No Start - Strange Noise at Crank - 2003 LS V8

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SC93

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My LS won’t start, when I try and crank it makes a weird sound… almost like it’s not getting enough juice to spin the starter at all or maybe mechanical (I’ve only tried a few times…). Headlights have full power everything in the car powers up. 12V at the battery.

I tried boosting the battery with my charger (50 amps). I crawled under to get a quick look at the starter everything looks connected correctly.

My battery is just under 1 year old. I had a quick look at the fuses under the hood and they look ok. My car has just over 130,000km so I’m hoping the starter hasn’t just up and die on me without any symptoms. :(

Background (long):
I washed the car (a few weeks ago), parked inside my garage, wiped around the door seals and put a little car heater inside for a few hours. Took the heater out and a couple day later I went to drive to work in the morning and the alarm was going crazy… it must have going off for a long time because all the lights were dim and the horn was blowing very silently. I open and closed every door and got it to stop (punched in my code), I think maybe one of the doors got frozen open a little or something, I also had a flat tire too (I must have run over a nail on the way home). When I got home (took my other car) I put the battery on my charger for the night and pulled off the flat tire. The next day after work I checked the battery it was at 12V so I started the car up and let it idle for a while and shut her down.

Last Saturday my wife went to use the car and she came back in saying it won’t start. Sure enough it just makes a weird sound when trying to crank. The car hadn’t been driven for a few weeks and just doesn’t want to start now?? :confused:

I searched and haven’t seen any threads on strange noises from a starter. I did try a few things that were suggested for no starts (fuses, proper connections, battery, PATS…).

Any help appreciated before I have it towed in to have it looked at! :)
 
Give it a jump start or charge the battery for a few hours. Most likely your battery was damaged by running down so low (especially in the cold).

You may or may not have other issues too, like a parasitic drain or a failing alternator, but your first step should be to get the battery tested. Ideally, if you can get the car started by a jump or charging, you can take it somewhere and get both the battery and the charging system tested.

Please note that the 50A boost setting is just about useless if the battery is very discharged. In fact, even jumper cables often won't work for a fully discharged battery.
 
Thanks for the reply joegr!

I was thinking maybe the battery was damaged... it does hold 12V but it might have lost its cranking amps...

I have a similar size battery (650 CCA) in my TBird that I'm going to try when I get home.

Cheer! :)
 
So I tried boosting it last night... it cranks better but still not enough to start. :(

I'm going to try and pick up a new battery (hopefully) on the way home tonight. :shifty:
 
Battery Shizts

Sounds like you may have a dead cell in the battery full charge with all cells 13-14 volts your car likes a hot battery or it turns slowly,mine was replaced after i drove home and stoped at the grocery store when i came out it was shal we say for shizts.
 
Well got a new battery from NAPA (880 CCA) still the same sound and no start so I'm going to try and take in tomorrow afternoon... :/

Pretty sure it's something wrong with the starter... :(
 
SC93 said:
Well got a new battery from NAPA (880 CCA) still the same sound and no start so I'm going to try and take in tomorrow afternoon... :/

Pretty sure it's something wrong with the starter... :(
Click to expand...

There's a good chance that its loose or corroded wiring at the "B" terminal. I say this because the charging current from the alternator passes through that terminal too. It would explain the earlier dead battery issues.
 
joegr said:
There's a good chance that its loose or corroded wiring at the "B" terminal. I say this because the charging current from the alternator passes through that terminal too. It would explain the earlier dead battery issues.
Click to expand...

Is the "B" terminal under the passanger side wheel well? How hard/How do I take the plastic off?
r.jpg


Taken from this tread: http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showpost.php?p=877948&postcount=64

Thanks for the help! I can't get the car in untill Monday so I might as well try a few more things! :)
 
No, the B terminal is on the solenoid on the starter motor. It's pretty easy to get to if you safely jack the front, right up.
 
Thanks joegr,

I'll see what I can do to clean up the connection. My car isn't packed in the best place to work on so it pretty tight getting under the car but I'll see if that works!
 
Another connection that is easy to check, in the spare tire well, check the ground battery cable where it connects to the car body.
 
Turns out the engine was flooded or that's what the mechanic thinks.... he try to start it heard the same strange sound. He thought it sounded like low compression so he hit the gas pedal and the car fired up! Tried it a few more times and it starts fine (without stepping on the gas)! :eek:

I'm pretty sure I tried that but maybe I didn't push far enough...:(

So $160 for a mechanic to push the gas pedal... at least she runs! :)

I think my old battery might have been to weak to start, then multiple tries flooded the engine. :shifty:

Thanks for the help everyone!
 
BUMP! :(

So I haven't driven the car in the last three weeks and I'm having the same problem again... I stared the car today and it died right away, tried again and I get the same sound as last time.

How do I clear the engine if its flooded again? Should I pull the fuse for the injectors and turn it over a few times? Anything else suspect?

I just read through moe's tread... sound like he has the same problem... http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=88312
 
Hold the gas pedal all the way down to the floor while you try to start it. That triggers clear-flood mode.
 
joegr said:
Hold the gas pedal all the way down to the floor while you try to start it. That triggers clear-flood mode.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply joegr!

I tried that... how long should I keep cranking for? I did it for 10 to 20 seconds (I think, seemed like a long time).

Maybe I'm doing it wrong... should I crank first then hold the petal down (these drive by wire are still new to me :slam).

Thanks again! :)
 
Hold the pedal down while cranking. If it hasn't tried to start in 20 seconds, it's probably not going to. Are you sure it's flooded? Do you smell gasoline?
 
Most times if an engine gets flooded and let set for a lil while you can check the oil and it will smell like gas and/or see gas on the dipstick.

Had it happen a few times with my old T-bird, Ranger, and the wife's done it on the Dodge too.
 
2003 lincoln ls v8 good battery spinning noise from starter no start

joegr said:
Give it a jump start or charge the battery for a few hours. Most likely your battery was damaged by running down so low (especially in the cold).

You may or may not have other issues too, like a parasitic drain or a failing alternator, but your first step should be to get the battery tested. Ideally, if you can get the car started by a jump or charging, you can take it somewhere and get both the battery and the charging system tested.

Please note that the 50A boost setting is just about useless if the battery is very discharged. In fact, even jumper cables often won't work for a fully discharged battery.
Click to expand...

Hey. Same problem as others. Anybody know what the problem is? Mine just started.
 
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