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Hello and thanks for any feedback, I own a 1993 E-150 ford van and im having problems getting it started, I figured it was the corroded battery termanials since I could pop the hood and shake them to get it to start a few times, then all of a sudden it wont start period, so I replaced the terminals and the battery and tried to start it and still no luck , so I'm searching everywhere looking for some advice where to start on troubleshooting this problem. I have very little knowledge of electrical systems and i'm clueless to what it could be...
thanks for any help !
I am assuming the engine won't turn over. When it won't start, turn the headlights on, and then try to start it.
If the lights go dim, and it won't start, you have a low battery (can't be that!), there is still something wrong with the battery terminals, or the terminal on the block where the ground cable connects.
If the lights stay bright, and it won't start,
see if you have power on the small terminal on the solenoid when you turn the key to the start position. If you don't, it might be the neutral safety switch(or clutch pedal switch), or something wrong with the ignition keyswitch. If you do have power on the small solenoid terminal then you might have a loose connection on the starter solenoid, bad solenoid, loose connection on the starter, starter bolts are loose, or a bad starter.
Ok, well I tried going out and smacking around on my starter and something weird happened, when I did this all power in my van went dead, and if I mess with the cable going to the starter I can get the power back on until I try to turn it over, then It just goes dead again, Im starting to think this is a problem with the wire to the starter and not the starter itself. I guess its time to jack it up and clean that greasy looking wire off, hopefully this is my problem since im going broke from loss of work and buying parts.
engine is a V6 and its a auto transmission, thanks for all your help !
Ok, I just went out and tried the old tap on the starter trick and sluggishly got a crank out of my starter, maybe the starter is bad, when it barely turned over it sounded very sluggish and worn out.
also the base of the cable connected to the starter is awful looking and someone has wrapped black tape to hide the exposed wires, should this cause problems in the future ?