Ford: '92 Taurus Wagon Not Turning Over

Your cables might be corroded, might check the voltage on the posts during
attempted cranking, if it barely changes then you should move towards the
starter following the cables to their terminus.
<com> wrote in message
news:com... 

com wrote: 
stay with the battery, thats the problem, forget about the starter for
now: go to auto zone and buy a $1.98 battery terminal brush.. then take
off the battery terminals and use the battery terminal brush to clean up
the inside of the terminal and the top of the post of the battery where
the termnials are attached.. Hitting on them with Pliers is not gonna
correct the problem(even if it gets it to start). put the terminals
back on and the problem is gone... pretty good fix for $2.00. or you
might just need two new battery terminals(cost about $1.98 each)....

Voltage drops about 3/10's, not nearly what it should, IMO. I've
checked the other ends of the cables and all of those connectors are
tight and undamaged. I did notice that the starter, which sits on the
front of the engine, has a lot of dirt build up, leading me to wonder
if it's also getting a lot of water in it <lotsa rain here in PA over
the last few months>.

Thanks for your help.

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 05:06:11 GMT, "The Bathtub Admiral"
<ca> wrote:
 

Battery post brush was the first thing I bought, brought terminals and
posts to a shine each time I cleaned them. Clamps currently installed
with felt washers underneath them, and anti-corrosive applied to
exterior of clamps and posts <not at mating surfaces>. I was looking
for some dielectric grease to put on the posts but Wal-mart didn't
sell any. Do you think that might help?

Thanks for your help.

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 10:00:46 GMT, jim <com> wrote:
 

The problem could be the solenoid contacts are not making a good contact or
a bad connection or cable. To check the connections I always disable the
ignition so the car will not start. Have someone start the car and check for
voltage drop at differnt places until you find the problem. A voltmeter or a
multimeter set to voltage setting will tell you the difference in voltage
between two points. You have to have the ciruit under load (have someone hit
the starter). These are good articles that explain how to check for voltage
drops:

http://www.labscopes.com/pg08.htm

http://www.fluke.com/application_notes/automotive/circuit.asp?AGID=1&SID=103

<com> wrote in message
news:com... 

Sounds like the solenoid to me. It's a fifteen dollar part. If it isn't
the source of the current problem, at eleven years it was getting ready
to be the source of some problem.

com wrote: