2001 Ford Winstar - won't start sometimes

[okieranger]

It acts like it has a dead battery. When you turn the key on it click, the headlights and hazard lights flash but it will not even try to turn over. I can hook jumper cables to it and it will start right off. I have had the battery,starter and alternator checked and all appear to be good. I am open to suggestions. Thanks.

[Dngrsone]

Try the ignition relays and the strter key switch

[mwedding]

This sound identical to what I am fighting right now. See my post (draining battery 99 windstar).

What I am seeing is, when I park the van for more than 24-30 hours, the battery is dead when I go back. This is assuming that I have fully charged the battery before hand. When my wife drives the van to and from work every day, we never notice a problem, but when the van sits, it will eventually die.

I checked the current draw on the battery with a multi-meter. Check current by disconnecting the positive battery cable and connecting a probe to the battery post and the other cable to the vehicle's battery cable.

My van is drawing 0.850 Amps while the vehicle is parked, ignition off, doors closed..... This should be in the neighborhood of 0.100 Amps or less. I then pulled fuses one at a time to find where the current is being drawn. There are four 40A fuses in the fuse box under the hood (SSP1,SSP2,SSP3,SSP4). Once I pulled these four fuses, the current draw is below 0.100 Amps. These fuses power the relays to the rear control module (dome lights, turn signals, tail lights, ....) I have been told that these relays are all switched by the same ground wire, so I have ordered a schematic, and will attempt to track down the problem.

For now, I start my wife's van at least once a day, and let it run for about 15 minutes to make sure the battery gets a good charge in case she needs it hours later.

-MW

[okieranger]

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

Try the ignition relays and the strter key switch

Thanks Dngrsone! Where are those located? Is there a way to test them without replacing them?

[okieranger]

Originally Posted by mwedding

This sound identical to what I am fighting right now. See my post (draining battery 99 windstar).

What I am seeing is, when I park the van for more than 24-30 hours, the battery is dead when I go back. This is assuming that I have fully charged the battery before hand. When my wife drives the van to and from work every day, we never notice a problem, but when the van sits, it will eventually die.

I checked the current draw on the battery with a multi-meter. Check current by disconnecting the positive battery cable and connecting a probe to the battery post and the other cable to the vehicle's battery cable.

My van is drawing 0.850 Amps while the vehicle is parked, ignition off, doors closed..... This should be in the neighborhood of 0.100 Amps or less. I then pulled fuses one at a time to find where the current is being drawn. There are four 40A fuses in the fuse box under the hood (SSP1,SSP2,SSP3,SSP4). Once I pulled these four fuses, the current draw is below 0.100 Amps. These fuses power the relays to the rear control module (dome lights, turn signals, tail lights, ....) I have been told that these relays are all switched by the same ground wire, so I have ordered a schematic, and will attempt to track down the problem.

For now, I start my wife's van at least once a day, and let it run for about 15 minutes to make sure the battery gets a good charge in case she needs it hours later.

-MW

It is very similar to your situation. However, it doesn't appear to be related to how long the vehicle sits. My wife has driven it several places and left it for 15-20 minutes and it will not start. My plan is to try and trace out the wiring over the holiday. I had a mechanic tell me it is most likely the starter relay. Thanks for the info.

[okieranger]

Over the holiday I replaced the starter interrupt relay and traced out the wires. I did not find any place where the wires were worn, cut or shorting out. I still had the same problem. I then traded batteries with my father-in-law and haven't had a problem yet. However, he is experiencing the same types of problem. I am taking the battery back to Wal-Mart today to exchange it for another one. Thanks for your help and suggestions.

[kanbun]

I have a 2002 Windstar and have exactly the same problem. About a year ago, after several incidents, I replaced the original battery which was dead at that point. I didn't have any problem until about a month ago, and now the thing is dead twice in the last two weeks. I've had my mechanic and an auto electrician go over the car, and they can't find anything - no excessive draws - nothing.

So, replacing the battery is apparently not the answer. The battery that I have now is a heavy duty Interstate. I notice that when I have the problem with this battery there is a very dim light in the car - with the original Ford battery there was nothing. This battery is stronger than the original and seems to be handling the draw longer (better) - but still eventually loses enough juice not to start the van.

Please keep posted on what you find. I'm going to take mine back to the dealer.

Anybody that has any suggestions would make me real happy.

[bases]

did you ever narrow down how to fix it? I have a 1999 windstar w/same issues

[kanbun]

Never really figured it out. The only thing I have done is to be sure not to leave any lights or accessories on when I park overnight. All lights are on timers and are supposed to go out (which they do), but I just make sure they aren't on anyway. I don't use my radar detector, because if I forget to either turn it off or unplug it, it stays on when the ignition is off and draws current. I had all the current draws checked a couple time, and the detector draws almost nothing, but I think that might have contributed since I haven't had any problem once I started making sure it's disconnected each night. Maybe all of the electronic bells and whistles just draw enough that a little thing like a radar detector puts it over the edge?