2003 Ford Escort Sometimes my car won't start.

masonburkhalter · Posted at Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:35 am

Electrical problem
2003 Ford Escort 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 95,000 miles

I just got all my fluids checked up on my car and I'm getting my serpentine belt fixed soon. Every once and a while randomly my car won't start. It makes a click like its trying to turn over but it won't. Then later it will start working again and won't have any problems. (Over the weekend it wouldn't start but this morning it started right up with out any problem.) My buddy told me it was a starter cable wire. The wire he points to is black with a yellow stripe located behind the battery to the right hand side. The wire in question is clamped to the car and is stripped, exposing the copper in the wire. Sometimes if I mess with the wire a little the car will start up again. I went to autozone and was told that I can only get this part through a dealership. Does this sound like this would be the problem? If so what is the name of the wire I'm trying to replace? When I look for it online I can't find it by searching "starter cable wire." Thank you.

mathiaso · Posted at Mon Oct 26, 2009 2:31 pm

The cable in question is the ground side, (ground cable) and the battery cables are dealer only items and may be little expensive .The name of the cable is"negative cable assembly"
can you check the ground before you but that cable assembly?
if you have a digital multimeter:

Set the multimeter to a maximum of 1V connect the black lead to battery negative.
connect the red lead of the digital multimeter to the ground( where it is clamp to the car)
cranck the engine and no more than 500 mV should be seen.
let the engine run at idle or 2500 rpm and no more than 100mV should be seen.
if it is, replace that wire. if it not. the wire is good.
The reason I want you to test the ground before replacing the assembly because it may cost between $200 and $300. I want you save money. that is how much it cost where I'm living here.
Get back to me if the problem remain after you replace the cable assembly.

masonburkhalter · Posted at Mon Oct 26, 2009 2:40 pm

Thanks for your response. I believe I only need the ground cable not the battery cables... Or are you saying that I need both? What can I do if I don't have a digital multimeter? If I only needed the negative cable assembly is the price still around $200 to $300?

mathiaso · Posted at Mon Oct 26, 2009 3:39 pm

you need ground cable assembly only.
cost varies from state to state and from town to town. call the dealer and ask how much it cost.
replace the cable. if the car still have problem, get back to me.