Won't Start (Problem Solved)

Suprawill1 · Jul 4, 2024

Hi All,
Checking in to see if anybody knows of any no-start issues with the ST. Everything lights up, battery shows 12.3v. Still tried to jump it but nothing.
All I can think of is a dead starter but other than that, looking for your thoughts on anything I might have missed. No previous problems on starting.
Everything seemed strong. Was trying to go to work and I have equipment I had to bring.

Thanks.

Suprawill1 · Jul 5, 2024

In case anyone has this issue, there's been a few different fixes for this conundrum. It's a problem that's been reported in many instances where the ST all of the sudden won't start. In all the reports of those taking it in to the dealership, Ford didn't have a clue on how to resolve it.

In very few cases, it was the battery but in others, it wasn't the usual suspects and cases you probably didn't experience in the past.
In my case, it was the starter motor fuse. There's been other instances where taking the negative cable off of the battery reset the cause. Another claimed that there are 2 ground wires that are attached behind the glove box to painted metal. The fix was to remove the wires and sand/grind away the paint down to bare metal and reattach.

I'm seeing many war stories of owners being stranded by the "no start" issue. I was lucky to find a vid that pointed to my particular case, although I lost a day of work in the process.

Hope this helps anyone that may be searching for a fix on this.

Chamorro85 · Jul 5, 2024

Sounds like a wild thing to come up suddenly. Glad you could fix it.

Suprawill1 · Jul 5, 2024

Chamorro85 said:

Thanks. Yes, I'm glad it was an easy fix although it took a while to find. A cost effective one too. I had all kinds of things going through my head.
A new starter would have been close to 500 installed.

cotoole · Jul 5, 2024

Glad you found it, definitely valuable info you just passed on. The ground thing always drives me nuts. I rememeber when CD players first started coming out for cars. I bought one and splurged to have it professionally installed. Damned thing skipped like crazy, once I saw it in the dark, and the lights were flickering I knew exactly what it was, a ground issue. The professional installer grounded it to a metal screw that held two pieces of plastic together. It was getting an intermittent ground through the antenna. Ground problems can be a real bitch to find, and cause all kinds of problems.

BrynnMassie · Jul 5, 2024

Well I’m in that boat again today. Full tank of e60 and she’s parked till the tow truck gets here
P06E9

Suprawill1 · Jul 5, 2024

Ok, so here's another update!
Yesterday when I found that the problem was the starter motor fuse, I jumped the fuse contacts with a wire to see if it would start. It did, so I waited till today to get the proper fuse. Figured I'd jump the contacts again and it didn't start. I raised the hood in time to see the wire I jumped it with on fire!
There's a good reason that fuse blew and now I have to figure that out. Either the wiring harness involved got shorted out somehow or the starter motor froze and is causing a short. Daggone, I thought I'd be rolling today.

Suprawill1 · Jul 5, 2024

Just turned 71k miles. Has anyone had starter motor problems with their ST within that mile range? What were your symptoms?

WaferTech · Jul 6, 2024

Suprawill1 said:

Try Googling "dc motor brush dust", we have the very same issue with DC motors at work, the brush dust shorts out the commutator, sometimes the dust causes arching and blows fuses. If you catch it in time the motor can be cleaned and reused.

I Bleed Ford Blue · Jul 6, 2024

It happened to me twice on my old 21. First time I came out of work to go home and it cranked over but would not fire, had it towed to the dealer and the said it was a bad battery. Got it back and everything was fine for two weeks and it did it again. Second time they found a bad fuel pump and my explorer sat at the dealer for two weeks waiting for the part.

Suprawill1 · Jul 6, 2024

WaferTech said:

Thanks, will do that! Good to know and I'll see if I can put myself in position to pull this starter motor and disassemble it.

Sign Up! To view all forums and unlock additional cool features

Won't Start (Problem Solved)

Suprawill1

Active Member

Suprawill1

Active Member

Chamorro85

Active Member

Suprawill1

Active Member

cotoole

Member

BrynnMassie

New Member

Suprawill1

Active Member

Suprawill1

Active Member

WaferTech

Member

I Bleed Ford Blue

Active Member

Suprawill1

Active Member

Explorer ST Posts