Ford won't start

Our 2007 chassis with V10 did this a couple times after we first purchased it. No problem was ever found and has never failed to start since. Ford service came up with it had some thing to do with the auto start feature. (That's the feature where once you engage the starter you can let go of the key and it will crank till it starts or crank for so many seconds, then stop cranking)I don't know if this feature is a mechanical or software driven feature.

Sounds like a dead battery or a bad battery connection. The clicking is probably the starter solenoid. My guess is you need a new battery.

If the vehicle sits for long periods of time (a few weeks, say) without being used, you would be well served to consider getting a small charger for the engine battery to keep it charged. The chassis has a few constant loads that very slowly wear down the battery over time. One such charger that works very well and doesn't need any fiddling once its installed is the "Trik-l-start"; it basically connects the charger/converter for the house battery (when the motorhome is plugged in to shore power) to the chassis battery to charge it when needed. Alternately, you can disconnect the engine battery if the vehicle will be sitting for some time by removing the negative lead from the battery to avoid running it down while parked.

5 years from a car/truck starting battery is not atypical life.

BB_TX wrote:
By nothing, do you mean it would not turn over? Not even a click? If so, clean the battery cable clamps and posts. Get a battery brush tool and clean them well. Common for a white powdery corrosion to form under the clamps and cause that exact probleom, nothing one time, good start the next.

Turned over the fist time for maybe a second, after that not again. No dash lights came on, I could here a faint sound, I think it was the break pump cycling without enough power.

Test battery with a hydrometer on each cell,could have one weak cell & when it gets cold out, it is effecting the battery. then test battery with a load tester. If good then go to pos. & neg. connections

If it's not turning over, it's probably a loose connection, a sticking solenoid, a bad neutral safety switch, or the ignition switch. Cleaning the battery connections would be a good start. The only way to really locate the problem is to trace the circuit with a meter.

I would start at the starter solenoid and see if the small wire going into it is energized when the ignition is turned to the start position. If you're not getting voltage to the solenoid, it isolates the problem to the ignition, switch, or neutral safety switch. If you are getting juice to the solenoid, the issue is with the solenoid, battery, or starter.

By nothing, do you mean it would not turn over? Not even a click? If so, clean the battery cable clamps and posts. Get a battery brush tool and clean them well. Common for a white powdery corrosion to form under the clamps and cause that exact problem, nothing one time, good start the next.

I had this happen years ago on a car I had. I found a loose battery ground to the frame that time. It was very frustrating as the dealer had looked at it a number of time but of course it always worked fine when in for service.