Why won't my 1999 Ford Crown Victoria LX start in the morning?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Scott K
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Scott K

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Just recently my 1999 Ford Crown Victoria LX began to not start immediately in the mornings. I turn the key, and all the dash light up as usual, but the engine won't turn over. It responds about the same as when you try to start the engine while the automatic transmission is in gear...it just doesn't turn over. I continue to try to start it for about 5 minutes or so, then inexplicably it will start. Occasionally after sitting at work all day, it will not start immediately again, but will start after about 5 minutes of trying repeatedly. After it starts once, it will repeatedly start until it sits for an extended period. My local Ford dealership shop charged me $160 to tell me it was corroded terminals on the battery, and it started OK for a few days after I got it back. Then about 4 days after getting it back from the shop, it was back to not starting immediately again. I think the repair guy cleaned the terminals, then got it to start, and thought he'd fixed it because it would repeatedly start. I replaced the battery and made sure the cables and were clean and secure, but it still won't start up right away after sitting overnight or for long periods during the day. Thoughts?
 
my thoughts are you have been ripped off by the garage. I would go back and complain. They obviously did not repair it in the first place. £160. is too much to clean terminals!
 
Acid corroded the end of the battery cable ( inside the insulation) near the terminal,randomly making contacts.Replace new cable,cleaning only for terminal contact,not fixing it.
 
Another thought---
When you have ignition ON (dash lights all lit), can you move the transmission shift lever through the gears. If so , try to start it with transmission in neutral(N).
If you can't move it out of Park, it could be the Brake/Transmission
interlock switch or mechanism.
I don't think morning has anything to do with it, but I do think your Ford dealer charged way too much for services performed. If the charge related mostly to diagnostic testing you should at least have a list of WHAT was tested., They well could have spent the time trying to determine the cause.... but they did not find it. If you think the problem is "cables" have a known automotive electrical shop test the starter load, simple test... They'll probably do it for free. Good luck
 
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