new car, problem already

5.0kid · Apr 22, 2008

Im thinking it is the starter, but not 100%.
Ok, so i went to pick up the mustang from my friends and he pulls it out of the garage then ten minutes later when i try to start it it doens't do anything, not even turn over. It made a click like it wanted to start or something, but nothing happend. We then dumped the clutch and push started it and it ran very well that way. We did this two more times while we were down there. Finally, when we start to head back home i tried it again and it worked but it takes a really really long time to start. What do you guys think? And does anyone have any tips on how to fix it?
thanks!

fixthedoor · Apr 22, 2008

If you were able to bump it then it's prob the battery. I'd def get a second opinion as I'm no expert.

ryclef331 · Apr 22, 2008

sounds like the battery shit on you. Its probably not holding a charge. Do you have a big stereo (that might be installed incorrectly) or anything aftermarket in the car that could put a drain on the battery when the car is off?

Jonesy347 · Apr 23, 2008

Starters can be finicky when the brushes are going out....work one time and next not at all. Further, if the starter is hot it sometimes does not turn with bad brushes. In a jam, if you bang on the starter and then it works then this indicates the brushes are going bad. I think your right - it's the starter.

Blck945.0 · Apr 23, 2008

Usually if you hear a click when you try to start it and it does nothing it is a dead battery or a bad connection. Keep in mind though an almost dead battery will still turn lights on and play the radio but won't always crank the car. I would swap batteries with a known good one since that is the easiest test.

ddrracing · Apr 23, 2008

+1 on the battery.

based on the fact that you say it took a long time to start after if did turn over, its obviously a weak battery.

riored96gt · Apr 23, 2008

I just replaced the fuel pump and it got rid of the long grind starts...

andrewrj · Apr 23, 2008

When the car "clicks", do the headlights, door dinger, radio or anything at all work? Did they work before you tried to start it? I would check the connections first because I have known a lot of people to replace a battery when it was just their cables. If the battery is low all the accessories will still work (maybe not well) after the click. If its a loose cable nothing will work after the click unless you go wobble the cable.

5.0kid · Apr 23, 2008

well, i had the car tested today at my local autozone and its not the alternator, battery, or starter. the guy there said it may be fuel related. i'm going to put some fuel cleaner stuff in when i put some more gas in tomorrow, but i have no idea right now. maybe it is a fuel pump?
riored96gt, how did u figure out it was the fuel pump?
also, the car had been sitting for a few months because of his aunt not being able to drive it so could that lead to the fuel pump becoming stuffed up or something? will the fuel clenaer help in that case?
thanks as always for all the help guys!

corners · Apr 23, 2008

The fuel pump won't have anything to do with the car not cranking over.

topless95 · Apr 23, 2008

5.0kid said:
well, i had the car tested today at my local autozone and its not the alternator, battery, or starter. the guy there said it may be fuel related. i'm going to put some fuel cleaner stuff in when i put some more gas in tomorrow, but i have no idea right now. maybe it is a fuel pump?
riored96gt, how did u figure out it was the fuel pump?
also, the car had been sitting for a few months because of his aunt not being able to drive it so could that lead to the fuel pump becoming stuffed up or something? will the fuel clenaer help in that case?
thanks as always for all the help guys!

this may sound odd, but have you have any wide temperature changes (outside weather)? If so that can affect the battery(not likely, but can affect it). As previously stated it could be a cable (power or ground), solenoid, starter, or batt. Having said that, I would have the system re-checked twice -first, go straight there while engine is as cool as possible, and second when the engine is hot , such as drive it for a 1/2 - 1 hour in traffic. Then see what the test shows.

Good luck

5.0kid · Apr 23, 2008

there weren't any changes in wheather when that happened. it has actually been starting everytime now, just takes a few tries. is there a way to test the fuel pump?

5.0kid · Apr 23, 2008

o yah, a little off subject but how much does doing a windsor jr head swap with 1.72 rr affect gas mileage?

Blck945.0 · Apr 24, 2008

Make sure your connections and cables are good. Also just because everything tested fine doesn't mean it is, I've had things test out to be fine at autozone and they weren't.

CC'S95GT · Apr 24, 2008

check your pos. batt. cable. it could have corrosion inside the insulation and not let enough current through to start the car. do you have a multimeter to use for testing. with the engine running the alt should be putting out aprox 14 vdc or better, if not bad alt.

riored96gt · Apr 24, 2008

corners said:
The fuel pump won't have anything to do with the car not cranking over.

Duh...but the time it takes to fire is now instant, not 10-15 seconds.

Mr. B · Apr 24, 2008

5.0kid said:
well, i had the car tested today at my local autozone and its not the alternator, battery, or starter. the guy there said it may be fuel related. i'm going to put some fuel cleaner stuff in when i put some more gas in tomorrow, but i have no idea right now. maybe it is a fuel pump?
riored96gt, how did u figure out it was the fuel pump?
also, the car had been sitting for a few months because of his aunt not being able to drive it so could that lead to the fuel pump becoming stuffed up or something? will the fuel clenaer help in that case?
thanks as always for all the help guys!

The guy at Autozone is probably wrong. Put a voltmeter on the battery and see what it put's out when the car is on and off. If it's holding a charge like it should, then you should have 12v when off and around 14v when it's running. You can test the alternator with a voltmeter to and see it it's working too.

If you had a slow crank then I would bet it is still a battery or alternator problem. Do as the others have said and clean all the terminals and check the connections.

If the starter is going bad it will have bad spots and good spots where the armature touches the brushes. So when it's in a good spot where they touch it will start. When it's not it won't. Bump the car in gear to roll the starter armature a little when it won't start and see if that fixes it. If so it's the starter. But... even when a starter is doing this it should crank or not crank. I doubt it would ever crank slow in this case.

riored96gt · Apr 24, 2008

Mr. B said:
riored96gt, how did u figure out it was the fuel pump?

I cheated...

An old boss races an '88 5.0 in stock eliminator. I had him drive it. He said the pump was getting tired!

95KBGT · Apr 24, 2008

battery

ddrracing · Apr 24, 2008

Just throw a new battery in it and try it out! No reason to piss around with a problem like that, since theirs only a few things it can be.

1. Try a new battery.

2. Clean the positive and negative battery terminals, and TIGHTEN them down.

3. Check connections at the starter.

4. Check that the block is grounded to chassis as well, as the starter grounds at this point.

If your pretty handy with a Voltmeter, this should only take about 15 minutes to find the problem. Its obviously starting/charging system related. A fuel pump would cause long starts, but deffinatly would not cause no action out of a starter. Now get to work.