Weird (to me) starter issue

[Pantherman]

My parents own an 05 Ford Focus, 2.0L Duratec that has been a very nice car to them until recently. It won't start, it acts like the battery is dead only going through 3-4 slow cranks then stopping. I threw a volt ohm meter on to see what the voltages are; 12volts in accessory position, dropping to 6volts when attempting to start. The battery is only a year old; I have an 06 Focus and bought both batteries the same day. I even tried jumping their Focus with mine, letting it sit for 5 minutes after hooking up the jumper cables. Didn't change anything, still behaved as before. I even tried tapping the starter with some 3/4 ratchet extensions and an 8 pound sledge hammer (light taps).

I did notice that after three tries the positive wire got REALLY hot and started to smell a little, included are pictures of said wire which also seems to have corrosion around it. I'm thinking that the wire might be too corroded and may need to be replaced, but I'm not sure the starter is any good as it is the original.

Any thoughts on how to chase this down further or solve the problem will be greatly appreciated.

 

[pcgeek11]

Firstly that is a damaged cable and needs to be replaced. Increased resistance in the cable will act as a heater and a voltage drop going to starter.

 

[Pantherman]

Firstly that is a damaged cable and needs to be replaced. Increased resistance in the cable will act as a heater and voltage drop going to starter.

I figured as much, but was a little leery just up and ordering a new cable at $106. The car isn't used much; only 80K on the clock and it's possible it's been like that awhile

 

[pbroussard]

You have issues. Something, probably the starter and/or grounds or loose connectors is causing some huge resistance. You're about to burn that car up. Get it fixed, if you can drop the starter, have it checked by a competent shop. Replace that cable, clean the connections up before driving it any more.

 

[RLGL]

Voltage drop test are in order.

 

[mdram]

I threw a volt ohm meter on to see what the voltages are; 12volts in accessory position, dropping to 6volts when attempting to start. The battery is only a year old; I have an 06 Focus and bought both batteries the same day. I even tried jumping their Focus with mine, letting it sit for 5 minutes after hooking up the jumper cables. Didn't change anything, still behaved as before. I even tried tapping the starter with some 3/4 ratchet extensions and an 8 pound sledge hammer (light taps).

a voltage drop during cranking is usually a sign of a bad cell
remove the battery
take it back to where you bought it, and have them replace it

 

[deadlyapp]

Before scrapping the battery I would do as others noted and check the terminal cable and clamp. I had significant issues with a car for a while where the block wasn't making enough contact with the battery terminal.

You probably can save some money by just cutting the ring off and cleaning up the wire and crimping a new one on rather than replacing the entire cable.

 

[Paperdoc]

Here's another idea from my own similar problem some years ago on a 2004 Mazda 3. To start, you describe a starter motor that is not turning the engine over fast enough or long enough to get it started. You also describe a large voltage drop at the batter yterminals when starting, and a hot battery cable. BOTH of those last items tell me the motor is drawing a very large current when trying to start. I doubt you could do that with bad battery. It still could be a faulty battery cable right at the battery, so that the voltage at the motor is much less than at the battery terminal. If you could do this test with the voltmeter red lead clipped to the starter motor terminal, instead of the battery + terminal, that might tell whether the starter really is receiving the full voltage available at the battery.

But here's my own odd experience, and I suspect this is NOT rare. In winter my Mazda would not start and engine turned over slowly, just like a weak battery. I addded jumper cables from a second battery, and even from a third all at the same time, and no real improvement. So in to my favourite mechanic, who had a good idea of the problem from those symptoms. The real cause? In the starter motor, the outboard bearing at the end of its shaft was badly worn and loose, causing the shaft to shift position when turning under load.More importantly, the friction in that bearing was slowing the motor badly with excess load, and it could not turn the engine fast enough. Replacing the starter solved this.

 

[Pantherman]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'll be working on it this weekend when I have the time. After talking to mother (who drives it the most) these symptoms have been occuring for a week prior to the no start event, why she never tells me these things beforehand confuses me

 

[EXCellR8]

The starter in my Lexus SC is grinding like crazy now and I had an event to go to this weekend, so I feel your pain.

I'm hoping it just came disengaged or something but I figure that pretty unlikely.