Car (2000 Ford Taurus) Troubleshooting please

[blackeagle603]

First things first.

Start here.

The 'live' cable from the battery is a little loose... its fully tightened but if you wiggle and jerk it, it will pop off the terminal.

That's a huge red flag/clue. Unless you've got a Chris Bryne gorilla grip you not be able to wiggle it off if it's set properly. Clean to shiney lead, reset and seal terminals properly.

An amazing amount of volt drop occurs right there in a dull loose connection.

Charge and test the battery on a load tester. Then and only then with clean tight terminals start thinking about other possibilities.

Every solenoid, starter and cable possibility is a red herring until this is put to bed and confirmed good.

[Aglifter]

How old is the battery? My Jetta was being "quirky" and let me sit a couple times, even though the battery tested OK - once I replaced it, it was fine - but it's a car which is supposed to be very sensitive to voltage issues.

[Weetabix]

Sadly, its not even possible to order most vehicles sold in America with a manual transmission anymore.

That's why I jumped on buying my current vehicle when I saw it was manual. They're just more fun to drive.

Smack the starter solenoid with a hammer a few times and see if anything changes.

I used to have a car that that worked on. Also, jumping the solenoid terminals with an expendable screw driver.

First things first.
Start here.

The 'live' cable from the battery is a little loose... its fully tightened but if you wiggle and jerk it, it will pop off the terminal.

That's a huge red flag/clue. Unless you've got a Chris Bryne gorilla grip you not be able to wiggle it off if it's set properly. Clean to shiney lead, reset and seal terminals properly.

Didn't he say that it wouldn't jump either? That takes the battery/cable connection out of the picture, I'd think. Needs to be fixed, but it's maybe not the primary problem.

[Draven]

replaced the terminal... *click*

gonna work on the starter if i can.

[blackeagle603]

terminal good? check.

Next step battery. Put it on a load tester yet? Autoparts store should do it free.

A shorted cell can suck everything you can jump into it from another vehicle.

[Draven]

Had autozone test the battery when it was first having trouble starting, and it tests good and charges fully.

[Darrell]

My first thought when I heard it was a Ford: check the solenoid.

[PawPaw]

Yep, with the terminal changed and the battery charged, you're working down the wire. Check the solenoid. I haven't looked at a solenoid in several years. Can you jump across it?

[Draven]

i don't know if it can be jumped or not, i can't get to its terminals. already got the starter w/ solenoid, just trying to get some help from a neighbor to get it in.

[blackeagle603]

Dear Daughter #1 has a 2000 Taurus. Been there done that starter. Not too bad a job if I recollect.

The weak link on these is the in tank fuel pump. Keep the fuel levels up and it will run cooler in the tank and last a bit longer. It's not too tedious a job to replace but I recommend not doing it solo if at all possible.

The tank can be R&R'd solo (even by a guy with a bad back) but years of solo VW transaxle swaps w/out a proper jack probably tilted the equation in my favor.