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Sometimes no start = bad ground?

Car didn't start and I had a multimeter handy finally. Had my dad measure voltage at the battery while trying to start and it bumps down to 10.9 he said. Soooooooooo? What's next? Lol does that mean the battery?
 
Still having this problem. Starting to think its something along the lines of the ignition switch. Any leads on this causing a random no start?
 
When you jump start does it fire right away or it has to turn over for a while before it kicks? Seems like its related to fuel or spark when the alternator isn't turning over. Try to determine if its getting fuel and spark next time it won't start.
 
Weird issue. I'd start looking for a problem with the wiring between the battery and coil pack. You said that the fuel pump primes so that should rule out circuit problem to FP.
 
does it have starting problems after u stall it? and one have u tighted up the starter cables? had that problem on my old 99 where the cables would loosen and had to tighten them every month or 2
 
Perhaps melted wiring? I just got my car back on Saturday with same intermittent starter problems. I had the same problem,, and of course the 3 days while it's at the garage, it starts no problem. I got them to change the starter anyways, and the dude did note that the wiring had been melted.....this sounds familiar, as I think the garage dude mentioned the same thing when it happened only 3 years ago.
 
When I changed the starter out, I had made sure about the wires going to it were good.

I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary with melted wires or anything. But I'll check again.
 
I am having the same problem with the V6mistake (SVT 2.5 swap into Focus).
Starts fine most of the time but occasionally after it cools off it will crank from here to eternity and not start.
The problem is either the crank position sensor, a bad plug or a broken wire but I haven't had time to start narrowing it down.
Why am I sure of this?
Try the following (works every time for me):
When you encounter the no-start problem again leave the key on but (obviously) engine off (KOEO).
Pop the hood.
Unplug the crank position sensor (CPS).
Plug it back in.
Start the car.

Post up your results.
 
it cfould be a million things for this to occur. while you mean well with the advice its not what i would look for first. first things first, take your DMM and put it on dc volts. i want you to volt drop (load test) the power and ground circuits. so youd put the red on the battery pos. the black on the starter pos. now activate the circuit with the key. a proper loss is .3 and below. if it shows 7-12 volts then that wire alone consumed that much current through its high resistance. i recommend load testing over anything else becuase even a single strand of wire can carry 12 volts. but with amperage going through it itll just fall on its face. please anyone feel free to text me for advice on these concerns!

Steve-O
734-771-6446
Ford Dealer Master Tech

ps i can send you any info from the manuals too!
 
Thanks, Steve-O for the info. I'm gonna save your number just in case for any further troubleshooting I may run into if that's okay with you.
 
Did you ever check the amps at the starter when cranking the motor? My dad had a similar problem for about a year, the starter was reading more than normal amperage. They replaced the starter and now everything is just fine
 
Lets solve this question by buying a can of starting fluid. Have tools that you can remove the air horn and spray a very small amount into the intake tube while the throttle is open just a bit. Now attempt to start it. If it fires right up then it is the fuel pump OR it could be the Idle control motor.

If it is the idle control motor then holding the throttle open an 1/8th of an inch will fire it up without starting fluid.

My bet is on a fuel pump.
 
To recap:

-Long cranking, but turning over like normal
-Fuel pump priming
-Battery/ Charging system checked out fine
-When car fails to start, it can be push started

Correct?

I'd forget the starter right off the bat. If it sounds like it is spinning the motor normally and quickly enough to build compression, it is doing it's job and the battery is as well. Does your "check engine" light illuminate when the key is in the on position (engine off)? Have you had it scanned for any "pending" codes?

Like Don was saying, arm yourself with a few things so that next time this happens you can run a few simple tests. Leave the spark plug cover off of the front bank as well. Bring a can of ether, a spare spark plug and a "jumper" wire with two alligator clips on either end. If and when you run into a no-start first test should be spark- don't worry, you won't need a friend with you. Pull a spark plug wire, shove your spare plug in there and use the jumper wire to ground the plug to the block. Setup your iPhone to record the plug hopefully making a strong spark. If you have spark, proceed to shooting some ether lightly in your throttle body. Don't forget to put the snorkel back on before you attempt to start it.. If it fires and stalls then its a fuel issue. Culprits? Fuel pump, cam/crank sensors, ECU not grounding injectors, and unfortunately many other things.

You suggested the ignition switch- its slightly possible. In the start position, the starter circuit is energized (obviously) but the ECU needs to remain powered in order to send the commands for spark and fuel. It will be a little more challenging to test this but knock out the first couple tests and post your findings. Good luck!

One last thing- I had this happen to a v6 contour I worked on and it ended up being the coil. It wouldn't start and after a few attempts it did but ran like crap. Did some tests and swapped with a spare coil and it ran right away. No MIL codes showed up either.
 
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