intermittant start in 1992 E150

[vanmanjeff]

I just bought a 92 E150 with 140K miles, but in decent shape. I had the guys in the auto tech class at my high school give it a once over, do a brake job, tune up, and other little stuff. I had only run it one time since I bought it, so I don't really know the history of this van. Well, three times over the weekend I turned the key and got nothing, as in silence. I would wait 10 seconds, muttering to myself, and then try again, and it started just fine.

I hate to go back to the auto teacher, who oversaw about $1,000 worth of work over three weeks, and charged me only $175 for the parts. (Students are free labor, and supervised well by the two teachers. A great deal.) Could it be a battery terminal?

I am not a "car guy," but figure I could look into this myself with a place to start.

[Ford4Life]

Originally Posted by vanmanjeff

Could it be a battery terminal?

Actually that is the best and easiest place to start. Check the connectivity of the terminals to the battery. If they are corroded the things you describe can easily occur. You can clean them with a wire brush and a baking soda/water mix (I think, check me on that)

[kdr358]

That could be it, i think battery tremial cleaner is like 2.99 at wal-mart