Something's messed up here...

[giant_mtb]

Alright so my brother's '93 Explorer isn't working very well.  It wouldn't start a few days ago so we replaced the battery and it started.  But then after shutting it off, it wouldn't start back up and the electricity (lighting) was very weak.  Then today he tried and again and it started right up.  Then, again, when he turned it off, it wouldn't start back up.

What the heck is goin' on?!

[Run Away]

Check your grounds, specifically the negative battery cable.

[giant_mtb]

Check your grounds, specifically the negative battery cable.

Yeah...the battery is connected properly.

[TBR]

It might be the alternator.

[giant_mtb]

It might be the alternator.

We just had that replaced...would a bad alternator affect it so bad that it will make it impossible for the engine to even turn over?  I mean you turn the key and nothing happens...absolutely nothing.  The lights barely come on.

[TBR]

The problem is a dead battery, which is a symptom of a bad alternator. Try jumping it.

[MX793]

Possibly a short somewhere in the ignition switch?

[giant_mtb]

The problem is a dead battery, which is a symptom of a bad alternator. Try jumping it.

Jumping it starts it.

[giant_mtb]

Man I'm stumped.    

[TBR]

Then I bet it is the alternator or something related to it. If jumping it works then the either the battery is at the end of its life or it just isn't getting charged.

[giant_mtb]

Then I bet it is the alternator or something related to it. If jumping it works then the either the battery is at the end of its life or it just isn't getting charged.

We just put in a brand new battery yesterday...    

[Run Away]

It wouldn't be the alternator...a car can run for 20+ minutes on battery alone depending on # of cylinders and what other electrical systems are running.

I don't mean where the battery is connected, I mean the other end of the negative battery cable. It should be grounded somewhere (on my car it's on the transmission).

It seems like there is a loose conection somewhere most likely near the battery, as it effects all electrical systems (lighting AND the starter) and not just one specific component.

[giant_mtb]

It wouldn't be the alternator...a car can run for 20+ minutes on battery alone depending on # of cylinders and what other electrical systems are running.

I don't mean where the battery is connected, I mean the other end of the negative battery cable. It should be grounded somewhere (on my car it's on the transmission).

It seems like there is a loose conection somewhere most likely near the battery, as it effects all electrical systems (lighting AND the starter) and not just one specific component.

Possibly.  I guess I'll have to find that somehow.     Because for now it's stuck in our garage/driveway...unless we get it towed.  <_<  

[TBR]

It wouldn't be the alternator...a car can run for 20+ minutes on battery alone depending on # of cylinders and what other electrical systems are running.

I don't mean where the battery is connected, I mean the other end of the negative battery cable. It should be grounded somewhere (on my car it's on the transmission).

It seems like there is a loose conection somewhere most likely near the battery, as it effects all electrical systems (lighting AND the starter) and not just one specific component.

Oops, I misread his post. I assumed it had been driven.

[280Z Turbo]

Perhaps some new battery cables would cure it.

[giant_mtb]

What I don't understand is why after a certain amount of time it will gladly start up...but then after running it for less then a minute and turn it off, it won't start back up...

[TBR]

call cartalk!  

[280Z Turbo]

It could very well be an electronic glitch.

From my experience, posting here in the garage won't help. We can only guess and no one here is an Explorer expert.

[MX793]

Then I bet it is the alternator or something related to it. If jumping it works then the either the battery is at the end of its life or it just isn't getting charged.

If the alternator is gone, then the car won't run long, especially if the battery is weak.  A friend of mine had the alternator go on her Cavalier.  I jumped started her car and it made it all of two miles before it quit.  Jumped it again and it made it a few hundred feet.

[giant_mtb]

I don't know why the alternator would be shot...it was just replaced.  So if it is the alternator it was assembled or put in improperly or something...which I'm a bit skeptical to believe.  There has to be something else to it...

[ifcar]

I'd post this on C/D. You can get a lot more second opinions there, and there's a better chance that someone will immidiately know the exact problem.  

[giant_mtb]

Good idea. ^_^

[Run Away]

There's a few people here that are Ford Techs too I think. That guy with the Saab...ArchAngel?

[Champ]

Check also the voltage regulator on the alternater.  Mine went out on the 87 saab, similar symptoms.  Acts basically like the alternater does not work.  Would charge the battery.  VR's are substantially cheaper than alternaters.  This part is most likely attached to the alternater.

[Raza]

I have no effing clue.  

[TBR]

There's a few people here that are Ford Techs too I think. That guy with the Saab...ArchAngel?

He's registered as JWC, but his sn at C/D is ArcAngel.

[JWC]

There's a few people here that are Ford Techs too I think. That guy with the Saab...ArchAngel?

ArcAngel, not "ARCH". Jeez.

Only a guess, but I'd say the starter has an intermittent short; (solenoid to be more precise).

I just went through a very similar experience with a Taurus. The battery failed a CCA test the first time in, so we replaced it. Three days later, the guy calls from Raleigh and says it acting up again. No click or clicking, just won't crank, as if it has no juice.  He drove in from Raleigh, after having it jumped. We couldn't look at it Wednesday afternoon, and it seem to be OK for the moment, so he decided to keep driving. Thursday he calls. Broke down in a parking lot, won't crank. We towed it in, rechecked it. The battery was marginal, though we had just installed it. (NAPA brand).  Everything seemed fine afterward. He picked the car up, called thirty minutes later from Lowes...same problem. Towed it back in..rechecked with the VAT40, everything was fine. TAP tested the starter, cranked right up. Replaced the starter and haven't heard from him since.

(In case you're unfamiliar with a TAP test....you "tap" the starter with a brass hammer :D ).

[Run Away]

Yeah but what about the interior lights being dim when it doesn't want to start, then back to normal a few minutes later when it works?

[JWC]

Yeah but what about the interior lights being dim when it doesn't want to start, then back to normal a few minutes later when it works?

The short is causing a drain on the electrical current after starting the car. After the car sits awhile, the current comes back up in the battery. Of course, I'm just venturing a guess since I'm not there to see exactly what it is doing.

He has a new battery and alternator and I'm venturing he has taken previous advice and rechecked his grounds and battery-to-starter cables, including the wires from the ignition switch to the relay and solenoid. If all that is fine, which is what we found on the Taurus, then the next item on the list is the starter.

[giant_mtb]

Well I have not checked the ground points because I have no idea how to find them...there isn't much visibility under the hood of that car.