no crank, just a click
11-30-2008, 08:55 PM
#1
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Alberta bud
Posts: 100
no crank, just a click
ok i have an 87 5.0 hatch with an 89 5.0 motor, and i tried starting my car to go home after driving all day having no problems, the past couple weeks sounded like the starter was gonna go cuz when i would try starting it would take like 5 secs for the car to start but the engine was cranking over fast as if there was too much power to starter, today i tried starting it after a stop and all it did was make a click and i turned the key literally 1 second after and it turned over fine, drove for ten mins turned the car off for an hour or so went to start the car and there was just that click cept thats all the car did over and over and it cant be the battery because i just bought a brand new optima redtop a month ago and tried to get someone to boost it and still did nothing.....long story lol sorry, anyone got any ideas? starter? selinoid?
11-30-2008, 09:00 PM
#2
D.R. THE PATHETIC DORK
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 30,863
turn the lights on..if they are bright, it ain't the battery most likely, after that as long as all connections are tight, grab a test light and while holding ignition on the crank position, test for voltage on the wire going down to starter, if it has it but no crank, most likely a bad starter, if you hear the selonoid click but no power on starter cable= most likely a bad selonoid, with a test light you should be able to pinpoint issue in a matter of seconds
11-30-2008, 10:23 PM
#4
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 835
look for a bad ground, i had(still have on occasion cause i am too lazy to fix it) this same exact problem and it comes and goes, well my teacher(Ford senior master tech) told me to check the grounds that the spot where the ground is connected can get loose or corroded and cause problems like the one you described
11-30-2008, 10:53 PM
#6
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Alberta bud
Posts: 100
my starter had a hard time turning my engine over before i got this redtop battery and no the starter just sounds like its turnin too fast for itself, the posts and terminals are clean and new because the battery is in the trunk, the lights are bright until the key is in ignition position and then everything dims almost completely out till i take it off ignition, so all im narrowing it down to is selinoid and starter. never thought of checkin ground tho
11-30-2008, 11:02 PM
#8
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 835
yea there is a plate(or something similar) that is bolted to the block and that is where the ground is bolted to and the bolts could be come loose and have a bad connection
and i bought a ministarter for this problem when it first started happening just assuming the starter was taking a **** on me but never installed it cause i was lazy and the problem went away after a week and a half or so then it happened for like a week a month or 2 later and hasnt happened within the last month so idk if im ever gonna push myself to work on it(like they say mechanics always put their cars for last and im not even a mechanic yet and im already doin this lol)
and i bought a ministarter for this problem when it first started happening just assuming the starter was taking a **** on me but never installed it cause i was lazy and the problem went away after a week and a half or so then it happened for like a week a month or 2 later and hasnt happened within the last month so idk if im ever gonna push myself to work on it(like they say mechanics always put their cars for last and im not even a mechanic yet and im already doin this lol)
11-30-2008, 11:05 PM
#10
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Virginia
Posts: 1,107