88BlueGT

Hey guys, heres the run down. 93 Mustang 5.0 (AOD), the car was giving me problems a few months back. It would just randomly not start and after a few tries it would usually turn over. Assumed it was the starter.

Anyway, so the car has been sitting for a few months and I want to get her back in shape. I replaced the starter..... wont start. I have one of them Actron testers (from autozone ) and tested the solenoid. The solenoid is reading 12.1-12.2 with key in on position and when attempting to start (under load) it just drops to 11.8-11.9 so I'm assuming that the solenoid is OK.

When I turn the key, the starter and the solenoid both click one time and thats it. I even tried to jump the solenoid and I only get one click again from the starter.

I was thinking that it may be the ignition switch BUT if the ignition switch was bad wouldn't I have nothing to the solenoid? I'm lost here and would REALLY like to get this car running tonight. Any advice from some real vets would be appreciated.

FYI, battery is brand new if anyone is wondering about that.

MustangBradley

Could be a loose ground cable. When you turn the key, the amount of amperage that wants to go through the wire overwhelms the bad connection and 'breaks' the connection. Double check each end of the positive and ground cable.

zebo87

def check the wires again. could still be a bad solenoid or coil.

88BlueGT

Well I checked the main ground for the battery in the trunk... fine.
Checked the main ground on the block... fine.
Checked the wiring going from the starter to the solenoid... fine.

Anything else???

88BlueGT

I tested the coil and it said that its puttin out 12.1v so I'm pretty sure theres nothing wrong with it ?

mattdel

get your hands on some good old fashioned 2ga jumper cables and jump the terminal on the starter directly from the hot side of the solenoid. leave the key off so the engine wont fire, but still spin. if this works, you have cable/continuity issues.

if not, bad starter/incorrect starter/shimming

Bubba 95SN

Battery in trunk. Bet the ground is problem.

88BlueGT

bubba, checked the ground in the trunk for the battery. It looked clean as hell but I took it off anyway, cleaned the metal and reapplied. Same issues.

mattdel, I don't believe that its the starter, this is the second one AND its brand new, not even 24hrs old yet.

raftdaddy

since it sounds like you have checked everything,check your neutral saftey switch.allthough you should be able to jumper the motor without issues.

88BlueGT

Well, after everything it turned out to be the solenoid (not really that much of a shocker)... I freakin knew I should of just taken the fender off and replaced that from the beginning lol... also, i believe it was giving me problems before because the ground was bad, etc.

Now, tomorrow morning I'll start working on the trans leak and the front suspension! Things are finally looking up!

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm sure I'll have a thread up in the next day or two trying to diagnose my front suspension problems so be ready! ha