Broke down in Lake Havasu City, help please

[Headache]

No codes so as soon as Von Brown arrives I hope we'll know. I'll add more later.

 

[abnorm]

Parts Run Breaking News……………………Lake Havassu City ………………………………………..

VonBrown arrived and condemned the battery connections...…………..and the starter got HOT at some point

Being a "Belt and Suspenders" kinda guy.....he cleaned all the connections first before 86ing the starter.....No Go


They're off to the parts store for battery ends (cracked)...and of course a new starter...…...I'm wrenching the old starter OUT


Thanks to forum member CRACKED PAN...…...for a visit and moral support...….(Pssssst…….about time you made an intro post here)


As a side note...….what a nice rig Von Brown just got...….A Minnie Winnie that suits an old man better than that TAB he came out with a couple months ago


news to follow...………………………...

 

[abnorm]

arrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggg…………...no good news Thanks Von Brown

 

[Headache]

arrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggg…………...no good news     Thanks Von Brown

Yes thanks very much Von Brown. 

And I have excellent news, kind of. 

I called back this wonderful mobile mechanic and he just left.  When I explained everything he was just as confused as I have been.  This guy did a lot of things including narrowing down the start problem.  For whatever reason not enough juice is getting to the starter to turn the flywheel.  It's engaging but it's not enough to turn the engine over. 

The motor turns just fine, the flywheel isn't damaged.  It's not the ECM.

Catastrophic scenario averted. 

Sadly the one thing Ford did do which is just another reason why I dislike them is they put a shit ton of fusible links everywhere.  There could be at least 3 between the battery and the starter.  They need to trace all that crap and test every one of them and the wiring between everything.  My van will be on the back of a wrecker soon. 

We also discussed the temp gauge issue but until it's running in a controlled environment we just went over details. 

It was just a few random things happening around the same time that made this seem worse than it really was. 

/flex

And thank you too abnorm.  You're one of the biggest sweethearts I've ever met.  <3

Now if one of you has $2700 laying around I can have then I can buy a white high top van!

 

[WanderingRose]

Sounds like you’re up and running, then?

Ummm, re-reading about a wrecker.

But not as bad as you thought?

 

[B and C]

If the battery is good, the symptoms sure sound like a starter solenoid. These are pretty cheap @ around $25. Ford's have them external to the starter and are usually real easy to change.

 

[crackedpan]

nice meeting you headache and abnorm, not the nicest of situations though!  i'm still hanging in lake havasu so don't hesitate to call if you need anything (other than mechanical).   breakdowns are bad, but everyone is safe..and that's a blessing   

 

[Headache]

So just to make sure nothing was fused they just turned the engine over by hand 4 times. It's all good. They load tested my battery and it was excellent. They've now taken the starter out and bench testing showed the starter is bad

Sigh.

Oh and abnorm, the one thing I forgot that I needed... toilet paper! >.<

Even the shop had that! They graduated from an outhouse and gave me their giant rolls. Lol

 

[Headache]

nice meeting you headache and abnorm, not the nicest of situations though!  i'm still hanging in lake havasu so don't hesitate to call if you need anything (other than mechanical).   breakdowns are bad, but everyone is safe..and that's a blessing   

I'm now at the south end of town by Bashas. Great to meet you too!

 

[WanderingRose]

Sorry for my confusion last evening, that’s what happens when you skim something instead of reading it properly. 

You are safe and sound, and friendly humans are about, so could be much worse.

May you be back on the road soon.

 

[jimindenver]

Lets hope it fires up with a different starter

 

[ckelly78z]

Internet automotive diagnosis can be hit or miss, depending on the information, and wording provided.

Glad you have someone on site to help.

 

[Headache]

Lets hope it fires up with a different starter

No sound was sweeter than hearing my very expensive baby fire up for the first time in 2 days.  In order to do that they stuck jumper cables right to the new starter.

The mechanic was very complimentary about how good it sounded.  More later. 

 

[crackedpan]

 yipee!!!!  great news,

 

[Headache]

Bad grounds are annoying aren't they? It started so nice and smooth.

They idled it. I've been sitting here with it idling for 10 minutes now. No issue with the temp so far but I haven't driven it yet.

 

[abnorm]

I'm so glad for you...……Damn I "almost" tested the starter with those jumper cables…….let us know...…...doug

 

[highdesertranger]

good to hear it wasn't serious. thanks Doug for putting your cape on. highdesertranger

 

[Gr8ful]

The thrill of victory beats the misery of defeat anyday, cograts!

 

[maki2]

Maybe a good idea to replace the solenoid while they are in there working. Have the mechanics explain why.

 

[Headache]

So I can explain to myself why I need to change the solenoid.

Thanks for all the kind words everyone and especially to the caped crusaders of abnorm and Von Brown who did work I can no longer do. Watts for the poor! lol

And definitely huge kudos the G&R Automotive. I really enjoyed my time there and they took great care of me. Greg actually took the time to listen to my explanations, gave me credit for having the where with all to have done my homework, enjoyed my old stories of all the cars I built and it was through our conversations he decided to go after that ground. He brought up stalling and I told him that it had at a stop light the night before. That's all it took. That funky acting ground caused the starter to fry and the temp gauge to act up.

I'm calling the van Christine now because yet again it didn't break down until I was parked somewhere safe, even after I had shut it off on the side of the road. The mechanic suggested I not get rid of it especially since I've already gotten the most expensive repairs out of the way(short of a long block and new transmission). I'm taking that advice seriously, and we're both Chevy people.