Aerostar V6 -91 won't crank anymore?

Take the starter out and take it too a local auto parts store and have it tested.

I've tried to turn on my headlights - nothing. Well, there is your smoking gun. No power. The headlights have nothing to do with the starter. If you don't have a bad cable, you have a bad connection. Find the lug for the hot cable and take it off the relay and clean it and retighten it. Find the battery to ground cable and take it off the motor, clean it and put it back on.

Once you get the headlights back on, move on to the starter.

Bob

Tried cranking it, nothing, the only life

I assume the battery works well.

You did not mention the condition of the battery cables. I would check both ends, of both cables, for frayed ends, and for the proper connection. Once the connection issues has been determined and/or corrected, you can move on.

The power steering pump replacement will make the Pope curse. The bracket can hold up a battleship and you need a special wheel puller to remove the pulley from the power steering pump, in order to remove the pump from the pump bracket. No easy way to do it. I have a 93 Aerostar, and I removed the pump and bracket assembly whole, then removed the pulley from the pump. Then replaced everything in reverse order.

Doulbe check the source of the leak, the leak may be from the pump and or the rack and pinion assembly. The rack and pinion replacement was easier than the pump replacement, did both on seperate weekends.

A rebuilt pump, ran about $50.00, a replacement rack and pinion ran about $110.00. Once replaced, the old van runs good, steers great, and does not leak.

Hope this helps.

Frank from Deeeetroit

I've discovered something weird today. I walked out to the car, put the key in and turned it to the ON position just before the starter is engaged and my instrument lights came on. I then turned on the headlights and they worked fine.

I then tried to crank the engine and all I got was an audible "click" and then the whole system went dead again. Headlights and instrument lights just died and that was it.

Seem strange to me, if it was indeed a fusable link then the headlights should be dead - period.

I'm now using a brand new battery and we've cleaned the connectors and everything. My thinking is that the starter is somehow tripping a fuse or circuit breaker of some sort, to protect it when I try to crank the engine but I'm not sure. It's pretty strange.

Pull the starter and take it to the local parts store. They can bench test the starter to see how much of a power draw the starter pulls. If the power draw is too much, you will have to replace the starter, easy, it is out of the car anyways. Don' remember if the starter relay is part of the starter or not, but the problem may lie there, as well.

The 7? Granada and the 91 and 95 Taurus and the 2000 Super Duty trucks all have a starter relay that is separate from the starter. The starter relay is mounted on the fender above the wheel well. On the

91 Taurus the red positive cable goes straight from the battery to the starter relay. That point is used as the distribution point for 12V for the entire car. The stud and nut that has the positive cable from the battery connected also has three or four lugs connected. These other lugs have the fusible links for the fuse box and ignition.

When we blew a fusible link the car would not start. About the only thing that worked were the headlights and power mirrors.

I would second the suggestion to check the large wiring connected to the battery and feeding the starter and to get the starter checked.

I had the same problem with a car that everything on the dash would light up untill I tried to start the car... Turned out it was the ignition switch shorting out

IceMan