This is actually with my nifty Ford Taurus company car. Initially, all lights inside were very dim and car wouldn't crank. I assume it is the battery.

- Hook up the jumper cables to another car, lights are significantly brigther and now just the starter clicks.

- Removed the jumper cables, no cranking...no sounds whatsoever.

What do you guys think? Bad starter? Bad ground somewhere? Is it possible that the battery has just crapped out and cannot hold a charge?

 

so wait u hooked up jumper cables and didnt even jump the car?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 93ejay1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so wait u hooked up jumper cables and didnt even jump the car?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I tried jumpin the car but the starter only clicks.

 

Possibly a loose connection at the starter... or the external solenoid. Fords have an external starter solenoid/big relay usually mounted on the side of the engine compartment with a cap. Try using an insulated screwdriver and bridging the two big terminals together to see if it cranks. What year is the car?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by _Cyclone_ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Possibly a loose connection at the starter... or the external solenoid. Fords have an external starter solenoid/big relay usually mounted on the side of the engine compartment with a cap. Try using an insulated screwdriver and bridging the two big terminals together to see if it cranks. What year is the car?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's a 2003

 

My first impression would be a battery issue. Tha clicking deal means start isn't gettign enough juice try sticking it on a battery charger or letting the other car run for about 10 minutes when the jumpers are hooked up. SHould start right up.

 

beat the hell out of the starter while someone cranks the car over. if it starts its the starter

 

Try that too. Hit the starter with a hammer. Sounds stupid, but I've seen it work a dozen times.

 

loose connection is what it sounds like to me

 

how many volts is your battery reading? use a meter to find out.

when you jumped the car, are you sure you had good connections? where did you place the jumper clamps?

or... try swapping the battery with a known good one to eliminate that as a source of the problem.

 

Yeah, I'd lean towards the starter too. Trying hooking up a good known battery and see what happenes.

 

thanks for all the replies guys.

it so happens that my friend left a brand new battery in my garage. It luckily fit the Taurus and started right up. I'll drive over to Kragens tomorrow to expense a new battery.

 

it does sound like something wasn't hooked up right when you tried using the jumper cables. may want to look into that so next time you'll be able to use them properly.

glad it was a simple fix.