So....My car dies on Padonia Rd...in Maryland!!!

[1of327]

I was coming from the padonia village apartments and I was in the turn lane going to York Rd toward Towson...and it dies...to the point that the starter will not kick over. the instrument cluster just jumps....have power...have lights...no start!!! WTF!!!:mad2:

[ChiTownMaraud3r]

Battery and connections?

[MMARAUDER]

Battery and connections? it sounds like the battery is gone. my friends 03 dodge neon did the same. everytime you turn the key all the needles would go crazy. might wanna check the alternator too. good luck

[1of327]

All the lights come on ...but the starter will not even kick ...no turn-over!I thought that it may be the alternator, but it kept all things lit. I think that it may be the Inertia Switch.

[Breadfan]

Battery...

[MMARAUDER]

well on the neon horn worked lights worked everything. jumped the battery it turned rite over, drove it around for a while, came back turned it off wouldn't start up but had the same issues. from my experiences there was always enough juice in the battery to do something. so try the battery my friend

[cruzer]

Same problem--Ford Road service--had to use heavy duty booster--took about 20 seconds for alternator to kick in--testing showed major internal failure in the battery. Alternator failed within 200 miles ???? Hope this helps, Maury

[Breadfan]

I've had them short out to the point that they work with a small load i.e. lights but when you try to kick a starter solenoid on it goes wacko or completely dead. I would suspect battery and possible something internal broke on it which is why it died while driving.

I had an Advance Auto battery go bad similar to this in my Mustang. Replaced under warranty. One of the top posts was actually lopsided after it failed...

[Motorhead350]

It's the battery. I used to work at a Lincoln/Mercury dealership when I was a teenager (same place I got the Marauder from) and every once in a while the Mercury Mountianer would have the gages go nuts and the truck would make a clicking noise when I attempted to start something that has been sitting for weeks. Usually it took a jumper box and it would fire right up.

You might be able to save the battery, but if it failed you upon operation your best investment would be to buy a new battery.

[ctrlraven]

Def. the battery, an easy to way to tell is to take a flat tip screw driver, pop the battery caps off and check the water level. If it's low fill with distilled water until you can replace the battery.

[1of327]

it died while I was driving, when i tried to restart the gages went crazy...still battery?

[justbob]

Without sufficient juice in the battery the car will shut down. Did you happen to notice the volt guage prior?

[Breadfan]

Yes, and if shorted a jump may not even help.

[1of327]

The gage never fell below 12...Its home now, I'm gonna do the process of elimination...Going to shoot some starter fluid in first. then gonna charge battery as it would crank when I just picked it up, but it would not fire.




Without sufficient juice in the battery the car will shut down. Did you happen to notice the volt guage prior?

[ctrlraven]

Check the water level in the battery first.

[1of327]

Added water...Waited. It started and ran for 2 or 3 minutes and then quit... Red Thingie on Battery is showing. What I don't understand is how come all the accessories work and the starter will run but it won't fire and the Alternator doesn't take over after the car starts?


Check the water level in the battery first.

[Hadamustang1]

save the starter fluid for you lawnmower..not good on the 02 sensors..

[Breadfan]

If it won't fire how does the alternator take over or not take over when it starts?

I still think it's the battery. Pull it and go get it tested for free, or borrow a battery from someone's car to test that way.

[justbob]

The alternater cannot charge a battery with a dead cell. It only takes one dead cell to not start a car but still enough to power most acc. There is normally warning from the alt. guage that something is up, usually at night with the lights on, heat, radio, ETC. My wifes minivan wouldn't start an hour after we had left it, no warning at all that there was something wrong, just like you everything still powered up. Most batteries die very quickly without much warning.

[-Matt-]

when you get it started put a multi meter on the battery. It should read around 14.2 volts dc

[omarauder]

Had this happen on an older vehicle with a 3 month old battery. Turned out the positive terminal post was just barely connected to the plates inside the battery, allowing enough current to run the electrics, but couldn't supply the 100's of amps required to turn the motor over. This was on an old 400cu in Pontiac motor.
For your car I would check the battery and the alternator (in case it's been damaged), and look for poor or corroded wiring connections to the battery and starter motor.

[Marauderjack]

Your EEC will not allow the starter to work if the battery is too weak.....protects the high amperage components and prevents you from burning stuff up!!!:eek:

Most of the low current components will work with a weak battery!!:rolleyes:

Stick a new battery in it and call it a day!!:beer:

[1of327]

well.....I have changed the "F"ing battery and went so far as to put a charger on it....I got no crank and when I put the accessories on with the ignition switch...the Speedo goes crazy the Trip racks up milage and the rpm guage goes to 7 rpm's ........NOW WHAT?!

[Joe Walsh]

Could this be the infamous chafing wire bundle on the support brace near the brake master cylinder??

[justbob]

I really hate to ask. But the terminals are very clean and very tight right? It almost sounds as if its arc jumping at the terminals.

[1of327]

Nope...Fresh looking terminals and they are on tight. What is this about a Chafing wire bundle???

[justbob]

The harness right behind the drivers side head has had issues of rubbing on some over the years, this causes many things to go wrong, one of which is stalling.

[cw1115]

The inertia switch kills the fuel pump, it would still crank.

[Granite]

i think it's the battery...same thing happend to me on 495N around exit 19...i have the Lidio Tune on my car (which shuts off the altenator at WOT) and since my battery was so wore down (OEM battery that had been in the car since 2002 when it was manufactured :lol:) the car shut off...needless to say i invested in another battery and i was back on the road, got an interstate truck battery in there now so i'm ready for the winter!

[1of327]

is there a possability that I knocked the code out of the key?

[ctrlraven]

The car wouldn't crank if the key lost programing. Do you have another key that you can use to eliminate that chance?

[1of327]

just tried it with the spare key....Nothing! also checked the fuel shut off in the trunk, and looked at the harness on the firewall....It looks okay!? I had the battery on a trickle charger all night, so I know it has juice?!


The car wouldn't crank if the key lost programing. Do you have another key that you can use to eliminate that chance?

[Joe Walsh]

I'm getting confused...after the initial incident when it died on Padonia road...it did crank at one time and it did start.

You have a brand new battery installed, all terminals, connections, grounds and wires are good.
Now it won't do anything at all when you turn the key to start, but you have all the accessories and the headlights working?

It started and ran briefly on the 'old' battery or on the new battery?
Does it 'click' or attempt to engage the starter when you try to start it...or is there absolutley nothing when you try to crank it?
Can you hear the fuel pump come on when you turn the key?

[1of327]

it ran briefly with the old battery and does nothing but turn on the accessories....I can hear the air suspension kick on, but haven't noticed the fuel pump. Does not click or engage the starter AT ALL!

[1of327]

Talked to a ford service advisor...He seems to thing that it is the Instrument cluster or the computer module under the dash....Does either of these have merrit?

[MM2004]

I would look for wire chafing as mentioned and also try tapping the starter with a wrench or hammer.

I cannot explain the gauges going nuts, but I have had to tap a starter in the past to get it to work.

You can remove the battery and have it tested at your local FLAPS to see if it is good or not.

There is a possibility of dumb luck and a faulty battery.

Keep us posted.

Mike.

[Spectragod]

The instrument cluster has -0- to do with it. You need to measure some voltages to veify some of these things, without a DVOM (and related tools), you are just guessing.

There are fuses for relays, and relays in the mix that can be bad, stuck open, have corrosion etc. I would lean more to something simple before I started hanging parts that cannot be returned(typical dealer crap).

[Breadfan]

Regarding the cluster, I know from experience later model Mountaineers house many functions within the cluster, including a many BCM (body control) funcitons including windows and radio. When it goes berzerk, it causes many things to fail but the truck would still start and run fine. A "reboot" by disconnecting the battery for 30min fixed it over a year ago with no recurrance.

I don't know how intertwined our clusters are with the rest of the system, including the passive anti-theft features of hte ignition system and keys.

[1of327]

thats probably the one thing that I didn't try...That is dis-connecting the battery for an extended period!!!

[Motorhead350]

thats probably the one thing that I didn't try...That is dis-connecting the battery for an extended period!!!

HELLO!!!!!! :eek:

Give it a try.

[Spectragod]

None of these features are incorporated within the cluster of the Marauder. There are LCM's, BCM's, PCM's etc..

His car doesn't crank at all, you have to start with the basics first. Diagnostics is just that, it is not hanging parts and billing the customer, as many dealers do, I know, I spent many years in a dealer environment, a lot of time, taking advantage of unsuspecting customers.

So try this, IF you have good battery voltage, check the main fuse box next to the battery, there is a 30 amp fuse in it that is for the starter relay, verify it is good, remove it and reinstall it (just to clean the contacts), there is also a starter relay inthe same box, you can verify it's operation by swapping it out with a known good relay.

All this is even easier if you have some tools, a DVOM will help tremendously, as you will be able to measure the voltage and ground at the starter relay, that will tell you where to go from there. Do that, and report back, if you want my phone #, PM me, I can talk you through some of this.


Regarding the cluster, I know from experience later model Mountaineers house many functions within the cluster, including a many BCM (body control) funcitons including windows and radio. When it goes berzerk, it causes many things to fail but the truck would still start and run fine. A "reboot" by disconnecting the battery for 30min fixed it over a year ago with no recurrance.

I don't know how intertwined our clusters are with the rest of the system, including the passive anti-theft features of hte ignition system and keys.

[1of327]

Whoever said that it was the wiring harness attached to the fire wall.....You were right!!!! there was a loose connection and when I had the key in and the accessories turned on, I wiggled the wire, & SHAZAM!!! there it was!! Crisis solved!

[Motorhead350]

Glad you got it fixed! Now drive!!!

[justbob]

How many wires did you find shaffed?