2003-04 Mach 1 Registry Owners Club

2003-04 Mach 1 Registry Owners Club (http://www.mach1registry.org/forums/index.php)
-   Technical Q&A. HOW TO's, TSB's & Warranty Items (http://www.mach1registry.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=23)
-   -   Mach won't start (http://www.mach1registry.org/forums/showthread.php?t=28906)

Wldponi03 01-16-2005 12:59 PM

Mach won't start
 
I have my Mach stored for winter but it was pretty decent yesterday and I was going to go for a cruise, I start it every week. But she wouldn't start and it makes a funny noise like something is trying to reset itself. I am going to have it towed to dealer (Flatbed) in a few days but was wondering if anyone else ever had a problem where it won't start. HELP I hate taking car to dealer for anything. I am afraid they will leave it out in the snow and then I would have to kill them. LOL

MA-MACH1 01-16-2005 01:08 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
did you check the battery?

Tony Alonso 01-16-2005 01:10 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
Did you check the battery gauge when the key was in the "ON" position? Did you check the battery condition? Can you describe the sound a bit more?

Wldponi03 01-16-2005 01:24 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
Ok I went out to the car again, the battery gauge is at 1/2 way point, all lights and everything else are bright, but I turned on radio and it showed initializing and the sound seems to be coming from there like a cd trying to start. Very weird it was fine last week when I drove it, but has been really cold here, I have her covered . The sound is very hard to describe, but when I try and start it , it almost sounds like a starter problem, just clicks real loud. And all of the gauges go all the way up. Help Tony, you know how I am about my Baby.

Wldponi03 01-16-2005 01:26 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
By the way I have 7100 miles on it.

MA-MACH1 01-16-2005 01:28 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
charge the battery for a couple of hours and try again. If you are starting up the car every week and just letting it idle it probably wont be charging much (if at all). I think it's ok to trickle charge the battery while it's connected so that might be an option to consider while the Mach is laid up... batteries don't much like the cold.

Tony Alonso 01-16-2005 01:41 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
I agree with MA-MACH1 - I would try to charge the battery first before taking it into the dealer. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Wldponi03 01-16-2005 01:44 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
Thanks guys I will try anything to not let dealer touch her, I have to finish work and then I'll go out and charge it up for a couple hours I will let you know what happens. Thanks I love this site.

C-dub 01-16-2005 01:48 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
have the same problem, check the bat. ford realy cheesed on this item. been telling myself to replace it with a sears gold, but then summer comes and its all good again. like the others said "charge the bat" or give her a jump. no need for a dealer.
c-dub

MA-MACH1 01-16-2005 02:00 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
You can always give roadside assistance a call - they seem pretty quick if all you need is a jump (took them less than 45 minutes to get to me at home in the same situation).

Wldponi03 01-16-2005 02:11 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
I am waiting for them now LOL

GrimlokTT 01-16-2005 07:10 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
It sounds like your starter relay is clickling closed/open/closed/open due to a weak battery. Charge it up and she should start, or if you are feeling daring, have someone push you down the street and pop the clutch in third gear. Let us know how it goes.

On a side note, you have to drive your car for it to charge (or at least rev it up for a while which really isn't practical while in a garage). Also, as someone mentioned prior our batteries probably aren't the greatest.

Orange whip 04 01-16-2005 07:38 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
Unfortunately when it get cold like it is here right now, batterys dont seem to last long. Just dont make em like they use too i guess. Unless you got a draw in the system. I agree with everyone. The battery sounds drained or discharged. A little charging up should do the trick.

Wldponi03 01-16-2005 09:32 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
Thanks everyone for your help, the battery was dead and wouldn't hold a charge so I went and bought a Diehard Gold from Sears and am raring to go. I guess I will take it out when the roads are clear at least for small drives. To keep the battery charge the Ford battery is a piece of Sh-t thats for sure.

GrimlokTT 01-16-2005 10:02 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
If you want to stay ahead of the game, unhook the negative cable when you know your car is going to set.

Wldponi03 01-16-2005 10:27 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
Good Idea, you guys sure know how to help Granny LOL, thanks again to everyone. Thank God I didn't have to take it to the dealer, I don't trust them with my car unless I stay until its worked on and watch them like a Hawk. I have seen what happens to some cars from being on the Forums and I would end up hurting someone. LOL

Orange whip 04 01-16-2005 11:09 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
For quite a few years i was a Ford technician around some of the metro Ford dealerships. It seem liked all i did was replace batterys that wouldnt hold a charge or was making alot of repairs to electrical systems that had draws in them. For some strange reason i kept seeing more problems with higher rated cold cranking amp batterys. I really dont know what the problem is with Ford motorcraft and there batterys. I know there are some onboard electronics that have keep alive memory but that shouldnt draw a system down enough to drain the battery. But the cold weather sure does play havok on them. As some one else suggested ... you can disconect the cable and let it sit between periods to help the battery out. Or you can remove it and store it in a dry heated area if your not going to be using the mach for some time. Just for the sake of argument, if you end up having another problem with battery drainage after that new battery you put in. I would suggest that maybe there is another problem like a battery draw. You can check this by yourself if you are a little electronic savy. First of all, make sure you check your batterys state of charge. Once that has been determined all you will need is a test light. You can disconect the battery positive terminal and clip the test llight lead to the end of the lose positive terminal and touch the pin point end of the test light to the top of the battery positive post. If there is no light that is a good sign. that means that there is no draw in the system. However, you might see a very very faint ray of light with in the test light. This might indicate either a small draw or possibly some onboard keep alive memory feature that is emiting through the test light or perhaps the timed light has not turned off yet. Now you have to figure out what part of that light is normal. If the test light is glowing brightly then chances are you probably have a bad draw in the system. Also consider disconecting the under the hood light bulb as i have seen those create draws and will undoubtably emit bright light from your test light when you make those connections. Also check to make sure all your doors are closed firmly. Some darw problems come from the door jams switches themselves. One additional note. The under the hood light switch containes mercury and acts as a leveling switch. It knows when to turn off or on in relationship to the hoods level. Some times what happen is that little bit of mercury gets stuck and causes the switch to stick in the on position which will in turn cause the light to burn brightly while the hood is shut. This would cause and eventual draw of the battery. I would recomend you remove the peanut bulb during these winter months just as a safety percausion for your battery so it wont drain in the event that happens. Hope that helps ya.... I know, this was bit long lol.

MA-MACH1 01-17-2005 01:00 AM

Re: Mach won't start
 
underhood light? I don't think I have one... where should I look to check?

Orange whip 04 01-17-2005 01:05 AM

Re: Mach won't start
 
Your absolutly right ! you dont have one LOL.

Orange whip 04 01-17-2005 01:06 AM

Re: Mach won't start
 
GOT YA !!! I was waiting for some one to pick up on this. LOL

Orange whip 04 01-17-2005 01:09 AM

Re: Mach won't start
 
OH the pain... the pain :23:

Orange whip 04 01-17-2005 01:15 AM

Re: Mach won't start
 
Part of that is true though, some of the other Ford models do have under the hood lights and did cause draw problems as i mentioned before. But we dont have on our machs.

GrimlokTT 01-17-2005 09:46 AM

Re: Mach won't start
 
As Orange mentioned, you can check for parasitic draws. As test lights are quick indications of this draw, they shouldn't be the deciding factor. As Orange mentioned, the light can still glow due to onboard electronic components. How brightly depends on how much of a draw you have. (Make sure you have the doors shut and the key is off when you do this.) What you need to use is a multi-meter to see if that draw is w/n limits. (I believe it's b/n the negative cable and negative post when disconnected?)

Regardless, I'm guessing you have a crappy battery versus a parasitic draw.

Name ____________________† Instructorís OK ______
Vehicle # _____ Make ____________ Model __________ Year _____



Battery Diagnosis Worksheet
1. Visual Inspection and Electrolyte Level: Check battery for corroded terminals (warning—it’s what’s on the inside that counts), loose or broken clamps, cracks, leaks, low electrolyte level, missing vent caps, missing or bad battery hold downs, correct size and capacity for vehicle, built-in hydrometer and acid powder on top.
Terminals need cleaning ___ Terminals have been cleaned ___
Electrolyte level is OK ___ Electrolyte level is too low ___ Other problems __________________________________
2. Determine State of Charge: Is battery up to 70% so it can be tested?
Using hydrometer: measure specific gravity of all six cells and record here: ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Are all above 1.240? Yes ___ No ___
Is there a difference of 0.050 or more between cells? Yes ___ No ___ (if yes, replace battery)
Using digital voltmeter: Remove surface charge by 1) turning on headlights for 3 minutes ____ or load testing battery 100-200 amps for 15 seconds ____. When battery voltage comes back up, where does it come to? 12.6v (100%) ___ 12.4v (75%) ___ 12.2v (50%) ___ 12.0v (25%) 11.8v or lower (0%) ___
Battery is ready to load test ___ Battery needs charging ___
3. Load Test Battery: (Capacity Test) This tests if the battery can put out enough volts and amps, that it is not sulfated. Hook up tester so you measure the amps going through the carbon pile and volts.
CCA rating ______, divided by two = ______.
Load test at this amperage, (but not too much more than 200 amps) for 15 seconds, and record the voltage at 15 seconds here: ______
Voltage is above 9.6v—passes ___ below 9.6v—fails ___
4. Check Parasitic Draw when battery turned off. Connect amp meter in series, should be no more than 0.050 amps or 50 ma after the computers have shut down.
How much? ____ OK ___ Not OK ___
5. Use Capacitance Tester. Follow instructions on screen
Pass: ____ Fail: ____ Readings: ______________________________

MattN03 01-17-2005 09:54 AM

Re: Mach won't start
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Orange whip 04
I really dont know what the problem is with Ford motorcraft and there batterys.

I've actually had excellent luck with my daily driven 1997 Ranger (2.3/5speed) and the original Motorcraft battery. It's still in the truck and working great! I've got about 84,000 miles on it so far. Until this past September, the truck had never been kept inside a garage even! I'm wondering just how much longer it can last though... :LAUGH:

Orange whip 04 01-17-2005 03:32 PM

Re: Mach won't start
 
(I believe it's b/n the negative cable and negative post when disconnected?)



QUOTE]

There has been controversy as to how its actualy done. But it acutaly can be done both ways. I get the same results if i do it from the negative side or positive side. I like to do it from the positive side because it tends to rule out any possible grouding iregularities. As you mentioned, you can use the volt/ohm multimeter to check how much voltage is acutaly draining. I use a test light because its simple and iam so acustom to what iam seeing shine through the light and knowing what is being used onboard Ford models that it becomes second nature to me to make a repair knowing what it causing the problem. But in any other case normaly a meter would be used to measure voltage use. This goes back to the words... How do you measure the draw of a light? Once i have ruled that a system has a lagitament parasitic draw, i start to narrow the circuit down by pulling fuses out of the fuse box one at a time and put them back in until you notice the light that is shining through the test light goes out when the fuse was pulled for that slot. Once you find the circuit that the draw is on then you can narrow down through the wiring or part that may be causing the short to ground. Its a process that can take 5 minutes or 5 hours. With electrical, you never know what bag of worms you have. But i also agree with you, Granny probably just has a crapped out battery.


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