Posted: 8/30/2008 7:28:28 AM EDT
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2005 Ford F150 4x4 Automatic Will not start, battery went dead once and was able to jump start the truck and get it home. But immediately after turning it off the truck would not restart. The truck had power still. Jumping the truck again failed. The battery was removed and taken to Advance/Discount Auto parts, they tested it on the machine and said it needed to be charged. It charged overnight for free. Took it back home, hooked it up, everything powers up but the truck will not start. Odd clicking sounds when turning the ignition and the engine doe not start to crank. All the electronics inside are acting very oddly, like the gages will wiggle when trying to start the truck. Any Ideas? It is over $100 to get the truck towed. btw, Not my truck. |
Lots of ideas , but at this point you need to confirm two things first . Get a test light and a helper . Now crawl under the truck and find the starter . It will have two wires attached to it . 1 large and 1 small . The large wire should have power all the time , the small one will only have power with the key held in the start position . There may actually be more the two wires , but they will be grouped to the two terminals - Large and small but that's not important for this test . If you lack power at either terminal during this test , then the problem is elsewhere in the system , but if you have power when and where its supposed to be . Then you are most likely looking at an internal problem with the starter itself . |
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Id say battery yet. Just because they tested it and they said it needed charged doesnt mean that it is good. Id take it somewhere else and have someone else test it, or just replace it. From what it sounds like you barely have enough power to make the solenoid actuate and not enough to turn the starter. |
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The battery was charged and tested GOOD. CLEAN the terminals. All the parts that the battery connects to the wires. Check all the connections first. 6 years you are bound to have corrosion on the connections. Start there. You always start at the simple and most likely and cheapest before you start ripping on starters and solenoids. ANd yes my small post count means I have no idea what I am talking about. but when I get a couple hundred more I will be a pro heclean the connection and let us know how it goes. All you need is an 8mm wrench and a wire brush. a can of Coke can help. Or use some backing soda. |
'Ill use my post count to legitimize your on-the-ball comments.  If the battery is good, your problem is in delivering power to the flywheel. It could be the wires, the electrical connections, the solenoid, or the starter itself. Start at the battery and work your way down. |
What he said-- i have fixed a many of fords that wouldn't start by replacing the small wire .check the end for corrosion |
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My dad has a Ford Power Stroke. He had a similar problem with the battery not being able to push enough juice through the terminals to start the truck. Evidently if your terminals are dirty the truck doesn't get the proper amount of voltage from the battery and will not start the truck! So you have to clean the terminals and make sure the battery is fully charged. Also, when running, does the battery guage show that the altenator is charging? If it isn't that could be your problem as well! When my Dad experienced this problem he looked like this  He's a mechanic and had never heard of anything like this..... FWIW! - Clint |
+1 Battery tester at the auto parts store does not mean shit. It does not test it under actual load conditions...same thing with the "alternator tester". Had the SAME thing happen in my F-150. Battery was one year old...truck would NOT start..battery tester said it was good, charged it...no dice...replaced battery...not a problem. Truck sat around for a year as the guy who owned it before me kicked the bucket. Lead acid batteries are fickle things...they usually last from <3 to 5 years...then it's down hill. That's the nature of the style of battery. As a preventative measure...REPLACE any lead acid battery after 5 years...it's just a matter of time before it leaves you stranded. Go with one of the Sears Die Hard gell cells....have one in my boat...it is awesome...bought a new lead acid "deep cycle" battery earlier this season and had all kinds of problems....switched to a Sears marine gell cell..ALWAYS kicks the motor over. Never had to top it off with my charger....like I did with my old one...the boat's alternator takes care of it. |
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I had that problem with my 04 f150. Truck was acting the same way so I changed the battery, Nothing. Returned the battery thinking it was no good, got another one and still nothing. Towed it to ford and found out that my computer, just behind the battery, was no good. Just something to keep in mind. Al |
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Check to see whether you have unseen corrosion inside the battery cable under the insulation. Also, check the ground straps, battery to chassis, engine to chassis. I'd physically remove the connections, clean and re-attach them. Also, ditto on the load test. A dead battery can show good voltage but if it can't deliver the cranking amps this is what you'll get. A new battery isn't that expensive and if the old one is a few years old anyway its not a waste of money as a maintenance replacement. Next, look at the starter. If the windings are shorting inside, you might get the same effect. Do you have custom exhaust pipes too close to it? Did oil leak onto it? A missing heat shield? |
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Well AFAIK, even newer trucks still have a regular solenoid, starter, thicker wires, and battery. That's all there really is to the "starting" system. One of the four must be bad. Back in the day, the fastest way to test the "starting" system was to short the solenoid and see if the engine turned over. Being that the engine did startup after a jump start, most likely candidate is a bad battery that can't push the required amps assuming the connections are not corroded(the starting system requires a lot of amp draw compared to other parts of the vehicles electrical systems and corroded conections makes the amp draw even higher). This high amp draw is why other things like gauges, lights, and stuff can act funny, especially when the battery is just a little bit too weak. The charging system is a different subsection of the vehicle electrical and while it could be causing battery life issues, it can't explain immediate no engine-turning-over problems. |