ford contour trouble

[crank.it]

hi gentelmen-needed to pick some ones gray matter...2000 ford contour 2.4 auto....battery died and wouldnt accept charge so put in a new (new) battery....when i noticed the positive cable that goes to the starter getting hot enough to smoke the terminal cleaner i had used..it only does this when the vehicle is running i dont know how hot it will get cause i shut it off...is it possible the starter is gone cause the car starts fine no indication that the starter is on its way out...any thoughts ....thanks in advance...as allways...crank.it


p.s --volt meter says 13 14 when car is running and with a load lights heater radio all on

[tac]

I'm goingto guess that the solenoid in the starter is shorted. It must only short when the ignition is on (otherwise it would drain while it was off), and the short must be to ground and not the through the starter motor, otherwise the starter would be spinning all the time.
Does it do it only when the engine is running, or even when the engine is not running but the ignition is on?
I know some newer cars have a starter inter-lock that senses when the engine is running and prevents engaging the starter while it is. Maybe something related to the ECU too.

[crank.it]

thanks tac ,,,it just does it when the key is on but starts fine ...looks like its new starter time....thanks lots...crank.it


p.s who is tac I havent been gone that long have I????/

[Harvester]

Crank-it, I don't see that as being starter trouble. Have you checked the alternator- shorted diodes or stator? Both of those conditions should make the alternator noisey. Do you get a spark when connecting the battery cables? A shorted diode should get that response. How about the battery cables- poor connections or corrosion at the lugs? Is the alternator disconnected from the battery when the key is off? Usually they are not, but I don't know about some of the newer rigs where it seems everything is controlled by either the engine controller or the body controller. Have you measured the current flow in battery cable when it smokes? That might give some indication of what is causing the trouble.

Harvester

[crank.it]

hi harv-the alt is not noisey...all terminals are very clean...its the one of the pos cables to the starter that gets hot....only when vehicle is actually started so its a possible on the alt...but no noise????seems to be charging and running fine????

[Harvester]

Ok, the trouble probably is not the alternator. Can you check the starter cranking current? If the starter sounds 'normal' during cranking, I suspect the starter is alright, so first I would change the battery cable that smokes. With normal starter current, there should be only a few tenths of a volt (.3 volt or so) drop across the cable. I would guess that the starter current should be less than 100 amps while cranking, probably more like 75 or 80 amps. Starter current much over 100 amps cranking, would seem too high for that car. Even 100a is high.

Harvester

[crank.it]

hi harv-gonna do more investigating today,,,sat...when the daughter gets done with her driving lesson...thanks..crank.it

[crank.it]

sorry guys.....didnt post a fix for the contuor starter w/ hot wire.....fixed itself :lol: :lol: new battery cleaned the starter terminals and batt connections and never heated the wire again.....have a merry christmas and a happy new year....crank.it

[uptownautoservice]

The trouble probably is not the alternator. Can you check the starter cranking current?

[crank.it]

hi uptown...that post was from 03 but hey i need all the help i can get....i think it was the starter... hasnt done it in many years now....but thanks for the input..crank.it :wink: :wink: :wink: