2000 Windstar LX starting problems

[powerstroke77]

Hey guys,

I've read some of the posts on here but need a little more help. Here goes

The Windstar will run fine for weeks but as soon as it rains in goes into a no crank/ no start mode. All dash lights and radio work fine. It will not crank at all. just a strange clicking noise like the starter is trying to crank over but the engine will not turn over. Had the battery checked...dead cell. Changed it out. Fixed!! No..two days later..more rain..no crank /no start. Slide under there(in the rain) have wifey turn the key to run. Jumped the sol.. starter spins but does not engage..change starter. Fixed!! Ran good for a week..more rain. Wifey says it happened again. When she turned the key ..no crank..kept turning key on off on off..suddenly engine starts turning over. Cranks for 10 seconds then starts up. Running really rough. She shuts it off. Starts right up again with no rough idle. Runs fine for a day or two. Starts idling really rough all the time and seems like it wants to stall(something new) I do some research and find that the windstar is prone to ignition coil failures..change coil. Fixed!! No...ran good for couple of cool clear days. Rained last night and today..no crank/finally starts to crank/starts with very rough idle/still rough idle all the time now. Alt is charging around 14.5 at idle but drops to around 13.2 when loaded(everything in the van turned on). Not sure what my next move is. Yes it rains alot in Vancouver so i really need to get this fixed. Any help would be most appreciated.

[12Ounce]

I'm trying to understand why the voltage would drop that much when "loaded". Could it be that the serpentine belt is slipping ... or something, ac compressor, pwer strng pump, whatever ... is loading the belt, loading the alternator. ??

[powerstroke77]

Im going to look into that in the morning if it ever stops raining.

[wiswind]

I would check / clean the cable connections at the battery and at the starter.

Another possible cause is the "Neutral Safety Switch", also called Transmission Range Sensor.
This part seems to fail more on Windstars around your year.

[12Ounce]

I think Wiswind has it ... a bad/loose/corroded connection somewhere. Could be in the heavy power cables, or in smaller wired solenoid circuit. Either could be affected by wetness.

[Ed_Strong]

When you replaced the coil did you see signs of rust or water accumulating around the back of the engine?

On this vans, the cowl collects rain water and channels it right down the middle of the cowl thru a gutter type of plastic drain tubbing. On my van the seal had deteriorated and all rain water collected was over flowing thru the back of the engine.

Yours might be doing the same and messing up the Coil, Fuel Injectors or PCM wiring... worth taking a good look back there