96 esc lx - not starting

[forr3st]

96 escort lx 1.9

*warning - i know close to nothing about cars

car wont start - just clicks - and nothing electrical works... a week ago this happened so i replaced the battery and everything was fine until tonight

- new battery
- sparks & wireset 1 month ago
- alternator is ok

i am thinking perhaps theres a connection problem somewhere

is it possible that moisture could be causing the problem? when the this came up a week ago it was raining, and today with the problem happening again, it is raining (didnt rain in between while the car was still starting)

also, i read on some website that if the fan belt is lose this might happen

any help you can give is greatly appreciated... thanks

[werknman]

I'm going to start by responding to your last statement regarding the fan belt. The cooling fans on these particular cars are electric driven, so there is no fan belt. You have a serpitine (spelling?) belt that is driven by the crank and controls your A/C if equipped, altenator, and I believe the power steering.

I agree with your assumption of a connection problem. The clicking you hear is probably the starter relay clicking 'cause it doesn't have enough juice to power the starter. Anyway, I would start with your connections to the battery, making sure that they are secure, and clean (no corrosion, etc., if they are loose or dirty, this could account for a problem when it's wet out) also, check the Negative cable that runs from the battery to a grounding point...make sure that the grounding point is secure, and clean. If you have a voltmeter , or know someone that does, that is capable of checking DC volts, check your connections at various points to make sure you have voltage in the 11 - 13 range at those connections. Start with the battery and work your way through the connections. IE. Black/negative terminal of the voltmeter on a ground, and the red/positive terminal on the BAT side of the solenoind. (A Haynes or Chilton auto manual for this car will show you all the locations, and will run you through the same troubleshooting steps). I think if you do this, or have someone that is familiar with this process perform it, you might find a loose or dirty connection.


Good Luck!!
P.S. As a side note, how did you determine that the altenator is OK?

[t12345]

I have a similar problem. Car won't start or even turn over. Battery is fine. My neighbor looked at my alternator and it looks like it is cracked where the main plug goes in and he seems to think that might be the problem. I don't know what this part is called but if I can save a couple bucks replacing merely a wire then I am all for that. the only thing is, I don't know what the part is called and searching on the internet just leads me to sites that want $30 bucks a month to find your information for you. Makes me wonder what the internet is for anymore. Next they will charge you to use the public library.

Later,

[Lynde]

Originally Posted by t12345

I have a similar problem. Car won't start or even turn over. Battery is fine. My neighbor looked at my alternator and it looks like it is cracked where the main plug goes in and he seems to think that might be the problem. I don't know what this part is called but if I can save a couple bucks replacing merely a wire then I am all for that. the only thing is, I don't know what the part is called and searching on the internet just leads me to sites that want $30 bucks a month to find your information for you. Makes me wonder what the internet is for anymore. Next they will charge you to use the public library.

Later,

The part is called. the Voltage Regulator.