My 1993 escort went dead. i dont know if it is coincidence or not but it happened the day after the hottest day in a long time here, in oregon. It actually hit 100 degrees which is quite rare where I live. It drove home from work fine but the next morning, no start. I didnt get any warning. The lights and stereo still work. Any ideas of what the problem could be and how to find it? The starter, which was a rebuilt one, was put in about ten months ago and the battery is relatively new too. Please help. thanks

That sounds typical of a bad connection at the battery. It would allow the stereo etc. to operate but when the starter motor tries to operate, the massive current which it draws causes much of the supply voltage to be dropped across the bad connection, with not enough remaining to operate the starter motor.

Remove the connectors from the battery terminals and clean the surfaces of the battery posts, and the mating surfaces of the connectors, and then reassemble. There will be a few leads connecting to the negative terminal - one in particular will be large diameter and will bolt onto the engine block - you might want to undo that, clean it and then bolt it up again because that carries the return current from the starter motor so it's important to the starter circuit.

If that doesn't fix it then let us know.

I assume the dashboard warning lights illuminate as normal when the ignition is switched to the 'On' position? If so then another possibility is that the feed to the starter solenoid could have failed. That could be a failure of the ignition switch 'Start' contacts, or a failure of the starter safety circuit. You will find an explanation of the safety circuit and the way to bypass it for test purposes, in this thread - post No.5:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=723912

That particular post ends with a recommendation to replace the ignition switch but that's only because we already knew it was suspect, so that doesn't apply to you. If you find you have a problem with the circuit which feeds the starter solenoid then you would need to check out the transmission range sensor (for an automatic) or the clutch pedal position switch (for a manual) before turning your attention to the ignition switch. Let us know how you get on.

Thanks selectron for the tips. The dashboard lights do illuminate as normal. Lately it is hard to get the automatic transmission shifted out of park after starting the car. Would that have anything to do with the transmission sensor being bad? i will start with cleaning the battery posts and connectors tomorrow (later today)and checking the large diameter ground cable and will work from there. Thanks again.

You should be able to tell if the starter solenoid is engaging or not by one of two methods. First would be to wind down the window and lift the hood, then listen to hear if the starter solenoid makes a clicking sound as it engages. If it does then your starter solenoid circuit is intact and your problem is likely to be bad connections at the battery. If it doesn't then the fault is in the starter solenoid circuit. The other way to check would be to switch on the dome light and try starting it - if the solenoid engages then the light will dim noticeably, so once again that indicates bad battery connections but if the light doesn't dim then it suggests a problem with the starter solenoid circuit.

For an automatic, that circuit comprises: fuse - to transmission range sensor/switch - to ignition switch 'Start' contacts - to starter solenoid. A break anywhere along that path will mean that the starter solenoid won't operate. To bypass it for testing purposes, connect a jumper lead to the starter solenoid 'S' terminal (the smallest of the three terminals on the solenoid, with the thin wire connected to it) and run the other end to up near the battery and then, with the transmission in Neutral or Park and with the ignition switched to 'On', touch the bare end of that lead to the battery positive terminal to operate the starter, removing it as soon as the engine fires and runs.

I couldn't say if the transmission range sensor would cause difficulty in shifting out of Park - I'm in the UK and probably more than 95% of the vehicles on our roads are manual transmissions - automatics are rare over here so I've never even owned one. Only ever driven one once, for about ten miles, many years ago. Maybe somebody else could comment on that.

Selectron, thanks again for the tips. You explain things very clearly and give many easy options. I really appreciate it.Today I was trying to start the vehicle and watch the dome light to see if it dimmed. Wouldnt you know the darn thing started. It actually started a few times after this too. I dont know where to go from here. I still worry about getting stranded.I made sure the battery connections are tight and the posts were clean. The battery and alternator registered as working properly. Hope its not an intermittent starter problem. I didnt know most cars in UK were manual trannies. Very interesting. I myself have managed to avoid driving a manual transmission for all my forty years. Suppose i should learn sometime. :banghead: :banghead:

Well it's good that it's starting again although as you say, the worry remains that it may return - let's hope it doesn't though. It might have been related to the extreme temperature which you had - something to do with expansion and subsequent contraction overnight of the battery connectors, and if they weren't in pristine condition then a layer of oxide between connector and terminal may have been disturbed and added a tiny extra resistance to the circuit. Because of the massive current which flows to the starter motor - probably somewhere between 100 and 200 amps - just a tiny amount of extra resistance can cause the starter motor to not operate.

If it was the battery connections (and it often is) then they're clean now so that should be the end of it. There probably isn't a whole lot that you can do now really except wait and see if it happens again, because the problem could be the connections down at the starter solenoid, or a bad electrical contact at the solenoid plunger (that's internal to the solenoid) or an intermittent fault in the motor or a problem with the circuit which feeds the solenoid via the ignition switch, etc. The key to knowing where to look if it should happen again would be to determine if the solenoid activates (clicks) or not. Then you would know which portion of the circuit to investigate.

Meantime, you might want to consider connecting a lead onto the solenoid 'S' terminal and tying the free end up near the battery, and then it's ready to use in future if need be.

My starter motor is readily accessible (UK diesel Escort) - I just lift the hood, reach down behind the radiator and there it is - couldn't be easier, so rather than installing a permanent connection, I made a remote starting lead and keep it in the trunk of the car - just a yard or so of wire with an insulated crocodile clip on the end, which can be hooked onto the 'S' terminal in a matter of moments if my solenoid feed circuit should ever fail. I think you call them alligator clips over there - your local hobby electronics store (Radio Shack, etc.) will have them. Some have a screw fitting to secure the wire, or you can solder it or just 'crimp' it into the hollow end with a pair of pliers. The insulating boot slips off while you do that, then it slips it back on again when you're done.

That won't be any help if the starter motor itself should ever fail but it will enable you to completely bypass the regular starter solenoid circuit if that should go faulty. For a few minutes' work, it gives a lot of peace of mind and I'd recommend it.

http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/4313/crocclippc6.png

I second the recommendation to install a wire running from the small terminal on the starter solenoid (its the wire to the solenoid itself), over to a location near the battery - so you can touch it to the positive terminal to crank the engine. If the ignition is on, the engine will then be running. I recently installed a new ignition switch, my battery is 4 months old, all of the cables and connectors are clean and snug --- and it will still decide to just 'click' instead of starting about 1 time out of 3. I wiggle and retry turning the key, and it starts most of the time. Those remaining few times I have to open the hood.
I plan to replace my starter as soon as I find a bargain on a rebuilt. Its I think the only other 'switch' in the circuit is the neutral safety switch on the transmission - which is well over $200.

dont want to jinx it, but still starting.