Hi,

I'm new here. Thanks for the great info you provide here. I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction in my troubleshooting.

I have an 03 Expedition 4.6 xlt, and I'm having an intermittent no crank issue.

Here's a description:
First I turn the key to the "on" position and wait for the pats light to go out.
Then, I turn the key to the "start" position and either (a) it starts right away (b) I hear a click that sounds like the solenoid engaging but it does not crank right away, but I continue holding the key in that position and eventually it cranks and starts right up. (c) same as b but it does not crank at all. So sometimes I just leave it for a few minutes and come back and I'm able to start it. But the last time it happened I couldn't get anything to work, but after disconnecting the battery for a while and reconnecting it, I was able to start it up.

Just to clarify the click I hear in (b): I do also hear a relay click inside the truck near the glovebox, but the click I'm describing above is coming from under the hood.


Here are some facts:

1.) there is no aftermarket alarm or kill switch relay
2.) the pats light acts normally
3.) I have tried 3 different transponder keys and it happens with all of them.

I'm stumped. I did read something somewhere about a service bulletin from Ford, see here:

TSB 06-19-14 - No Crank / Starter Terminal Fatigue

but it mentions a wiring pigtail, and not to use it with "14200a" I have no clue what that means.

Do you think this could be my issue?

Any help you all could give would be greatly appreciated, as this is my wife's car, and I had to give her my F150 till I get it fixed

 

Have you considered that you simply have a bad starter motor?

 

It's most likely to be either a defective starter motor, starter relay, or a bad cable.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

I guess I didn't consider the most simple thing. I figured since the solenoid was getting power, the starter was prob good.

Honestly, I've never had a starter go out in a car before. Are these the classic symptoms?

 

Yes, hence our diagnosis.

 

Ok, I'm changing the starter out and I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

 

Hey guys, Just wanted to let you know that it was indeed the starter motor. Since we changed it out, it cranks every time without any delay.

Sometimes I overlook the obvious. I was already thinking it was the computer or a relay in a hard to reach place. Turned out to be just the starter motor like you guys said.

Thanks for the help! I hope this helps someone else too