[PsyAbe]

Before anyone starts ranting about me not searching hard enough, practically every starter motor thread mentions that the motor won't fire up when it's too hot, which is not the case here. About a month or so after i purchased my 5.0, the starter's been failing me every 2-3 trips, which is uncool since this fox is my daily. By failing me I don't mean hesitant startups, I mean absolutely nothing. zero. zilch. Back then, some tries I would here a click. Right now, I would turn the key but to no avail. However, it has always, even now, fired up after 15 or so minutes from the 1st try, and when it does, it fires up real mean, without hesitation. Whenever I turn the key to no ignition, the battery LED would light up. I have a suspicion that there's something up with the wiring rather than the starter motor itself. What should I be on the lookout for when I check under the hood later? corroded wiring? Where to look?
ps the electric fan works when the key is engaged, if that helps.

[ddarkslayer]

I have the same problem with my car, but my car has the stock super big starter that you buy from autozone. I have a heater blanket on mine. but it doesn't do any good it helps only just a little. The heat transfers to the bell housing then to the starter.

[PsyAbe]

Yeah that's precisely the problem the guys in other threads have, the starter seems to be too hot, and appears to fire up best in cold weather.In my case however, how can it be too hot if it fails on the morning's 1st startup? As I said earlier I'm thinking its an electrical issue.

[PsyAbe]

Originally Posted by ddarkslayer I have the same problem with my car, but my car has the stock super big starter that you buy from autozone. I have a heater blanket on mine. but it doesn't do any good it helps only just a little. The heat transfers to the bell housing then to the starter.

Maybe a smaller starter would solve that issue? AmericanMuscle have a 5.0 starter that's both smaller than OEM and more powerful
PA Performance Mustang Starter - (75-95 5.0L) at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

[FastStang91Lx]

Have you tried to actually REPLACE the starter? It's not like it's expensive. That's where I would start. Car is old, gonna happen. Your windings in the starter are prolly starting to melt together or your brushes are failing.

[87coupe331]

you could try the ground wire on the block, clean it up good.

[95tbirdv8]

When it doesnt work hook up a jumper cable to the starter positive and touch it on the battery. If it cranks then you have bad wiring or solenoid

[PsyAbe]

Alright I'll try the jumper cable and I'll check the ground wire, and if all else fails I'll replace the starter motor, I would've done so already but I really felt it was something electric rather than the motor itself. Either way, I'll see what I can do and keep y'all posted. Thanks for all the advice!

[93hatch]

how do you have it wired?

[jessemachone]

have you made sure your batt cables are in good condition? my car came with thos add on terminals. they are junk. they would give me problems like this from time to time.

[ryanw]

Do our starters have alot of problems starting when there hot ? Ive got to say ive never had a problem with mine. I still have the one that it came with ( 19 years old starter) Im sure now that ive said that it will brake next week...LOL

[jessemachone]

I suppose you could say yes to that question. The starter will put more load on the batt when it is hot / engine hot because clearences are tighter making it hard to spin.

I could be wrong with that explanation.

Either way, make sure your batt connections are in good shape.

[FastStang91Lx]

When anything wire related gets warm, the resistance of the wire goes up and therefore increases the amps that it draws. Also, and poor connections also increases the amperage. If the starter is on it's way out, these problems will only accelerate the issue. I'll go with this explanation, lol.

[jessemachone]

Yeah, I couldn't remember for a minute there. We used to have this one problem with a oil press transducer. When the transducer was heated up, oil press value would drop all because of the heat. The engine had plenty of pressure as verified by a mechanical gauge. It was the way that this thing was wired that threw me off but if you want an eyeful of info on the matter, peep this:

Electric Resistance - The Physics Hypertextbook

[PsyAbe]

Alright so I came to the conclusion that I had a bad starter motor that needed to be replaced, based on (eventually) hesitant startups. It was a real hassle getting that S.o.B outta there. After extraction, I checked it by hooking it up to the battery with an external cable and well, it started spinning faster than a Midwestern tornado. So I figured the battery to starter wiring was bad. I replaced the wire, but unfortunately the problem persists. So here's another theory. 1) In morning startups, back when the starter was fine, the engine would fire just fine but would die out if i didn't press on the gas pedal. It was horrible, like electro shocking a dying patient's heart. 2) On 3 or so occasions, the engine would just die out when I'm in a traffic jam or waiting for the traffic lights, when the shifter is in 1st gear but the clutch is fully depressed. I initially thought problem 1 was a camshaft problem and problem 2 was a clutch problem or something gear related. After some research, I found out these were symptoms of a failing fuel pump. One even said that its precisely the reason I don't even hear a click in the starter motor. I'm pretty lost here.

PS: I previously stated that the battery LED would light up on the dash when I turned the key, but after checking it turns out that as soon as I insert the key, the battery LED lights up. When turning the key, the E-break and ((P)) LED light up, as if to indicate that my car's in gear and I need to neutral it (even though the clutch pedal's depressed.) Could it be a malfunctioning killswitch?