ok so this is the 1994 Explorer the starters good the battery is good but it just clicks at the solenoid now. before Robert had to crawl underneath it and start it at the starter it'self some kind of way won't turn over with the ignition switch at all after messing with a wire running to the starter he got it to where it'll start by crossing out the solenoid so what do ya'll think

 

With the collective brainpower and experience here, I'm sure someone could help you. However, your sentences run on and are hard to understand. Also, if you have more details, it would help. For example, what do you mean by "start it at the starter it'self some kind of way"?

 

if i were to guess, he shorted across the solenoid.

i'm admittedly a little unfamiliar with the 94's, though.

do the 94's have the solenoid on the fender, starter, or both?

 

Right, was Robert tapping on the starter or wiggling a wire? Or, if he was shorting the solenoid to the power, that is important information as well.

Tapping on the starter would suggest worn contacts or brushes within the starter assembly itself. The fix for this would be a new or rebuilt starter.

If wiggling a wire would get the starter to run, then you probably have a dirty connection, loose cable at the starter, or a damaged cable to the starter.

If shorting the starter solenoid to the power cable was the fix, then the issue likely could be the starter relay, ignition switch, key cylinder switch, or Transmission Range Sensor (aka park/neutral safety switch).

-Rod

 

ahh Robert was a bit non descript on what he meant exactly at crossing it out at the starter,maybe he took a screw driver and grounded it to the starter housing???,or possibly as you suggested moved the wire around and got a better connection not entirely sure on that aspect. however what ever he did do,resulted in it starting by crossing it out at the solenoid. oddly enough he installed a brand new solenoid on the damn thing. I do however know the starter it'self works perfect nothing wrong with the actual starter,just something interfering with power getting solenoid to the starter. and yes it's got the old style fender mounted solenoid.

 

a quick search for 1994 ford explorer starter returns images of a starter with a solenoid attached to it.

as i said above, some have two solenoids, one on the fender and one on the starter.

i'd find out exactly what he did and report back.
my guess is he jumped the solenoid on the starter to get it to start....

it is worth your time and effort to find out exactly what he did ....

 

You are right there are two Contactors involved one on finder one on the starter. If it is a manual transmission the clutch has to be depressed and in Park or Neutral if an automatic.

 

Lol appreciate all ya'lls help with the limited info I have. but for the record this aint my first rodeo. nuetral safety switch pfft I've kicked started many a standard when that went out. and it's an Automatic, oddly enough it was ordered with an AOD instead of the regular automatic. it also has a Positrac rear axle. NOT bad for a $500.00 Explorer with 150,000 miles on it

 

If you jump the contactor on the finder it should turn over this will bypass all safeties even the ignition switch power to this contactor is hot at all times. I am looking at a manual!

 

AOD was never available in the explorer.

4R70W, electronic variant of AOD, was available in explorer with 5.0v8 starting in 1996.

last production of AOD was in 1993, seeing use in Thunderbird, Cougar, Bronco, Mustang, Econoline, behind 3.8L v6 and 5.0 v8 and 5.8 v8

you have an A4LD, which later became 4R55 (and later the 5R55, a 5 speed variant of the original A4LD/4R55)

if your gear indicator on your dash does not read: PRN(OD)D1, then you do not have AOD (police and federal vehicles used a slightly different readout)

if your gear indicator on your dash reads: PRND321, you have A4LD (or 5R110, 6R80, 6R140 which cannot be, what-so-ever)

AFAIK, the AOD will not bolt up behind a 4.0v6 without aftermarket adapter plates.

UNLESS, someone did an engine/transmission swap from an unknown donor vehicle, in which case all bets are off.

why do i mention this?
because if you go trying to find a replacement starter for a 1994 explorer with an AOD, you are going to have very poor luck. and if someone did a swap, your best bet is to take the part to the parts store and hope you get a ford guy who knows that starter by sight.

 

There are multiple things Robert could have done (jumped the starter relay on the fender, provided power to the starter solenoid, tapped on the starter assembly, wiggled a wire), it's still going to help to understand what Robert does that seems to work reliably.

The even more useful, but also slightly more involved, means of determining what is happening here would be to get out the test light or multimeter and start checking for voltage at various points in the circuit. Confirming if there is power to the starter relay coil when the key is turned to Start would be pretty quick and easy and tell us if you need to be looking before the starter relay or at the relay or later. This wire is the Red/Light Blue wire. If you have voltage to the relay coil, then check for voltage at the output of the relay (Black wire). If there's no voltage there, you either have a bad relay or the feed to the relay is bad. The feed to the relay switched contacts is direct from the battery (Red wire). If there is power to the coil and power from the battery, the relay is bad. If there is no power there, then you need to determine if that is due to a loose connection or a bad wire.

If you have power from the starter relay to the starter, then confirm there is power at the starter. There should be two power wires to the starter, one from the starter relay on the fender and one directly to the battery. The wire from the starter relay will be black if it is the original wire and the one directly from the battery will be red. The Red wire should have power at all times and the Black wire should have power when the key is in the Start position as you confirmed when doing checks at the starter relay. If you have power at both of these points with the key in the Start position but the starter motor is not running or engaging the flywheel, the issue is with the starter motor assembly.

If you do not get power to the starter relay coil (Red/Light Blue wire) then your issue is either with the Park/Neutral safety switch or the ignition switch.

-Rod

 

the Gear selector shows PRN(D)D21 and theres no overdrive button on the shift lever either

 

to the best of my knowledge that would be A4LD

 

Hmm, this worries me. that means I've got a failure prone automatic. thinking I may end up having to convert to a 5 speed sooner than I thought then

 

OK months later, I finally got out there to mess with the old Explorer. while there it was determined that the relay wire running to the starter had burnt through, so that was repaired and it starts fine now. My new question is a running issue. once started I decided to drive it down his street and back, Upon returning and parking it I notice it is surging and spitting back through the Exhaust at any rpm above 4500Rpm any thought??? MAF sensor??? Bad Plugs??? Bad Plug Wires??? Dirty injectors from sitting since 2012??? what do ya'll think???