Took the family camping in late September. When it was time to pack up on Sunday, I had no problems staring the Excursion up at the parking lot & driving to our site. After I finished loading up though, was a different story.
Crank, but no start.
While waiting for a jump start, I was fiddling about in the engine bay. Found that one of the battery terminals on the driver’s side was loose. Break out the tool bag. Two pair of vise grips on the offending terminal bolts
In my opinion, vise grips are only useful for two things, rounding off fasteners and turning fasteners that are too rounded for a proper wrench.
The hardware securing these terminals was definitely in the second category.
Stopped at the car parts store nearest my house and bought four terminal nut & bolt sets, four felt washers and a battery terminal cleaning tool. Spent about $12!
Once the terminals were tight, the electrons flowed freely to the starter and I was on my way.
Let’s back up a few weeks. I had disconnected the battery when I installed my new headlamps. Ever since then I had been having intermittent faults from the anti-theft system and the transmission. I’ve been dreading taking the Ex to a transmission shop.
Once I cleaned up all four terminals and reconnected the batteries, my baby roared to life.
No more transmission faults.
No more blinking THEFT light while driving to work.
All was good, for about two weeks.
About halfway to work on Friday morning, the radio flips off & on about three times. The the ABS light turns on steady. Start backing into my spot and I’ve got no power to the mirrors. WTF!?!?
That evening, try to go home and nothing. No crank. Not even clicks from the starting relay. Get a jump start from one of those fancy battery packs. Before we disconnect the battery pack, my coworker tells me my alternator is shot. His fancy battery pack has a voltmeter built in. My alternator is putting out 8 volts.
Thanks to the folks at Navistar for designing a pit stop approved alternator change.
The alternator is mounted above the driver’s side cylinder bank. 1/2″ drive on the belt tensioner to loosen the serpentine belt. Unplug one electrical connection. Unbolt one ring terminal. Remove three mounting bolts. Drive to nearest auto parts store.
As usual, installation is the reverse of removal.
I feel like I’ve finally got the electrical gremlins on the run.
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Modern Anachronist 