For the past few months if I leave a door open when I go to start the truck it cranks very slowly acting as though the battery is dead. After numerous times of this happening I realized that if I held the key in the start position that it would eventually turn over normally and start. After starting the ABS light would usually stay on for a while, also sometimes the anti theft light would flash.
Well now it is doing this almost every time the Ex is cold. Tonight it eventually turned over then acted as though the fuel pump wasn't working. It eventually started but this is getting bad. I talked with a mechanic last week about my issues and he told me it sounded like corroded wires on the fuse block but he would not be able to look at it until after Christmas.
Any thoughts guys ? What is the best way to access the fuse panel. Remove the dash gauge pod or just drop the fuse panel ?

Thanks Dave

 

so if you have a door open WHILE cranking its slow, but if the door is closed it cranks normal??
if you have a multimeter you could test how many volts are at the starter and the fuel pump. first be sure your battery(s) are fully charged (not drained in the morning or dead). it is possible that the batteries are very weak but can work fine when driven on a regular basis. my old batteries were so dead that within two days i couldnt start it, but if i drove every day i didnt notice and my alternator kept the voltage high enough.

about the fuse block, the in cab fuse block is easy to remove, first remove the lower cover below the steering wheel, then remove the fuse cover piece. on the very left side you will see a large wire coming in with a 90 degree bend eyelet. remove this (and the batteries as this is direct power from the batteries and WILL arc out if if touches ANY bare metal) now the whole fuse box should have some more wiggle room and you simply unplug all of the electrical connectors on the backside of the fuse block. all connectors are unique in shape and CANNOT be installed wrong so you have no worries.

the under hood fuse box seems a more likely culprit as it is more exposed to the elements.

 

[QUOTE=kornfanjoe;13822848]so if you have a door open WHILE cranking its slow, but if the door is closed it cranks normal??

I am a trim carpenter so I use my EX for hauling my tools. If in the process of working I leave a door open for an extended period it will act as though the battery is dead or at least dieing when I first attempt to start it. If I hold the key in the start position for say 5 seconds it will start cranking normally. The problem is it is getting so it does this most of the time now when cold. It has a 1 year old battery and the alternator is the same.

 

What kind of Ex (diesel or gas) and year?

 

Just to be safe I would first check the batteries and alternator. Most auto stores do this for free.
Do your interior lights turn off after a while of the door being open like they are supposed to?
so after that 5 seconds or so it cranks at normal speed again and fires up right away?

 

I would defintely test the battery with a load test. Could be a bad cell. Low voltage can cause issues, which would make since if u have a bad battery and you drain what you have on start up intil the alternator tops it off.

Beware that batteries are wierd sometimes. If you drive it to the parts store it may show different results than waiting till the following morning and removing it from the vehicle. When its removed from the vehicle they can only do a load test on it, thats what I would worry about 1st. Even before the alternator.

 

I really don't believe it is battery or alternator related. If the battery was bad why would it suddenly start cranking fine. Also the guy at Auto zone told me the tester only worked if you have a fully charged battery, how in hell can you have a fully charged battery if you have a bad battery or a bad alternator ? My reason for believing both are fine is I only had this issue after leaving a door open. When i first try to start it it cranks slowly like a dead battery, but after 3-5 seconds of cranking it spins normal and starts. It is like a switch turns on allowing full voltage.

I believe it has something to do with the safety switch that shuts the lights off. My EX is a 2002 V-10

One more thing I posted a couple years ago about my EX being possessed. It will crank over all by itself even with NO keys in it. It will do this every few months that I know of. This does NOT have a remote start, or at least not on my key fobs. I believe it had an aftermarket alarm in it, I have removed the black box but the wiring is still there.

 

Can you replicate it? Meaning, if you leave your door open for a period, will it slow crank every time? If so, leave your door open, then check the battery (s) (does the V10 have two?) and see what the voltages are like. If the voltages are both around 13 or so, then its probably not the batteries. (you can still show good voltage but not have good amperage so that's why I said probably)

If the v10 has 2 batteries, maybe the slow crank is only using one and then the second one kicks in for some reason? Have you checked the wiring between the two batteries?

 

As much as I didn't want to believe it was my 1 year old battery or 1 year old alternator I need to change my mind. Went out and put the plow on to clean up the driveway from the 6" of snow we got today. Pushed the snow out to the end of the driveway and when I went to raise the plow [electric over hydraulic] it killed the engine. The EX started again but I shut off everything that was operating in the truck so I could finish plowing. I hope I can find the receipt from NAPA for the alternator. Cheap Chinese crap anyhow. Thanks Guys

 

i know the feeling, my batteries (the ones i talked about earlier that would die within two days but worked well when used every day) were only 18 months old.
it really sucks but the most effective thing is to always verify even the simplest of things. if you can prove its good you have eliminated it as a problem and can test deeper.
I hope this really is your problem and that it solves your situation!
i do find it very weird that it puts out more cranking speed after a couple of seconds??
if you have a multimeter maybe do some voltage drop testing across your battery connections, to your starter, plow etc and see if you have overly high resistance on any of them. this can also weaken a good batteries potential.

 

Have your alt tested, low voltage WITH ENGINE RUNNING points towards alternator...

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