ford]

I've been starting it from the solenoid with a piece of copper pipe for the past few weeks. it started TWICE on its own, randomly, on different days.

Jumping the terminals?

If the engine turned over by itself, it sounds like the solenoid is taking a crap. The last one on my car lasted 2 weeks; some cars just like to eat them. Also, I have been told not to buy the cheap ones, and I don't, but my car eats them too.

It could also be that your cables are crappy if you are so certain that the rest of your parts are good. But, if you can start it from the solenoid, that is probably not the case. It could be the switch, or wiring from the switch to the solenoid.

Goofy dash lights sounds like a poor ground.

[87gtVIC]

same shit happened to me 2 years ago. i at up 3 solenoids WTF and a starter. but all is good now. those times really sucked, especially when it was after work around 2 am lol

[86VickyLX]

Sounds like the solenoid to me too. at Scottfest, 87_Crown_Vic had a bad starter solenoid, it was so bad that it was cracked. Sometimes it would just click, but other times it would turn over on it's own. He used a screw driver to get it to crank, sometimes it would click, and then sometimes it would start. I would also check the battery cables, make sure they are tight and not corroded.

[86GmLsCoupe]

I understand what you've said but being that you've been jumping the solenoid to get the car started, I'm going to have to say that the solenoid is the problem. I've had a couple go on me. I've put one on only to have it last a week. I've been getting the Blue Streak/Standard Motor heavy duty ones which seem to last longer. The last one lasted about two years and I just replaced it over the summer. I think the Ford one's are better because I've only had one go in 15 years, the aftermarket ones, 3 in 5 years. For the airbag, perhaps just have a look at the sensor behind the grill and make sure it's connected and not rusted out. Also see if you can pull codes from the car whether you do it yourself or have some place like Autozone do it.

[gadget73]

word to the wise, those of you who eat solenoids might have a bad starter. excessive current draw from a bad one will melt the contacts.

[87gtVIC]

word to the wise, those of you who eat solenoids might have a bad starter. excessive current draw from a bad one will melt the contacts.

yep. i second that opinion. after a couple of solinoids i finally figured out it was the starter. good looks gadget!

[Jill]

okay guys,

BUT IT WORKS AGAIN. LIKE MAGIC.

bad starters do not fix themselves last I checked?

[87gtVIC]

okay guys,

BUT IT WORKS AGAIN. LIKE MAGIC.

bad starters do not fix themselves last I checked?

i know how you feel. IT SUCKS.. to be looking for some invisable deamon in the car, but while my problem was going on i changed a couple of solinoids and and they kept f-ing dying on me until i poped in a new starter and i have been good for two years now.

[87_crown_vic]

the car i had at SF this year had a bad solenoid.... it was cracked as mentioned above. only time it acted up the whole time i was there was when it rained the last nite i was there. moisture got in the solenoid and it werked when it wanted to... easiest way to swap it to keep from confusing the wires is to tape the wires together that go to the different posts... like if there is 4 wires to one post tape them grouped together and group others that way also to make it simpler for knowing where they go. i would also check battery connections since these cars are picky about how the battery cables are on and will just give a click when trying to start them also making it seem like a bad battery situation when it is just a bad connection to battery. i have been threw that situation and have shown this to people that had same problem with panthers around here.

[turbo2256b]

Not all of us are wired right

[gadget73]

intermittant electrical problems are usually a bad connection. Check the connections at the battery, and see how funky the cables look. Theres also a ground connection on the motor where the ground cable bolts to it that should be cleaned up. The relays can get intermittant, and so can starters. I "fixed" my starter once by beating it with a hammer. It worked fine for another week until payday. One of my window motors needs a "fix" by slamming the door every now and then. The brushes are worn out, and jarring it gets them to make contact for a while. Your starter might be similarly dying.

[86GmLsCoupe]

word to the wise, those of you who eat solenoids might have a bad starter. excessive current draw from a bad one will melt the contacts.

I know what you mean, I've trained myself to leave all the accessories turned off because I've heard they were hard on the solenoids and probably ignition switch. If a starter is going it may take awhile to completely go or at least that's what happened in our Park Ave. With that sometimes a couple of no starts with clicks, then it'd catch, till finally it completely went.

[P72Ford]

word to the wise, those of you who eat solenoids might have a bad starter. excessive current draw from a bad one will melt the contacts.

That is what I was told. I have put on two starters (and replaced all of the cables) in the time I've had the car though, and it still has an appetite for solenoids. Speaking of which, its been a few months since it ate the last one...

[gadget73]

That is what I was told. I have put on two starters (and replaced all of the cables) in the time I've had the car though, and it still has an appetite for solenoids. Speaking of which, its been a few months since it ate the last one...

don't you have one of the small type starters? if so, that relay should never go bad. It only runs the solenoid on top of the starter itself, the main starter power cable is constant hot like a Chevy.