No Start - All other electrical OK

Hi - I have read many of the posts regarding electical issues.

My 95 transport is a single owner with 125,00 miles. We are the original owners. We have had coolant issues but nothing more than that with this car.

Just two days ago, my wife noticed the car starting difficultly, like the battery was dying. We just replaced the battery in August of last year.

I have not put any meters on the wiring and am figuring just replacing the altenator since that looks easy and if it works, will be a cheap fix.

Symptoms: total no-click or anything. Jumps no better.

This forum is great and LMP seems to be the resident expert. I have a 99 Lincoln Continental with 160k on it and keep it running using this forum.

Todd Gundlach:banghead:

If jumping does not help, keep the alternator..it is not the culprit.
I would look in the area of the starter itself...but look at this troubleshooting chart first:
www.avigex.ca/xport/starterdiagnosis.jpg

One revealing test doring "total no-click" is: turn the headlights on (cause that is highly visible) then what happens to the headlights while you are attemptimg to start?
If they stay fully bright, then you have good contact from battery to distribution and problem is with starter circuit...beginning at ignition switch..and all through to starter solenoid or starter itself, including all connections and transmission neutral switch.
If headlights go dead, you have a contact problem at battery terminals or negative contact to engine ground.
www.avigex.ca/xport/starterdiagram.jpg

... Just two days ago, my wife noticed the car starting difficultly, like the battery was dying. We just replaced the battery in August of last year.

I have not put any meters on the wiring and am figuring just replacing the altenator since that looks easy and if it works, will be a cheap fix.

Hey Todd - Welcome!

I don't want to be a "nag" or anything like that, but proper troubleshooting and repair is the least expensive, in the long run.

What I would do is put a meter on various points (across Alternator outputs, across Battery) while at idle & at higher RPM. Then go from there. Of course it could be the starter gone bad too.

A key component in the charging and starting systems is the wiring (cables)! If a little corrosion gets in or under the connectors, and bad things happen, because the resistance of the cables goes up.

Just a couple of thoughts.

Let us know what you find.

Take Care,

Thanks Guys! I noticed the wiring harness hanging down. I am sure this is a simple thing - things just don't happen in my honest (mechanical) opinion. There are two harness clips seemingly rotted away down there; the plastic cap protecting the solenoid hot stud is off although all connections seem good-n-tight (euphemism for a german virgin - I hope I didn't offend anyone

There is a lot of talk on the board about misconnections, shorts to ground, etc. Any thought on the weak starter motor of late? (10-12 starts)?

tdg