Michael Forbes

I hate to start up this nasty thread again after reading every post in it
but, does anyone have any suggestions on where to look if you've replaced
the battery and now get nothing, not even interior lights?

I have a '94 Explorer and have had to have it jumped three times in the last
month. After the first time, I took it and had the battery checked and was
told that the battery was fine and that the charging system was fine. I had
no problems for the next several weeks. The second time was this morning
and the third this afternoon. Assuming that it may just be time to change
the 4+ year old battery, I bought a new one. After hooking it up though,
the interior lights were working for a while, now they don't come on at all.
A voltmeter reads 12.5 DC volts across the battery terminals so I assume the
battery is OK. It reads -12.5 across the power relay. I don't know where
to go from here. If I don't hear anything, I'll be calling AAA again in the
morning.

Hopefully, Tyler won't be still reading this newsgroup. ;-)

Thanks,

msforbes@comcast.net

--
Michael Forbes

"Tyler" <DELETEcmaitson@telus.net> wrote in message
news:Xjvlb.36127$At.19515@edtnps84...
>
> Hey there. I have a 92 Ford Explorer that I am having a problem with
> starting all of a sudden. I bought it last week, and there were no
> problems the first few days. I bought one of those battery solar panels
> to keep the battery charged, and plugged it in via the cigarette lighter.
> The instructions say that it won't drain the battery, but I don't think I
> believe them anymore - as of yesterday the battery is simply fried, it
> seems. The battery is almost seven years old (warranty ran out after
> 6yrs).
>
> When I tried to start the car, all I got was a couple of clicks, and the
> internal light is very dim. The door chime also sort of starting slowing
> down and slurring. I boosted it from another car, and it started up. I
> drove it around for about an hour after that, and it seemed fine. Stopped
> it & started it several times. But after coming back to it a few hours
> after parking, it was dead, it would only click. Several attempts to get
> it to start resulted in not even a clicking. So I boosted again! This
> time the battery had drained so far the clock on the stereo had reset!
>
> I assume all this means I need a new battery, but I wanted to check with
> others and make sure it might not be some other problem.
>
> Thanks for your feedback!
>
> Tyler (cmaitson AT telus DOT net)
>

John Riggs

If you check the voltage at your cigarette lighter, what do you get? If
you have nothing, then odds are good you have a bad cable.


"Michael Forbes" <mikesforbes@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:TaSdndh5V4fO1dbfRVn-iQ@comcast.com...
|I hate to start up this nasty thread again after reading every post in it
| but, does anyone have any suggestions on where to look if you've replaced
| the battery and now get nothing, not even interior lights?
|
| I have a '94 Explorer and have had to have it jumped three times in the
last
| month. After the first time, I took it and had the battery checked and
was
| told that the battery was fine and that the charging system was fine. I
had
| no problems for the next several weeks. The second time was this morning
| and the third this afternoon. Assuming that it may just be time to change
| the 4+ year old battery, I bought a new one. After hooking it up though,
| the interior lights were working for a while, now they don't come on at
all.
| A voltmeter reads 12.5 DC volts across the battery terminals so I assume
the
| battery is OK. It reads -12.5 across the power relay. I don't know where
| to go from here. If I don't hear anything, I'll be calling AAA again in
the
| morning.
|
| Hopefully, Tyler won't be still reading this newsgroup. ;-)
|
| Thanks,
|
| msforbes@comcast.net
|
| --
| Michael Forbes
|
| "Tyler" <DELETEcmaitson@telus.net> wrote in message
| news:Xjvlb.36127$At.19515@edtnps84...
| >
| > Hey there. I have a 92 Ford Explorer that I am having a problem with
| > starting all of a sudden. I bought it last week, and there were no
| > problems the first few days. I bought one of those battery solar panels
| > to keep the battery charged, and plugged it in via the cigarette
lighter.
| > The instructions say that it won't drain the battery, but I don't think
I
| > believe them anymore - as of yesterday the battery is simply fried, it
| > seems. The battery is almost seven years old (warranty ran out after
| > 6yrs).
| >
| > When I tried to start the car, all I got was a couple of clicks, and
the
| > internal light is very dim. The door chime also sort of starting
slowing
| > down and slurring. I boosted it from another car, and it started up. I
| > drove it around for about an hour after that, and it seemed fine.
Stopped
| > it & started it several times. But after coming back to it a few hours
| > after parking, it was dead, it would only click. Several attempts to get
| > it to start resulted in not even a clicking. So I boosted again! This
| > time the battery had drained so far the clock on the stereo had reset!
| >
| > I assume all this means I need a new battery, but I wanted to check
with
| > others and make sure it might not be some other problem.
| >
| > Thanks for your feedback!
| >
| > Tyler (cmaitson AT telus DOT net)
| >
|
|

Happy Father

i had the same kinda problem and did alot of reasearch on it.

the positive battery terminal has a serious flaw, and that is it corrodes
almost to nothing. the cable may look ok from the outside but the inside is
destroyed. this cable runs all the way down to the starter and could have
problems that u cant see.

if u have not replaced it yet, replace it. u have to get it from a
dealership since it is a specialty cable.

good luck
"Michael Forbes" <mikesforbes@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:TaSdndh5V4fO1dbfRVn-iQ@comcast.com...
>I hate to start up this nasty thread again after reading every post in it
>but, does anyone have any suggestions on where to look if you've replaced
>the battery and now get nothing, not even interior lights?
>
> I have a '94 Explorer and have had to have it jumped three times in the
> last month. After the first time, I took it and had the battery checked
> and was told that the battery was fine and that the charging system was
> fine. I had no problems for the next several weeks. The second time was
> this morning and the third this afternoon. Assuming that it may just be
> time to change the 4+ year old battery, I bought a new one. After hooking
> it up though, the interior lights were working for a while, now they don't
> come on at all. A voltmeter reads 12.5 DC volts across the battery
> terminals so I assume the battery is OK. It reads -12.5 across the power
> relay. I don't know where to go from here. If I don't hear anything,
> I'll be calling AAA again in the morning.
>
> Hopefully, Tyler won't be still reading this newsgroup. ;-)
>
> Thanks,
>
> msforbes@comcast.net
>
> --
> Michael Forbes
>
> "Tyler" <DELETEcmaitson@telus.net> wrote in message
> news:Xjvlb.36127$At.19515@edtnps84...
>>
>> Hey there. I have a 92 Ford Explorer that I am having a problem with
>> starting all of a sudden. I bought it last week, and there were no
>> problems the first few days. I bought one of those battery solar panels
>> to keep the battery charged, and plugged it in via the cigarette lighter.
>> The instructions say that it won't drain the battery, but I don't think I
>> believe them anymore - as of yesterday the battery is simply fried, it
>> seems. The battery is almost seven years old (warranty ran out after
>> 6yrs).
>>
>> When I tried to start the car, all I got was a couple of clicks, and
>> the internal light is very dim. The door chime also sort of starting
>> slowing down and slurring. I boosted it from another car, and it started
>> up. I drove it around for about an hour after that, and it seemed fine.
>> Stopped it & started it several times. But after coming back to it a few
>> hours after parking, it was dead, it would only click. Several attempts
>> to get it to start resulted in not even a clicking. So I boosted again!
>> This time the battery had drained so far the clock on the stereo had
>> reset!
>>
>> I assume all this means I need a new battery, but I wanted to check
>> with others and make sure it might not be some other problem.
>>
>> Thanks for your feedback!
>>
>> Tyler (cmaitson AT telus DOT net)
>>
>
>

Michael Forbes

Thanks, I plan to at least have the dealer figure out what's wrong if I
can't narrow it down. I have a day off planned tomorrow anyway, but wasn't
planning on this. ;-)

--
Michael Forbes

"Happy Father" <onearmfight@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:JIWdnaWqa8K8YNbfRVn-vQ@magma.ca...
>i had the same kinda problem and did alot of reasearch on it.
>
> the positive battery terminal has a serious flaw, and that is it corrodes
> almost to nothing. the cable may look ok from the outside but the inside
> is destroyed. this cable runs all the way down to the starter and could
> have problems that u cant see.
>
> if u have not replaced it yet, replace it. u have to get it from a
> dealership since it is a specialty cable.
>
> good luck
> "Michael Forbes" <mikesforbes@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:TaSdndh5V4fO1dbfRVn-iQ@comcast.com...
>>I hate to start up this nasty thread again after reading every post in it
>>but, does anyone have any suggestions on where to look if you've replaced
>>the battery and now get nothing, not even interior lights?
>>
>> I have a '94 Explorer and have had to have it jumped three times in the
>> last month. After the first time, I took it and had the battery checked
>> and was told that the battery was fine and that the charging system was
>> fine. I had no problems for the next several weeks. The second time was
>> this morning and the third this afternoon. Assuming that it may just be
>> time to change the 4+ year old battery, I bought a new one. After
>> hooking it up though, the interior lights were working for a while, now
>> they don't come on at all. A voltmeter reads 12.5 DC volts across the
>> battery terminals so I assume the battery is OK. It reads -12.5 across
>> the power relay. I don't know where to go from here. If I don't hear
>> anything, I'll be calling AAA again in the morning.
>>
>> Hopefully, Tyler won't be still reading this newsgroup. ;-)
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> msforbes@comcast.net
>>
>> --
>> Michael Forbes
>>
>> "Tyler" <DELETEcmaitson@telus.net> wrote in message
>> news:Xjvlb.36127$At.19515@edtnps84...
>>>
>>> Hey there. I have a 92 Ford Explorer that I am having a problem with
>>> starting all of a sudden. I bought it last week, and there were no
>>> problems the first few days. I bought one of those battery solar panels
>>> to keep the battery charged, and plugged it in via the cigarette
>>> lighter. The instructions say that it won't drain the battery, but I
>>> don't think I believe them anymore - as of yesterday the battery is
>>> simply fried, it seems. The battery is almost seven years old (warranty
>>> ran out after 6yrs).
>>>
>>> When I tried to start the car, all I got was a couple of clicks, and
>>> the internal light is very dim. The door chime also sort of starting
>>> slowing down and slurring. I boosted it from another car, and it
>>> started up. I drove it around for about an hour after that, and it
>>> seemed fine. Stopped it & started it several times. But after coming
>>> back to it a few hours after parking, it was dead, it would only click.
>>> Several attempts to get it to start resulted in not even a clicking. So
>>> I boosted again! This time the battery had drained so far the clock on
>>> the stereo had reset!
>>>
>>> I assume all this means I need a new battery, but I wanted to check
>>> with others and make sure it might not be some other problem.
>>>
>>> Thanks for your feedback!
>>>
>>> Tyler (cmaitson AT telus DOT net)
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

Ulysses

You don't "have to" get it from the dealer, but you will probably end up
with a better cable. I got one that fit from Auto Zone but the terminal
connector is bronze and it corrodes very easily. I put a bunch of
anti-corrosion goop on it and leave the cover off of the positive terminal
and that helps. I think the cable from the Zone was about $9 and Ford gets
about $45.

On my '92 the cable was completely corroded to the point that there was only
powder inside the insulation and amazingly the engine started up fine right
up to the point where the cable was falling apart.

Big Bill

On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 11:06:15 -0500, "Michael Forbes"
<mikesforbes@hotmail.com> wrote:

>Thanks, I plan to at least have the dealer figure out what's wrong if I
>can't narrow it down. I have a day off planned tomorrow anyway, but wasn't
>planning on this. ;-)

You may be able to narrow it down a little; peel back some of the
insulation on the positive battery cable. *ANY* corrosion is an
indication the cable is corroded, and needs to be replaced.

--
Bill Funk
Change "g" to "a"

BIG-EV

hi
i think it is the cable. i replacemy own with the same problem. i replaced
both of them. one cable is connectted near the front coil spring which is
hard to get to . i did not put it back where ford put it. i nsted conneted
it to a good ground on the engie block. i thas been that wat for 72000.
miles. i have 189,000 on egine v-6.


"Ulysses" <therealulysses@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:114odhtlqr6ii15@corp.supernews.com...
> You don't "have to" get it from the dealer, but you will probably end up
> with a better cable. I got one that fit from Auto Zone but the terminal
> connector is bronze and it corrodes very easily. I put a bunch of
> anti-corrosion goop on it and leave the cover off of the positive
> terminal
> and that helps. I think the cable from the Zone was about $9 and Ford
> gets
> about $45.
>
> On my '92 the cable was completely corroded to the point that there was
> only
> powder inside the insulation and amazingly the engine started up fine
> right
> up to the point where the cable was falling apart.
>
>
>

Michael Forbes

Thanks to everyone who offered advice. I have been able to get the engine
to start consistently now. I removed the cables from the terminals, cleaned
them more thoroughly and made sure to push them onto the terminals firmly
and that seemed to do the trick. I did notice a worn area on the positive
cable where it passes under the air duct that connects to the top of the
engine. I assume that this gets hot and that has caused the insulation to
melt over time. I still plan to have these cables replaced but can now wait
until the budget will allow for it.

Thanks again,

Michael

--
Michael Forbes

"Michael Forbes" <mikesforbes@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:TaSdndh5V4fO1dbfRVn-iQ@comcast.com...
>I hate to start up this nasty thread again after reading every post in it
>but, does anyone have any suggestions on where to look if you've replaced
>the battery and now get nothing, not even interior lights?
>
> I have a '94 Explorer and have had to have it jumped three times in the
> last month. After the first time, I took it and had the battery checked
> and was told that the battery was fine and that the charging system was
> fine. I had no problems for the next several weeks. The second time was
> this morning and the third this afternoon. Assuming that it may just be
> time to change the 4+ year old battery, I bought a new one. After hooking
> it up though, the interior lights were working for a while, now they don't
> come on at all. A voltmeter reads 12.5 DC volts across the battery
> terminals so I assume the battery is OK. It reads -12.5 across the power
> relay. I don't know where to go from here. If I don't hear anything,
> I'll be calling AAA again in the morning.
>
> Hopefully, Tyler won't be still reading this newsgroup. ;-)
>
> Thanks,
>
> msforbes@comcast.net
>
> --
> Michael Forbes
>
> "Tyler" <DELETEcmaitson@telus.net> wrote in message
> news:Xjvlb.36127$At.19515@edtnps84...
>>
>> Hey there. I have a 92 Ford Explorer that I am having a problem with
>> starting all of a sudden. I bought it last week, and there were no
>> problems the first few days. I bought one of those battery solar panels
>> to keep the battery charged, and plugged it in via the cigarette lighter.
>> The instructions say that it won't drain the battery, but I don't think I
>> believe them anymore - as of yesterday the battery is simply fried, it
>> seems. The battery is almost seven years old (warranty ran out after
>> 6yrs).
>>
>> When I tried to start the car, all I got was a couple of clicks, and
>> the internal light is very dim. The door chime also sort of starting
>> slowing down and slurring. I boosted it from another car, and it started
>> up. I drove it around for about an hour after that, and it seemed fine.
>> Stopped it & started it several times. But after coming back to it a few
>> hours after parking, it was dead, it would only click. Several attempts
>> to get it to start resulted in not even a clicking. So I boosted again!
>> This time the battery had drained so far the clock on the stereo had
>> reset!
>>
>> I assume all this means I need a new battery, but I wanted to check
>> with others and make sure it might not be some other problem.
>>
>> Thanks for your feedback!
>>
>> Tyler (cmaitson AT telus DOT net)
>>
>
>