1991Jeep_Man

So, my dad recently had a heart attack and stayed down with my aunt to get some R&R. He has his Ford Escape down there, and he let me use his 2007 Ford Focus to commute to college and back to help me save on gas. Well, after having some $2500 warranty work on the transmission, the starter is about done. When I want to go somewhere, I have to tap on the starter with a wrench or hammer before turning the key. I have some money to get a spare, but cant afford a mechanic to put it on. Anyone here work on Ford Focuses and willing to give me some help? Thanks in advance.

1991Jeep_Man

Anyone? I could really use some help if anyone can offer it.

ZachsXJ

where are you located?

Scorpion8

Which engine is in his Focus? If it is the 2.0l Zetec I-4, it's identical to my Ford Contour.

1991Jeep_Man

I'm located in Edinburg, VA and it is a 2.0L but IDK what zetech or anything. But heres the new issue.. or should I say miracle. Since I brought it home, I haven't had to hit the starter to make it work. Started this morning fine, started at the college TWICE no problem, started at home fine, and started at Wal-Mart fine. Could this just have been a loose wire or something that somehow worked itself out?

Scorpion8

The magic fairy flew in and tightened your loose connection. Intermittent connections never tighten themselves, so the problem may have gone awya for the time being, but it'll most likely be back (at a bad time).

1991Jeep_Man

So should I go outside and tighten the terminal bolts and everything? What else should I be looking for?

Programbo

Those hit or miss starting problems are tricky. As someone mentioned it might come back at a bad time. I`d clean and tighten all the connections involved in the battery/starter/ solenoid circuit to be sure. I've been looking for a Ford Focus in the local junkyards. They have red fuel injectors that are just a hair higher in flow rate than stock '99+ Cherokees and would look cool in someones red XJ

1991Jeep_Man

So clean the leads from the starter and solenoid to the battery and vise versa? Whats the best way to clean these?

Scorpion8

Make sure there's no grease or corrosion between the contact surfaces, or rust. If the starter lead has been loose, it may have arced over and burnt the contact surface (it'll be black) on the starter. That will inhibit good electrical flow.

ZachsXJ

if you weren't like a 3 hour drive away I'd come take a look at it and see if I couldn't figure out what the problem is. If you come through richmond anytime soon, let me know and you can come drop by my place and I'll take a look at it.