1993 XLT with the 5.8L motor

In the 3 months or so I've owned this truck, no problems with starting at all. Today I went to the store(drove perfectly fine on the way over), and was inside maybe 30~ minutes. Came back, and nothing when I turned the key. No whirr of the fuel pump, no idiot lights, nothing. There was no power to anything, headlights didn't work, flashers didn't, 12v outlets were dead. Checked both fuse boxes (cab and underhood), nothing wrong there. I left the key ON and was about to call for a tow when suddenly everything came back on(bout 10 minutes later), and a loud "popping" noise came out of the speakers. Tried to start, and everything went dead again, except for a loud buzzing from underhood, sounded like it was coming from that black relay thingy near the battery). Minute later, everything on and more popping, this time it cranked(causing all the gauges to spaz out) and started normally. All the radio presets were deleted and it drove a little more poorly than usual, leading me to believe the PCM had been reset. No codes, no CEL. All electronics were back on and working fine. No fuses popped or wires loose.

Got home and killed the motor, and it re-started like normal. Also note that it is 100% humidity today, and was raining lightly. I'm a little leery of taking the truck anywhere now until I figure out what the issue was.

Any ideas?

 

I would start by checking your battery connections. Cleaning the terminals and making sure everything is snug.

 

check the connections on the relay and starter also. and the ground to the starter.


Bruce

 

Check the battery ground cable. There is an intermediate connection point on the frame and they tend to rot out at that point.

 

Got around to looking into this. Checked all grounds, all look clean and secure. One was questionable, so I removed the cable, cleaned it up put some electric grease on there and re-attatched. Problem is getting more frequent now(twice this week) so I'm going to have to replace the start relay (is that what it's called?). Asked at the local Advance and the guy thought I was asking for the solenoid on the starter. Called the Napa and got the same response there despite my best attempt to describe the part and it's location.

Is this something I'll have to go to a dealership to get? I'm pretty sure that relay is the problem, it follows the same "pattern" every time it spazzes out. No power to anything, almost exactly 10 minutes later the power comes on but it won't crank, and in another 2 or 3 it cranks and starts normally, with everything reset.

 

If your talking about the part on the inside on the passenger side fender. Yes that is a relay. You should be able to get it at a local parts store. If that is your problem or not, I dont know.

 

Lots of people incorrectly call the starter relay a "solenoid." The counter dummies at the parts store are probably among them. They have what you want, they just don't speak English. I'd buy from NAPA before I'd buy from Advance. FWIW the genuine Ford part at the dealer really isn't that much more and is of known quality.

Check the main ground cable very carefully. They have a real tendency to rot out under the insulation right around the intermediate chassis ground. I've had clean-looking cables come apart in my hands when I flex them at that spot.

 

Got it at the local Ford dealer, the OEM Motorcraft part. Cost like $35 and the problem is gone.

Thanks for the help.

 

I am having this EXACT same problem, but mine will not start at all even after sitting for days! I even tried to jump start the vehicle and nothing. The battery cables were "cleaned" not too long ago, and a few people told me it could be my alternator. I figured you guys would be more likely to know the problem.
So you replaced the solenoid then?

 

I have had several customers trucks with this same problem Including my own and I have found the connection at the starter to be lose and jiggling around so it makes connection most of the time.


Bruce

 

I think i might have just figured out my problem. I wiggled the battery wires around until the buzzer on the inside of the truck started to work again. As soon as the buzzer started to work, I crossed the solenoid and it tried to roll over but the battery was too dead to let that happen.
Also prior to this, i tried to jump the truck with a 1ton diesel and attempted to start it again. As soon as i turned over the ignition the buzzer died and when i turned back the key and put it back in there was no noise.
This is leading me to believe that my alternator is toast. What do you all think? I also have pictures of the battery cables if anyone wants to see.

 

Just put a voltmeter to the battery with the key and all electronics off. A "healthy", fully charged battery should read right about 12.6 volts. If it's less than 12, there's a charging fault.

-Somehow- get the engine running and test the battery again. You're looking for about 14v +\- .5v

If the battery is still showing 12v or just over the "engine off" reading, the alt is likely bad, but producing just enough juice to keep the idiot light from tripping.

An old school way to test the charging system is to have a helper turn the highbeams on with the motor idling, while you watch battery voltage with a voltmeter. The voltage will drop but should recover within a second. If it doesn't, or takes a very long time to build back up then the alt is going.

I didn't replace the solenoid. That's the switch that engages the starter pinion to the flywheel. I replaced the starting relay. As Strange said, these tend to be confused. It's a little black thingy with two copper studs, and one smaller stud above the two. Mounted right behind the battery on the passenger side. Easy enough to replace. Just be careful (of course disconnect the neg battery cable) since an end wrench could easily short from a nut on the relay's stud to the pos battery post.

If you're truck won't start from a jump, either a ground is bad or that relay is toast. You said there is no electrical at all? (no lights, 12v outlet dead, horn doesn't work....ect). Then it's either the main ground to the frame or that relay, no other options. Your truck is nearly 20 years old, so it might be a good idea to replace the ground cable altogether. If that doesn't fix things, you found the culprit.

I initially thought my battery was dead as well. When the power first magically comes back on, the dash volt gauge was barely into the "normal" band, much lower than usual. I turn the key and I would get a click but no roll and all the power would go off again for a few seconds. Eventually after doing this like 10 times it would crank and start.

 

If the starting relay was bad, would the truck try to roll over when I cross the post?
(I have very limited tools here so im doing what i can with next to nothing)
Should I try to jump the truck again but this time instead of trying to use the key to do it should i cross the post on the starting relay while the jumper cables are hooked up just to get it to start and see if it will charge my battery back up?

 

Update:

The one thing I didn't try until just now proved to be my problem.
The two smaller screws on the battery cable itself were not as tight as I thought. I simply tightened them and all of the sudden my truck works again.
I feel like such a dunce right now. My excuse is, I am a computer nerd and I am not mechanically inclined at ALL.