Friday: Started my vehicle, but had problems. Sounded like battery had
charge problem, but started anyway.


Saturday: Tried to start vehicle. Turned over but battery died. Later tried
charging battery in evening with "smart charger." Before the charger, the
whole eletrical system would shut down, but the CHECK ENGINE light would
come on when the door was open. (It's a 94 Ford Aerostar - Other groups are
dying) Now I have the charger going on the battery it no longer does that.

Sunday Battery dead again, Charge again. Tried to start again. Nothing. So I
asked a neighbor to help me and try a jump start. Still nothing coming from
starter. So what I did was test the start relay and jumped the terminals.
Nothing again. Not even a spark, even though I did put a meter at the
opposite terminal and grounded it to see if I got voltage when I turned to
the key to the START position.

I did try jumping the terminals at the starter this morning, but got nothing
because the batter was dead.

I still need to try to jump at the starter again.

So I am wondering bad battery or bad starter?

First, put a battery charger on the battery for over night. Get a load
tester, and check the battery for resilience after the load. OR, use a
multimeter, and watch voltage as you remove the charger. If its dropping,
then you have a problem. If not, try to start the van. If the voltage drops
below 10.5v, and the starter turns, suspect battery problems. If the voltage
drops out and the starter does not turn, replace the starter. This assumes
the engine is not seized.

Always load test the battery and check its voltage first when diagnosing an
automotive electrical problem. This proves that your power source is good,
allowing you to find the problem, rather than wonder how much voltage you
lost in the bad circuit.

(settles in to await the inevitable horde of electrical engineers and
wannabees that will contradict proper 12v neg ground troubleshooting)

--
Max

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, he is not entitled to his own
facts." Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York

I just went out and tried it because the charger has been on the battery for
the past 5 hours.
I tried both of what you mention. The volage at battery was about 13.5 volts
with charger and really did not drop after charger was removed.
I put meter on battery and tried to start. I went from 13.xx to about 12.88
at start position then back up to 12.98 after I turned the key to off
position, but still no starter movement or noise. Solenoid is on starter.

Bad starter now?
Should I still try to jump the starter terminals?

Thanks for the input

Clean and check your battery terminals. When you try to start, does
the dome light stay bright, or does it dim out? (try to start with the
door open...)

Sounds like a bad connection to me.

Did you check for voltage at the starter main lug (where the heavy cable
connects)?

--
If at first you don't succeed, you're not cut out for skydiving

Stays bright

I will do that in a little while. When I tried it yesterday, the battery was
dead and I got 0 voltage.

If you got 0 volts measuring at the battery posts the battery is junk. You
want to check for a draw when you replace the battery so you don't ruin the
next one.

it shows 12 volts today, but not even a click with the starter.
I guess I better take the battery down to a place to have it tested for draw

Ouch... Check the solenoid next. Not looking good...