Ford F-150 - 1997-2003 :: 5.4L Engine Will Not Turn Over
Mar 24, 2013
My 1997 F150 with the 5.4 engine has 167,300 miles. My wife drove it to work the other day and when she went to come home the truck would not turn over. The starter would engage the flywheel but would not turn the engine over. I had it towed home and I pulled the starter. Advance Auto bench checked it for me and said the starter was fine, only drawing 36 amps. I have also verified the cabling from the battery and starter relay is fine.
So here is some history up to this point. Over the past four months the battery light would come on and off. I had the battery (only 8 months old) and the alternator check and both tested fine. At one time the check engine light came on and the code indicated a miss fire on the #3 cylinder. I pulled the plug (new platium plugs at 120k miles) which looked fine and reconnected everything. Since I disconnected the neg. terminal of the battery the engine code cleared. Once in a while the engine would sputter and run rough at 40 - 45 mph, but run fine at slower or higher speeds.
Since I had the starter off I used a pry bar to try to manually turn the flywheel, seems to turn in one direction but not the other. I have also tried to turning the engine over by hand via the belt and putting a socket on crankshaft pully bolt. I can not get the engine to turn over. So in my reading on the internet it seems like I might have a hydrolock. I have not lost any antifreeze that I can detect and I have not seen any white smoke coming from the exhaust. From what I'm reading there are two types of hydrolocks, one caused by antifreeze and the other caused by a open fuel injector.
Does what I am describing sound like a hydrolock and what is the best way to diagnose if it is caused by a leaking gasket or injector? Should I pull a couple of plugs on each side and try to crank the truck?
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My 2002 F150 Screw has been giving me issues when trying to start it for the last month. Sometimes it will start sometimes it won't. When I turn the ignition on the gauges all seem normal, the theft light turns solid then goes out, but engine will turn over but not start. Sometimes it will start if I leave the ignition on for 20 seconds then pull the key and try again. (this doesn't always work). I have disconnected the battery for about 2 minutes this usually works but not always.
Sometimes it will start first time with no issues. Once the the engine fires it runs fine. Another symptom is when I shut the engine off, pull the key and open the door, the chime telling me that the key is still in the ignition sounds. (but the key is in my hand)
I put a new battery in yesterday to rule that out and because the old one seemed to be getting weak. (starting issues didn't go away). I don't want to put 300+ into a fuel pump without being sure that's the problem.
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After replacing the battery and starter...as well as replacing the alternator (bench tested good), I'm still greeted with one 'thud' when attempting to turn the engine over. The battery light is one in the dash. I've been through this scenario with more than a couple vehicles that haven't started in the past. I do the normal check the battery, wires, alternator, fuses, and starter. Somewhere along that line...it always fixes the issue. Not so here. I have to admit that I'm at a loss at the moment.
2001 F-150 5.4L
115k
Replaced starter
Replaced batter
Alternator bench tested good
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I am working on a 2000 f-150 XLT 5.4L 4x4 Automatic. It tries to crank over but acts like its stuck. things done: New starter, new battery, fixed connections. I can turn the crank counter clock wise but won't turn clock wise. Not sure if i should say the engine is bad or could trans be stuck? Heard 5.4L's have timming chain issues. Is that true? Point me in a direction and i'll go forth.
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I think I have a battery issue but wanted to ask the group in case someone ran into this before.
Went to start my truck this morning and did the normal dead battery sound but doesn't have enough power to turn the engine. I can see the engine start to turn but can't get over compression.
So I bought a new Interstate battery from Costco, installed it, and same problem. Hooked up a charger and it showed 25%. Let it charge for 4 hours, now it's at 50% and still won't turn over.
I'm going to wait over night and let it charge, but I wanted to ask the group if there is any known problems (Beyond battery) that would do this.
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I have an 02 f150 5.4 4x4, drowned it a while back, thought i had hydro lock, crank can be turned by hand though as far as i can with a wrench, so internals seem to be fine, no bent or broken rods that i could tell, ripped everything apart cleaned it up put it back together, new fuses, new ignition relay, new starter, alternator and battery as well, turned the key to on and got all my electronic stuff back up, turned to start and it all goes dark, which i assume is because at that point its sending power to the starter, but the starter didn't turn or crank the engine...
So question being when i put my new starter on is it possible that i might have crossed a wire or something that would cause it to not crank? and due to the fact that I had water in it, and had hydro locked it, all my plugs are out, now I know that spark is needed for the engine to run, but shouldn't be needed just for the crank to turn right? question being is that once i fix the wires on my starter, I am looking for initial crank before start up, so do i need to put a plug or two back in and hook them up to make it crank? or will it crank without them? and yes I did replace all my fluids as well.
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I have a 1997 ford f150 V-6 4.2. My son was driving the truck on the expressway and it quit running. The toe truck has delivered the truck back to my house. The engine turns over but will not start. I shot gas into the engine with a spray bottle and the engine still would not start. Was going to check the coil for spark next. What to check first. Was thinking the problem could be the modulator or coil.
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I have a 2001 F150 step side 4.6L that just stopped turning over to start. The engine rocks slightly when you turn the key, then nothing but a little electrical smell. Was starting fine up to this past week. Battery is strong and good and upper battery connections clean, has original starter solenoid. I am a weekend mechanic, my son's work truck, trying to do this myself.
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Just picked up a 1999 F-150 XL, 4.2L V6, 5-Speed. Spent half the day rewiring the headlights back to factory as a previous owner did a bunch of wiring that made absolutely no sense. (Foglights or KC lights?). Anyway, works great with the exception that the headlights turn on when I turn the selector to just parking lights. I removed all but the factory wires under the hood. I haven't been behind the dash yet to check the headlight switch and I was hoping to avoid doing so. A fuse or relay that may be causing the issue? I don't have a service manual yet so I haven't been able to identify all the fuses under the hood.
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Drove it last night around 9pm. Parked it and went to drive it again this morning around 7:30. No cold weather here or rain. Here is what I know: When I turn the key I hear a click (not a repeating click) but the engine doesn't turn over. Batteries have 12.5 volts. I put my trickle charger on them and had full charge after about 3 or 4 minutes. When I turn the key the headlights do not go dim. I put a screw driver across the solenoid on the passenger side fender and got a strong arc. When I do that, I can also hear another click that sounds like its coming from the engine. I tapped the starter a few times with a hammer, but it still wont turn over. I'm guessing bad starter.
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I have just finished changing head gasket. I started up the engine works fine. But I hear a little clik sound form the converter. I put it in gear, but it can't move either forward or backward. It ran 2-3 liters of oil out of the converter when I took the engine out. I have filled new oil in the gearbox but not in the converter, dosnt it came form the gearbox into the converter?Is there air in the converter or what's wrong?
it is a F150 4x4 4.6 1997 automatic.
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This happened about a year ago when I quickly started and shut it right off. I googled something and I found a sequence, procedure. Something about open door open switch wait etc, it worked started right up. Now I been stuck for 2 days looking and can't find it.All I have is regular metal key. 1997 f150....
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A couple of weeks ago my truck wouldn't start. I replaced the crankshaft position sensor and when that didn't work I took it to a mechanic. At first it wouldn't start for him either. After move the truck inside he tried to crank it again and it fired right up. He said he didn't want to replace something if he wasn't sure what it was. Today it wouldn't start again. I bought some noid lights as suggested on line and tested one of the injector connectors and it did not light up. I realize that the injectors are not getting the needed "pulse". Whole thinking about what to do next I noticed that there was a broken wire. The wire is going to a really small looking box of some sort that is attached to the engine close to the injector at the front of the engine. What the wire is for and I am really not sure what to do next. I will try to upload a picture...
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I'm having a problem with my ignition switch. It won't turn and I have to turn the steering wheel for it to finally work.
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I have a 01 f150 with the 5.4. when it starts it takes a minute or two to do so.. After I shut it off and try to restart it won't unless I turn the key on and wait. I checked the pressure and when idling its running about 28 soon as the key is turned off it goes to 0. Is my pump bad??
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If I turn on my ignition switch and my gauges go to where they're supposed to be, the truck will crank. If I turn switch and , lets say gas needle for example, the needle goes to full then drops back to empty, the engine will turn over but will not crank.
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I have an 02 F150 super crew FX4 4.6. Over the last year, about once every 2 months I noticed that the AC wouldn't turn off when I took the key out. I would turn it back on and off and it would stop. A couple weeks ago during a mild hurricane (we get those in NC, just a lot of rain) the truck started trying to start itself in the drive way but wouldn't turn over.
Then it started trying to turn itself over while I was driving. (but only after heavy rain). I thought I identified that it wouldn't happen if I pulled out the key ignition lock cylinder thing. You know, you have to push it in and then turn to start; If I made sure it wasn't pushed it, it seemed not to ghost start. So I figured maybe it was an issue with the key ignition lock.
Then this week it wouldn't start, it would try to turn over but not start. (usually after rain). I replaced the starter solenoid relay and things seemed to be fine for the last 2 days.
Well it rained like hell last night. It wouldn't turn over. After trying to turn it over and removing the key, the accessories stayed on (fan, radio, etc - even with opening door). I pulled the 50a fuze which killed the accessories, and it would turn over without that fuse in, but I had to put the fuse back in to get it out of park.
Another clue, recently, occasionally I hear relay clicking behind my dash after the key is out when it is acting up. So I am lost here. Should I rip out the dash and see if water is leaking in?
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Own a 1997 F-150, 4.6 L, 4 x 4. I know it's old but it's in very good body shape, has been undercoated for years. I've only had it for a year. This summer it began to not start (intermittently). The dash lights all come on but the starter will not engage. Brought to my local garage, he changed the starter and the ground cable from the battery.
Was ok for a few months and now it's beginning to do the same thing. Brought it back to him, can't find anything. He did say that the battery is a bit weak, the terminals are spotless (I keep them spotless, coat them with white grease). I measured the voltage with the engine stopped and with it running. Stopped, the voltage is 11.94, running it is 14.87. This clearly shows that the battery is weak.
My question is would this cause the starter to not engage after 4 or 5 turns of the key and then on the 6th try, the starter turns over? I don't want to spend more money ($ 450) the last time and have the same result. If it's possible it's the battery, I'll replace it no problem.
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I have a 1999 ford f150 2wd 4.2l v6 manual 5 speed kk... i recently put back brake pads on it on both sides bc they were original and they were getting kinda worn down after have 184,000 on them. so after i got them replaced i put it all back together and test drove it and every time I'd go to take off my abs light would light up. strange huh? i thought so. so i brought it back home and i remembered i forgot to bleed them after i put them on so i bleed them and everything still didn't work, it kept coming on..
So I checked the FL & FR abs speed sensors cleaned them up and put them back on still didn't work. So I found the rear speed sensor mounted on the differential and took it off it was pretty nasty and had a little bit of metal fragments on it so i bought a new one and I unplugged the batter and stuck it on hooked up the battery test drove it and the light has stayed off ever since!! so if u have put new back brakes on and the light comes on check the rear speed sensor first.. real easy to install just one bolt.
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I have 98 f150 with 4.6 starter went so I put a new one on wich was a hassle and it tries to turn but just wont as if the motor is seized. I had been hear a loud howling sound from what I think is the ac unit and the ac line burst after trying to start. Would a bearing or something with the AC be enough to stop the engine from turning over? Or could it maybe be a wire connection problem? To me it sounds like a starter trying to start a seized motor but I cant see that my motor would be out it only has 190 000km and the oil looks good. but we couldn't turn the motor over with a ratchet? The truck had been getting gutless. I am stuck...
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I have a 1998 Ford F150. The turn signals do not work nor the hazard flashers. When I trun on the hazard flashers(they do not come on) the turn signals will then work. Checked all fuses both under dash and in the engine compartment. With flashers turned on and using the turn signals, the relays located in engine compartment are working. It appears that the only way for the turn signals to work is to recieve power through the hazards.
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