"92 Town Car Starting Problems

[Ron R.]

The starter in my "92 Town Car doesn't always crank. I sometimes have to turn the key from several times to up to 20 times before the starter turns. I do hear a click from the engine compartment which I believe is the selenoid on the starter trying to pull in so obviously I had the starter changed, three times. The first two times was at Pep Boys and the third time by a local mechanic who said he used a starter he got from the local Lincoln dealer. Now I'm at a loss. The battery is new and I also had the battery harness changed. I have also checked the battery voltage while starting the car and when the starter is turning over the voltage is about 10.5v which seems normal. When I just get the click the voltage drops very little from the nominal 13v. This indicates to me that the selenoid is not pulling in enough to engage the main coil of the starter. I thought that maybe there is a problem with the starter engaging into the flywheel so I put the car in reverse and pushed the car about 10 feet to try moving the flywheel to a different spot but still the car wouldn't start without turning the key a bunch of times. Any ideas on what to try or how to troubleshoot this?

[Ron R.]

I forgot to mention that the starting problem doesn't always happen. I can go weeks with no problems and this is why I haven't been able to have a mechanic check it out. It always works when it's in the shop.

[pro-five-oh]

Have you replaced that starter solenoid?

They only cost $10 and can be swapped in a matter of 10 minutes in your garage. This is the FIRST thing you should do because they are the weak link in the system.

[Ron R.]

My understanding is that on this car the selenoid is located on the starter and therefore has also been changed 3 times or am I missing something here. I spoke with my mechanic today about this problem and he suggests that we run a wire from the 12v signal line of the starter selenoid back into the cabin where I can monitor this with a voltmeter while starting. If the voltage at this point is low when the car doesn't start it's probably then a poor connection somewhere causing the voltage drop. He dismisses my flywheel theory. I also understand that sometime in the early 90's Lincoln did go to a seperate starter selenoid. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

[pro-five-oh]

Unfortunately I am only familiar with Mark VII's and not TCs. As far as I know Fords have had separate starter solenoids from the 1960s to the mid 1990s. My 1965 Galaxie had one, but maybe all that changed with the 4.6L motors.

I would highly recommend calling a parts store and inquiring about the solenoid. I'd also get a shop manual (a cheap Chiltons or Haynes will do) for the full size Fords and look at the solenoid yourself.

I have worked on a handful of Fords and I believe that when the solenoid clicks it is shorting out. Wiring can also be a problem, but that should be a constant, not intermittent.

Sometimes a solenoid needs to cool down before the car will start again. If the problem is with a hot start AND the solenoid is on the starter, you'll need to check the exhaust system for leaks.

That's about all I can think of. :confused: Good luck!

[TW/92LSC/SE]

If you have Anti-Thief the relay may be weak that allows pull-in voltage to the solenoid. You could also have corrosion through the neutral safety switch on the transmission not allowing enough current through to hold the pull-in solenoid on and allow the starter to turn. Get your mechanic to do a current draw test on the primary pull-in wire.

[Richard J. Parker]

Also check the battery wire connections. I have seen an Explorer that couldn't start because the big cable wires (plus or minus) had been corroded or loosened within the connection at the battery post clamp. Same symptoms as a weak battery or corroded connection right at the battery post.

Had to remove the old clamp and add a new one (cheap)which fixed the problem. The Explorer had several starters put in also, and I did one of them before realizing the high current cable connection (usually crimped at the factory) was bad.

If you have had this cable replaced (plus side) it could be the ground cable connection which goes to the block somewhere or is jumpered with a big cable to the block. Both plus and minus cables must be equally good.

A voltage check at the starter vs the battery when cranking will show this (voltage drop on the big cable) if it's the plus side, but replace the clamp(s) if any sign of looseness, dark wire color, etc. Particularly if original clamp was replaced some time ago with one of the aftermarket bolt on types. The best thing is to run a new cable with crimped connectors if this the problem. But the Explorer's cable was too hard to remove and had pigtails on the plus side for other things.

[Ron R.]

In a way I did check this. I monitored the battery voltage while the starter was cranking and it drops to about 10.5v which seems normal under this heavy load. When the starter doesn't crank the voltage just sits at around 13v, virtually no drop which means that the selenoid is not pulling in enough for the main coil to even be in the circuit. I checked the shop manual and it refers to a starter relay mounted on the fender apron but two different mechanics told me that this car does not have a starter relay. I will go to the local Lincoln dealer and have them show me on their viewer where this is if this does in fact exist and if it does I will just replace it.

[Richard J. Parker]

Ok I'll break out the manual.

The solenoid is in the starter. The solenoid hot goes through the "manual lever position sensor" (P or N required), then through the ignition switch (4th bank start of switch), then through the "Start Interrupt Relay" (assuming anti-theft option) to engine fuse box 25amp fuse.

In order to energize the "start interrupt relay, a 40amp engine compartment fuse feeds through another contact of the ignition switch (1st bank start), through the coil of the "start interrupt relay" and then the relay is grounded by the "Anti-theft controller" module.

So you have to be in start with the anti-theft module providing a ground to pull in the "start interrupt relay" (which is located behind the glove box somewhere with a connector labeled C204).

C204 has 5 pins, 3 vertical & 2 horizonal. Wire colors are DB/O (325 N/O Contact to 4th bank common of Ignition Switch), Y/BK (137 positive of coil from 1st bank start contact on ignition switch), Y (37 common contact of relay to 25amp eng fuse), and LG/P (342 negative of coil to antitheft module). One of the vertical pins on the end is not used.

The antitheft module is near the front right door on the inside.

It would appear to me that you could remove the "start interrupt relay" (if necessary) and jumper the Y and the DB/O wires to bypass the deal.

The hot going to the starter solenoid is also an input to the Memory Seat Module (under back of driver's seat) and the Antenna Module (at the antenna left rear).

If you have a fax send me an email and I'll send you a picture or two.

[ December 06, 2001: Message edited by: Richard J. Parker ]