My wife and I are in the midst of getting our new house ready to move into, while packing and getting our current rental ready for move-out. Lots going on so, of course, Lucy starts acting up because that's how things work when you're busy and spending lots of money elsewhere.

So on Saturday, she started up a bit sluggishly multiple times. Felt like it does when your battery is starting to go bad. Then, I parked it and got back in about two minutes later, turned the key and go nothing but the starter spinning. So I got a jump and she started back up fine, then I headed right to the auto parts store. I pulled the battery once I got there, thinking it'd be the culprit. Their tester showed it pulling the full, correct voltage and having the right amount of CCA too. Rating was "Good"

I put the battery back in the car and left, perplexed. I started ticking through the possibilities: couldn't be the battery because it just tested fine, couldn't be the alternator because the battery is charging, couldn't be the starter because I heard that spinning, couldn't be a safety switch related to the clutch pedal because the car tried to start. I had no idea so decided to just wait for the problem to replicate itself.

It hasn't yet, but something else screwy happened today, about a day after the previous problem. I started it but, instead of the gauges doing their typical startup dance, they all just stayed to the left before setting in to normal spots (no jumping left to right). The Average MPG tracker in the dash reset itself too, which is the only other clue I have to something being wrong.

It's going to my Ford dealer tomorrow for a 50k checkup and to diagnose the broken power seat, so will also have them check this out, but thought I'd see if you guys had any ideas. My thought is a PCM/ECU going bad but that's not based on much. Any ideas?

 

I have a similar condition sometimes I think. It starts funny and seems like it's struggling to crank like a battery is dying every now and then. And then if you give it a little throttle blip after it's started, it hesitates/chokes sort of for one or two throttle blips an then it behaves normally. Then I get an odor of burnt fuel sort of. Hasn't been doing it recently for the most part. Only did it when it was super hot out generally. I'm running no cats, long tube headers, and a Bama tune so one or all of those May have an effect in some way on the odors since my cats are gone. I even had the battery tested also and the battery starter and alternator all were good.

Not sure if this sounds similar to you or not. It has been fine recently so I haven't worried about it.

 

Sounds like a battery or battery cable issue to me, maybe a bad cable, connection or corroded cable or cable connection.

And if the battery tester used wasn't a load tester it could still be a bad battery.

 

if the starter is spinning and it's not starting, it's def not the battery.
think about it.

 

Glad to learn you’re bringing it in to your dealer, kylerohde. Keep me updated.

Hi flynavy,

You should speak with your Service Manager, and have it checked at your Ford Dealer. He/she is in the best position to let you know if there is work needed, and about coverage you may have for it (warranty, recall, etc.). Let me know the outcome.

Deysha

 

Not necessarily, if it isn't getting enough amps then the drive may not kick out and engage the flywheel starter ring.

 

How old is the battery? If it's getting close to 4 years old, it may be time. While it testing good, Ltngdrvr would be correct in that it requires a load to really test a battery.

If the starter spun, but was not engauged to the flywheel, it sounds like the solinoid did not engauge the fork to push the starter gear into the flywheel/flexplate teeth. Again, a possibility of a weak cell in the battery.

Have you recently had any work done by yourself or someone else under the car? Check all the body and frame grounds for tightness, or for fraying. Maybe a body ground is the culprit.

 

That's true - it wasn't a load tester, I don't think. However, it starts perfectly 90% of the time, so that's not indicative of a bad battery, I don't think and there's zero corrosion that I can see on any cables, the battery posts, etc. I've had it parked for 4 days recently too and had zero issue restarting.

Yes, the long crank sounds familiar - it's done that without rhyme or reason maybe 5-6 times since I bought it two years ago.

It's the original so four years since the car was manufactured. A solenoid was another thought I had too. No recent work done though.

Thanks for all the input guys and girls - I'll see what the dealer says in the next day or two and let you know.

 

My '11 GT/CS had a bad battery....failed to start the car one time 3 months earlier, then one time again recently. Went to Ford for a full test and it was bad....and they replaced it.

I would not trust a battery that only worked 90% of the time.

 

Hope that's all it is!

 

As we wait with anticipation.......for the diagnosis......

 

Well, the dealer called me today and it's nothing too dramatic. They're saying it's TSB 11-03-32 (http://cdn.lrsstatic.com/downloads/t...sb11-03-32.pdf). What confuses me about that diagnosis is that I already had TSB 11-03-35 (http://cdn.lrsstatic.com/downloads/t...sb11-03-35.pdf) performed. Both of those TSBs have the same powertain software update as the action, so why wouldn't this have been fixed already? Over the phone, he told me cost is $150 for the update, which I'll be discussing when I get there since A) I already had the other TSB done, B) it's a flaw in the car's original design they corrected so why should I pay for it and C) I have ESP for 7/100.

Beyond that, they said the battery was bad under load so LTNGDRVR and BUCKO were both spot on there. $135 cost installed, which is about what it would cost me to buy it so just had them do that too.