My mom has a Taurus. she went to the store yesterday and when she tried to start it just didn't. Battery is fully charged. The starter isn't even clicking. Any ideas.

I hate that thing.

 

Defective starter.

 

Possibly bad relay/solenoid for the starter. I can't remember if it's built into a ford starter or not. Sometimes they're seperate, and much easier to replace then the entire starter.

Hearing no click would make me think the relay/solenoid is toast.

 

just make sure the battery really isn't the problem before spending the time/money replacing a starter.

 

When my sisters cars motor siezed........it made no noise at all when you turned the key!!!!!!

 

Someone left an interior light on that drained the battery.

Fully-charged? You sure?

Dead starter or loose wire then. Maybe a rat chewed through a wire?

 

I've also seen on a Ford F-150 the lead from the battery terminal to the solenoid was fried on the solenoid. I had to replace the wire from the terminal. Take a look

 

I think it is a solenoid problem, too.


Nicky, you bastard. You trying to scare me!!?? Actually, i would love if that thing died. Then we could bury it in the backyard and get something else.


JRock, I tried the jumper cables to make sure ( that hurt on so may levels because the CL was the jumper!!) And it made no difference.

Getting it towed. Hahahaha. I feel like a hillbilly.

 

it might be alternator problem..time for a new one..and what year is your mon's ford???
a piece of cake to replace..unscew the bolts and loosen the belt..and remember to mark the place where originally alternator was tighten before u unscew it...the new one will cost u about $120...if u have someone to replace that for u..u will end up paying a lot more than that....good luck.....i replaced my neighbour's 89 toyota corolla's alternator about 6 months ago..and my first time to do it..and found out it is easy to do...if i can do it.i think u can...
but first find out that it is alternator problem..if not..then that will be another story...good luck

 

thanks!! I will find out on Monday.

 

As long as you are positive the battery is good & that you attempted to jumpstart it properly, then the alternator is out of the question. The alternator isn't used to start the car, only to keep it going.

If however, you find that the battery was bad, then the alternator could possibly be the root cause of the problem. Once you get a new battery on there, you can test for the alternator being bad.

But, again, since you said the battery is fine, it's most likely the starter. (It could be wiring or relay/fuse as well...)

 

It's a Ford. that's the problem.

 

 

Do you have any power at all when you turn the key to the on position? If so, try shifting the auto shifter out of park and then back into park. Then see if it'll start.

If that doesn't work, make sure the parking break is set (or your foot on the foot brake...don't want to roll away) and shift into neutral and try to start. Most autos will allow starting in either park or neutral.

My old jeep occasionally would not think it was in park and then not start. Only happened every so often. I'd have to start from neutral on those days that it would act up. I remember trying to shift out of park and then back into park, but that hadn't worked, so it didn't occur to me until about an hour later to try neutral.

It might be something to check, since it'd be the next cheapest thing to get repaired after a replaced battery.