Free.51 2,717 Posted March 30, 2018 Ok so last night went to do shopping & take the fd out as always never had any starting issues with it in the 6 yrs ive owned it til last night. The engine would not crank but was making a tic tic noise so we pushed the car out the driveway cos my brother was over & we jump started it off his car even gave the starter a few whacks cos it sounded like it wasnt engaging & still nothing & so we all pushed the fd back into the driveway & i put the battery on charge for a few hours then put it back in & it started fine & so thought job done. Now today i went for a trip to the servo switched the car off came back and the same thing again tic then key off then key on again & tic the guy at the servo let me try some batteries but still nothing so after about half an hour of mucking around i thought im gonna have to call for help & ofcourse i left my phone at home on charge & was ready to walk off after packing everything up & i put my battery back in the the terminals on & though what the hell give it one more go & the engine cracked into life im thinking wtf!!! B4 it was like it was dead as a door nail now its fine so i dont know what the cause could be, anyone have any ideas maybe alternator or starter motor? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FOMOCOHO 882 Posted March 30, 2018 Ignition switch. Time to find another I dare say... or run two wires to a push button. Other thing could be inhibitor switch on trans... bypass it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deankxf 20,278 Posted March 30, 2018 My van does it, solenoid on the starter motor is dodgy i reckon.. if you think it could be the switch, run a second trigger wire from the starter up to the battery area and try it next time it wont crank touch it on the battery + side(hot wiring the starter motor) can do this with the ign off, it won't start(for safety, just to check it.) if it doesn't crank with the hot wire it's the solenoid on the starter, if it does crank, it may need a relay for starter if it doesn't already have one(fit one first if it doesn't have one, they are often needed) it's possibly the ign switch but i haven't had any issues with them in 20yrs except on the XG (e series based) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FOMOCOHO 882 Posted March 30, 2018 I had ignition switch failure. Could be starter solenoid. Remove it and clean, could be dust. Remember, as Dean says, if you run the two wires, power to the coil still requires the switch so you will need to turn ignition switch ON if you want it to fire otherwise you're just cranking. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Valvebouncer 2,389 Posted March 30, 2018 Or inhibitor switch Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FOMOCOHO 882 Posted March 30, 2018 I said inhibitor switch failure! By-pass it. What trans is it fmx or C4? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deankxf 20,278 Posted March 30, 2018 yeah, definitely could be inhibitor switch, if so, next time it doesn't start,(assuming in Park), try it in Neutral... and or go from park to 1st a few times on the gear shift and back a few times and try again 1 FOMOCOHO reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FOMOCOHO 882 Posted March 30, 2018 5 minutes ago, deankdx said: yeah, definitely could be inhibitor switch, if so, next time it doesn't start,(assuming in Park), try it in Neutral... and or go from park to 1st a few times on the gear shift and back a few times and try again Is that a technical term for wriggle tha fucka??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free.51 2,717 Posted March 30, 2018 28 minutes ago, deankdx said: My van does it, solenoid on the starter motor is dodgy i reckon.. if you think it could be the switch, run a second trigger wire from the starter up to the battery area and try it next time it wont crank touch it on the battery + side(hot wiring the starter motor) can do this with the ign off, it won't start(for safety, just to check it.) if it doesn't crank with the hot wire it's the solenoid on the starter, if it does crank, it may need a relay for starter if it doesn't already have one(fit one first if it doesn't have one, they are often needed) it's possibly the ign switch but i haven't had any issues with them in 20yrs except on the XG (e series based) Yeah i fitted a felay yonks ago on your advice having seen it one of ur threads👍. Ill try the hot wire nxt time it does it. The starter is just under 6 yrs old bought brand new 2 deankxf and Valvebouncer reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deankxf 20,278 Posted March 30, 2018 1 minute ago, FOMOCOHO said: Is that a technical term for wriggle tha fucka??? i'm not going to google, but i suspect you are right 1 FOMOCOHO reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deankxf 20,278 Posted March 30, 2018 2 minutes ago, Free.51 said: Yeah i fitted a felay yonks ago on your advice having seen it one of ur threads👍. Ill try the hot wire nxt time it does it. The starter is just under 6 yrs old bought brand new try wiggle the gearshift next time as i mentioned.. 6yrs for a starter is old enough to be on it's way out still, they don't make em like they used to.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free.51 2,717 Posted March 30, 2018 10 minutes ago, FOMOCOHO said: I said inhibitor switch failure! By-pass it. What trans is it fmx or C4? I dont think its the inhibitor switch cos i deliberately put it in drive to start & nothing happened as expected but in P or N it just did 1 tick at a time. The car is home now & ive started it a few times in the drive with no problem........for now Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free.51 2,717 Posted March 30, 2018 15 minutes ago, FOMOCOHO said: I said inhibitor switch failure! By-pass it. What trans is it fmx or C4? C4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FOMOCOHO 882 Posted March 30, 2018 7 minutes ago, Free.51 said: I dont think its the inhibitor switch cos i deliberately put it in drive to start & nothing happened as expected but in P or N it just did 1 tick at a time. The car is home now & ive started it a few times in the drive with no problem........for now Intermittent fault...It still sounds like the ignition switch could be on the way out if the solenoid checks out ok. XE are prone to failure. I've had one fail on the XE column in my XD. It's still bypassed lol, with a button. Edit: Makes you feel like you own a GTP when starting it lol. 1 Free.51 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FOMOCOHO 882 Posted March 30, 2018 9 minutes ago, Free.51 said: C4 I remember you had it out not long ago, did you check the switch condition then? The plastic warps with age and then doesn't make contact in the right places. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SPArKy_Dave 8,869 Posted March 30, 2018 I'd be looking for a high resistance joint, at either the battery, or starter end of the main cabling. I'd start by undoing the terminals at both ends, and cleaning the surfaces with steel wool or fine sand paper. The tick is probably just the solenoid engaging. 1 Free.51 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free.51 2,717 Posted March 30, 2018 1 hour ago, FOMOCOHO said: I remember you had it out not long ago, did you check the switch condition then? The plastic warps with age and then doesn't make contact in the right places. No i didnt the "new" trans in there now i paid to have put in as i stuffed up the first one by not putting in the torque converter in 3 clicks so i havent really checked the nss tbh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free.51 2,717 Posted March 30, 2018 Cheers for the replys guys👍👍 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free.51 2,717 Posted April 6, 2018 Hey guys whats involved in changing the ign wires? I took the car out yesterday all was fine then got back switched it off then realised i hadnt parked it perfectly in the drive so went to start it and it wouldnt fire motor turned over but dodnt start then battery went flat so im thinking i should just do the ign wires like FOMOCOHO suggested. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deankxf 20,278 Posted April 6, 2018 the ign switch on pre XG just has 2 grub screws holding it to the back of the ignition barrel, so you remove those steering column covers (i can't remember where the screws are off hand), undo 2 small grub screws a few turns, switch will come out and unplug under the dash.. installation is the reverse of this process.. where to get another these days? not sure. 1 Free.51 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free.51 2,717 Posted April 6, 2018 Maybe wreckers Dean? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free.51 2,717 Posted April 6, 2018 Is this what it looks like Dean or is this related to efi est https://m.ebay.com.au/itm/New-OEM-QUALITY-Ignition-Hall-Effect-Switch-For-FORD-FALCON-XE-4D-Sdn-RWD/172566851078?hash=item282dc92e06:g:RyYAAOSwVVRaXeLh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deankxf 20,278 Posted April 6, 2018 nah, it's this https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Ford-FALCON-XC-GS-GXL-COBRA-GENUINE-IGNITION-SWITCH/222907394377?hash=item33e650e949:g:I2wAAOSwihpawaXW can see where it's connected on this ad for an e series one(you can see in this one, it's pinned not screwed in on e series and XG) https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/FORD-FALCON-EB-ED-EF-EL-XH-AU-IGNITION-BARREL-KEY-SWITCH-2/123040152911?hash=item1ca5c3bd4f:g:CSAAAOSwAtlat3NS Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deankxf 20,278 Posted April 6, 2018 13 minutes ago, Free.51 said: Maybe wreckers Dean? XF one may be same, i can't remember if the plugs changed. anything pre XF is hard to find, even XFs are getting rarer in wreckers. @SLO247 may have one to sell you even Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Free.51 2,717 Posted April 6, 2018 Thanks Dean👍, i dunno if its ign or starter relay just got home & put the battery in that i charged overnight & its making that tick noise again so i hot wired it & stil that tick noise:( Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
