JAN 2001 AUII Wont Crank/start

Kryton · 17-10-2016, 02:07 PM

Have a bit of an issue with a Jan 2001 AUII Sedan at the moment.
Car was recently bought but not really used so has sat around for a couple of months.
It had been thought the battery was flat so we jump started the car and drove it 60km home.
Drove fine, no issues other than a small stutter from a lead i suspect.
Started the car again after arriving home and it started fine.
Tried it a few hours later when it was cold, it cranked over fine but didnt start after 3 or 4 turns so let the key off and tried it again - nothing at all.
Doesnt tick, doesnt crank.
Electrics work, battery was reading 12.5v, tried jumping and still nothing at all.
Still is the same today. tried giving the starter motor a crack - didnt change anything.
Fuses all seem fine.
Theres only 1 key and no FOB.
Smartshield hand flashes on dash normally when car is off.
Smartshield hand goes out when put to ACC.
Smartshield hand stays on when holding key in START position.
When held in START position, a ! with a circle around it appears and stays on till the key is released.
Fuel pump seems to work as well.

Ideas on what to try, look at or whats going on would be appreciated.
As this isnt my car, ive limited knowledge of its history but i did mention that it was thought to have a flat battery after it was bought and left for the couple of months (unreg) so was only moved around the yard. Im thinking the "flat battery" issue may have been something else and coincidentally, its come good and started after playing around with the battery for a bit.

**PridenJoy** · 17-10-2016, 02:53 PM

The exclamation mark is just the dash light indicator that hand brake is on.

Is the car dual fuel?

Kryton · 17-10-2016, 03:09 PM

Just straight petrol.
At least the exclamation mark has nothing to do with it - thanks.

**PridenJoy** · 17-10-2016, 03:18 PM

The only AUs i have seen not crank or tick when key is turned have either been immobilized (smart shield) or on dual fuel and the switch was on neither fuels (in the middle).

**Beastie** · 17-10-2016, 03:20 PM

Auto or Manual?

Is it in Park?

Kryton · 17-10-2016, 03:40 PM

Auto.
Tried Park and Neutral and didnt make a difference.
Is there a way to test the park switch?

Kryton · 17-10-2016, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PridenJoy

The exclamation mark is just the dash light indicator that hand brake is on.

Is the car dual fuel?

Actually went and had a look and its not indicating the hand brake is on.
Hand brake is indicated by the P in a red circle.
Took the hand brake off and the exclamation mark is still showing when turning the key to START

FAT245 · 17-10-2016, 04:50 PM

That would be the Brake Fail Switch.

The Schematics show that the the brake fail switch is inline with the ignition switch wiring.

Kryton · 17-10-2016, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FAT245

That would be the Brake Fail Switch.

The Schematics show that the the brake fail switch is inline with the ignition switch wiring.

But that wouldnt stop the car from cranking at all would it?
Would that light clear once started?

**PridenJoy** · 17-10-2016, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kryton

Actually went and had a look and its not indicating the hand brake is on.
Hand brake is indicated by the P in a red circle.
Took the hand brake off and the exclamation mark is still showing when turning the key to START

My bad, got my dash symbols mixed up. As mentioned it's still brake related but not the handbrake

FAT245 · 17-10-2016, 05:38 PM

Brake Fail Switch provides a Ground.
ill have to look at them closer when Home, the low res ones on the Forum cna only tell me so much.

OzriderXR8 · 17-10-2016, 06:35 PM

My battery was going flat and doing similar things, I took off the earth leads to the body and engine, wire brushed everything and put it back, no problems since.

Kryton · 17-10-2016, 07:57 PM

So had a look (moved around) the BCM an now the relay in the dash doesnt click either when the key is on START.
Tested the relay itself and its still fine.
Whats going on?

Spurious · 21-10-2016, 02:14 PM

That battery is stuffed, assume that first. Car batteries, once flattened, are never the same again. Will never hold full charge as the lead plates get deformed.

Next look at starter motor, starter solenoid & the wiring in between it & the battery.

Sputter whilst driving could be indicative of either the battery/alternator not providing enough base power to the electrical system, or the coil pack/leads are shot.

I'm no auto sparky but a bad battery in these cars is bad news. They rely heavily on computer software to function.
Last time my battery was stuffed the system would randomly forget my remotes. Had to reprogram them several times. The traction control system doesn't like being deprived of power either. With my old battery in place it would sometimes take up to a minute to activate/deactivate the T/C, it just wouldn't do anything when you push or hold the button.

Drecian · 30-10-2016, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spurious

I'm no auto sparky but a bad battery in these cars is bad news. They rely heavily on computer software to function.

There is truth in this, as with many other modern cars.

Have a look at the cranking volts first. Then try jump-starting it to eliminate the battery from the issue.

Kryton · 29-11-2016, 10:19 PM

So finally got around to having a look at the car again today to suss it out.
Seems there are 2 issues at play.
One is the starter motor being stuffed (tested by bypassing the car itself) and it looks like the car has been immobilized, which from what i can gather requires a trip to Ford to wave their magic wand over it.