I have a 2000 ford expedition my dad bought it new in 2000 he owned it till 2013 then grandpa bought it from him and in 2018 I purchased it from grandpa. it has really be a very good vehicle.

however lately about one in 10 starts but with no apparent rhyme or reason to it turn the key get a click then the dash is making a steady click click click click about once a second the lights work you can put the key in the run position and it will turn on the radio and blower. but no further attempt to start not even a click.

the first time this happened I though it was a dead battery I was in the house and the wife cam back in and said it wouldn't start I put the charger on it and realized the battery wasn't dead it was a 3 month old battery after all .

I have found the trick is to Disconnected the battery negative terminal it only need be off a second then put back on and it starts.

I suspect that this is a failure of the P.A.T.S key system and that the not even attempting to start and the clicking is the anti theft kicking in. remove the power reboots the system and it will then start again.

I trained the wife and she has a 1/2 inch wrench she keeps in the cup holder but I am thinking if there is a not to costly fix for this I would fix it for convenience , cause this is sometimes happening at very inconvenient times like in the pouring rain .

has anyone heard of this before?

Got a spare key you could try? Maybe the 20 year old key is worn enough the anti-theft is kicking in. Just a thought.

Inspect, clean, and grease the battery terminals AND the main grounds. May not fix you, but wont hurt or cost ya.
Might be getting enough juice to run the electros but not the starter. I've seen starter connection work loose too.
Dang over engineered bla bla lol.

I had a 98 F-250 with a similar problem.
Turned out to be the battery cables corroded on the inside, and wasn't visible.
Maybe check with volt meter?

X2 lol.

new battery in January and the terminals are clean I will inspect the cables the original ends were all corroded about 10 years ago and the ford garage replaced the ends with after market bolt down terminals because the ford cables were ridiculously over priced and it has worked this long.

have 3 keys and I labeled them to see if it was one key more than another I haven't noticed it as one key more than another but I should start a list of what key had the problem.

You say the terminals junked out 10 years ago. I'd disconnect the bat and trace those wires. Ford used to use an external (not in the starter) solenoid. I changed a lot of those, one on my tractor from a ford lol.
I like the volt meter idea, don't get your hands chopped up in the starter motor.
And please let us know if diagnosed, these things cause fits.

Need to know where the clicking noise is coming from.....Ford instrument clusters don't click. There's no relays or anything like that in them that could click. Is it coming from the starter/engine area, a fuse box underhood, or inside the dash? And does it do it only with the key in the "start" position, or with the key in the "run" position.

A repetitive clicking from the starter with the key in "start" indicates a starter not getting enough voltage, whether due to a bad battery, loose/corroded connection, etc etc. A clicking from somewhere else would indicate any number of other things.

We have a 97 EX, and every once in a while it will do that, I've found it to be the shift lever is not fully engaged to park.

Nothing was ever wrong with any battery connections, although I did go that route to see if it would help.

It is not the antitheft. If it was the antitheft engaging it would either do nothing when you tried it or it would crank but not start depending on the year model. I would check the battery clamps and the starter cables for corrosion. Sometimes those aftermarket add on clamps can be a pain in the rear.

Check the cable at the solenoid on the starter. I am sure it is the same as my '97 F150. It is under a plastic cap and it will corrode to a point where the solenoid doesn't get enough voltage to start (from experience!)

sounds like lower left dash about where the left knee is when sitting in drivers seat almost like the directional but a touch faster and it is till you get the power cable removed like a different relay possibly the relay for the running board lights

I am going to check on the cable connections and the solenoid which is mounted high on the firewall in front of the passenger.

thanks

The ignition switch (not the key cylinder, but the actual switch mechanism), and a fuse panel are down there. You can take the "Knee panel" and the fuse panel cover off and leave them off and try to locate the sound when it acts up. Maybe you can isolate it to a relay or the ignition switch.

From the original post..........



Lots of theories about connections and they do cause some strange things sometimes. But it does not make sense that removing negative and replacing it solves the problem every time.

With the clicking that has been described and the instant reset, sounds like a relay stuck or bad output from a sensor in the electrical system rather than a bad cable or connection.

Check both ends of ground wire. Older cars sometime have this problem.