I have a 2000 expedition Eddie Bauer 4x4 I just picked up, it seems to have electrical problems and wanted to ask for help before I start replacing a bunch of stuff. So the power door locks won't cycle properly(hit the button and they only move half way), when you hit the door lock button on the key fob it barely sounds the horn, and the starter makes the grinding noise when starting half the time. I have replaced the battery, starter, and cleaned the battery cables to the battery and the starter. Also, the flywheel looks fine, no missing teeth. Any areas I might check? Please help

 

It sure sounds like a low power (voltage) issue to me. What about the other ends of the battery cables, have you checked them to make sure they're in good shape and tight?

 

What is the voltage at the battery and then when you turn the headlights on?

 

The voltage at the battery is 12.50 volts, with the lights on its 12.32 volts- with the truck off. As for the battery cables, I only cleaned the side that connects to the battery and the starter.

 

A weak ground could easily cause this issue too.

 

Especially since he only checked and clean both ends of the positive cable. We'll have to wait and hear how the negative cable ends are after he checks them.

 

I am checking the grounds tomorrow, I tried to smog it and it's giving me some codes as well as not running the Evap monitor. It gave the following codes which I believe all point to electrical issues - b1318, b1869, b1676, p1000 if anyone has any suggestions on any areas I should check, please chim in. Thanks everyone🤘

 

Always start with the battery itself to eliminate it as the source of trouble unless you're certain it is serviceable. 12.5 isn't "bad", but it's a little low. Tenths of a volt don't sound like much but as a percentage they are a lot. The difference between 100% fully charged and Dead, is less than a single volt. Batteries will often show good or reasonable voltage numbers measured at the terminals when not actually under a load.

This is why a load test is the "real" way to test a battery. If it's 4 or 5 years old and wasn't maintained it's probably sulfated up and won't charge effectively or just as important hold a charge. Put it on a slow charge and let it cook for a day or so and then load test it. A "maintenance free" battery is fully charged when it measures 12.8 volts at rest. It should maintain at least 9.5 volts (minimum) while cranking the starter for 10 to 15 seconds with the ignition safely disabled. Not trying to beat up on you, just work from the battery first. Clean, tight, fresh cables and shiny bright ground connections are important as already mentioned. Starters and alternators do not like any corrosion anywhere in the circuit. Even an invisible layer of skunge on a connection or ground is enough to hork charging and starting and eventually will make for expen$ive problems and aggravation. It pays to keep up on this!

edit: Doh! See you replaced the battery. I'd still charge it up. Check for a parasitic or "phantom" load. Check cables for voltage drop individually. Replace if they exceed spec. This is an easy test to perform, look it up if you don't know how.

A guy gave me an Epi-pen. He was dying and it seemed very important to him that I have it.

 

Most jurisdictions allow an incomplete monitor. Check YOUR local regulations.

Chassis codes should not affect e-testing, but, again, check YOUR local regulations.

That code tells the e-test facility that your computer was recently reset and is a normal consequence of disconnecting the battery. Also often attempted as a way to turn off a check engine light to try to cheat e-testing.

Fix your electrical supply problem first, then work through any remaining issues as they show up.

 

So I checked and cleaned all positive and negative connections, no luck. On the way home it started to miss fire and I got a cylinder #4 misfire. So, I'm just having all kinds of fun! Lol Not sure what to do at this point, kinda thinking maybe the pcm is having issues.

 

PCMs get blamed for a lot of things unnecessarily, they usually are not the issue.

 

Cleaning the connections is good, but you can,t see inside the cables to see if they are corroded. You need to do voltage drop tests on those circuits while they are flowing current to be sure they are up to the task.

You can google "Voltage Drop Test" to see how to test the circuits under load.

 

So I did a voltage drop test and everything was well within parameters. Just tried to start the truck, the starter stayed ingaged and fried the solenoid for the starter. I'm so lost at this point. Maybe the ignition?

 

If the starter stayed engaged, it sounds like the starter relay on the firewall stuck.

When you voltage drop tested the positive side of the starter circuit, how many volts were dropped between the positive battery post (not the positive battery cable clamp) to the positive post (not the cable end) on the starter motor?

 

So the starter grinding turned out to be the teeth on the flex plate �� and as for the misfire, was a bad coil pack. Still stumped on the door locks not cycling very well along with the weak horn beep when using the key fob. Gonna start replacing the door lock actuators soon, I'm really hoping it's not the GEM!!!!!