1992 Ford Aerostar - won't start, only click...

[LeVeque]

Hi. I have an unusual problem with my wife's minivan.

Over the course of the last month, the van seemed to turn over slower and slower with each passing day. It's been cold here in Washington so I figured the battery may need to be replaced. The very same day that I planned on purchasing a new battery, the van would not start at all, just clicked.

I purchased, and installed, a new starter solenoid/relay (located on the driver-side inner panel, just right of the battery). The van still would not start, just clicked.

I purchased, and installed, a new starter motor. The van started right up and ran super...

...until I shut it off. The van WILL NOT start.

I have absolutely no idea what the problem is here and I am in dire straits.

Can anyone assist me with this problem?

ANY and ALL assistance will be greatly appreciated.

[Rich Ehrlich]

I have the same problem. except that it starts when engine is cool.
Help.
Did you put in a Ford starter?
Rich

[LeVeque]

Originally Posted by Rich Ehrlich

I have the same problem. except that it starts when engine is cool.
Help.
Did you put in a Ford starter?
Rich

Hi Rich.

When my problem began, the van acted like it had a dead battery. I purchased a new battery, the problem still occured. I then purchased a new solenoid, the problem still occured. I then purchased a rebuilt starter motor and the engine kicked over and started... then stopped again... the problem continued to occur.

I went through about 4 rebuilt starter motors (and 4 different problems as a result) before I decided to try out a brand new starter motor. The problem has since gone away.

DO NOT PURCHASE REBUILT ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS!!!

BUY BRAND NEW!!!

...as for your van starting when it's cold versus when it's warm sounds like a connection problem or an electrical comonent problem as some bad electrical components will work fine when either hot or cold but not the opposite in a given situation.

Aftter doing my research on the 92 Ford Aerostar and poor starting, I have found that there can only be one of 3 problems that will occur that prevents the engine from starting or causes poor starting OR irregular starting activity... those three problems are:

1. The Battery
2. The Starter Solenoid
3. The Starter Motor

I thought that since the year of the vehicle is 92, that there would be a more complicated approach to solving starting issues... I was slightly incorrect with my assumption. The starting curcuit is actually still just as simple as it was 15 years ago... battery, solenoid, starter problems have pretty much the same issues and solutions. I simply learned to buy new components rather than rebuilt or remanufactured parts.

I hope that sharing my experience sheds even a slight bit of light on your (and others') situation.

Good Luck!

Kind Regards,

Bob

[sweet78angel]

Originally Posted by Rich Ehrlich

I have the same problem. except that it starts when engine is cool.
Help.
Did you put in a Ford starter?
Rich

i have the same problem with my 1994 ford areostar..it was running fine untill i turned it off then i had to wait a couple of hours to use it again...now the truck wont start again only a clicking sound when i try to turn it on..ive replaced the starter relay but it still wont start..someone told me to check the solenoid...is that the same thing as the starter relay?

[pre98zetec]

solenoid is most likely your problem, its located on the driverside "fenderwell" theres two bolts if you turn the key on and then take a screwdriver and touch both bolts together and your car starts, thats your problem

if you need help finding it LMK I can get a picture of what it looks like from my moms van.

[sweet78angel]

Originally Posted by sk8ter_in_ny

solenoid is most likely your problem, its located on the driverside "fenderwell" theres two bolts if you turn the key on and then take a screwdriver and touch both bolts together and your car starts, thats your problem

if you need help finding it LMK I can get a picture of what it looks like from my moms van.

Thanks for the help..i replaced that but that didnt work...ended up being the starter...

[KimMG]

ztraw- Yes, the bushings wear out causing the starter motor to bind.

[nealg58]

Another thing to check is the cable going to the starter motor. Even though this is either 0 or 2 gauge in size, it has to deliver 12 to 14 volts at several hundred amps for the brief time the starter motor is engaged. Over time, this cable will develop internal resistance and won't be able to pass the current needed to engage the motor.

[teakstone]

A follow up to checking the starter cable. Many poeple test these cables using an Ohmmeter. Under no load conditions, an Ohmmeter can give a good reading on bad cables especially if one is pushing the probes into the cable (an intermitent connections can eventually be a temporary good connection under these conditions).

The only sure way of checking if the 12 volts get to the starter is by connecting a voltmeter to the starter bolt where the 12 volt cable connects and chassis ground then turing the key to start. If the 12 volts is still at the starter and the engine does not turn over then it is not that cable problem.

Good luck

[karaz]

Wow, this kinda gives me somewhere to start with my 93. Ive bookmarked this page to show my hubby. I suspect it was the connection, but since Im no mechanic, and I didnt understand half of what this just said, Ill let him read it and try these things. I just want to say, I really like this fourm. It helped me in the past with another car. Sadly, that car was Junk.

[RODALCO]

Many starter motors have two sets of brushes in parallel.
When the brushes wear out after many thousands of starts. The starter motor quite often will still operate on one set of brushes but at a much reduced speed and will still get the engine going.
Of course if long slow cranking is required to get the engine going under those conditions the starter may burn out.
If only clicking is heard it is easy to determine if the starter is at fault by tapping on the outside of the starter casing. The tapping may move the worn carbon brushes a little and the starter may turn over Ok to get the engine going and the strter looked at. Of course with a voltmeter the positive terminal at the starter can be checked if the power goes through the relay

Other problems are dirty connections at the battery terminals or starter and negative return cable from engine block to battery negative.
You can quickly feel those terminations by hand. If after 10 seconds cranking the engine over slowly and no firing results, stop cranking and just feel what connection is hot. Clean it up and that is usually the culprit which has excessive resistance.

[meadejones5]

i have a 92 aerostar and the problem i am having is that it has a full charge on the battery, it started yesterday just fine and today it wont start. not even any power to any lights or gauges. it as if there is no batter at all. tried a screwdriver to start it and nothing. can the starter stop all power from flowing or am i missing something? an email of any ideas is welcome at [email protected]

[tedselker]

My problem with an aerostar 1991 is similar:
it wouldn't turn over with a full battery so i shorted the relay, no go, so i replaced the starter (ugh... had to take the exhausts off the manifolds cause with 4wd there is NO space to get the starter out). '
click butNO go... but the solonoid wire insulation melted!
so i replaced the solonoid wire,,,, and
so i pulled the starter out of the engine to check it,,, click and whirrsworked! so i put it back in: and the first time i tried it, it turned and turned, had to remove power from a terminal to stop it!

so i replaced the soloniod,
it STILL clicks and overheats the solonoid wire
so i took new starter out of the engine again and turned the ignition, the motor clicks and whirrs like a happy motor,
so i put it back in and again it just clicks,
so cleaned all contacts going to battery and soloniod with sandpaper and measured continuity everywhere (battery to positive of starter too)
but still click and overheat the solonoid wire
---- what to do?