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1996 Ford Taurus.. Battery/Starter??
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hessni06
New User
Nov 1, 2006, 8:37 PM
Post #1 of 3
(4518 views)
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1996 Ford Taurus.. Battery/Starter??
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Hey there,
I have a 1996 Ford Taurus that died on me yesterday. I'm currently attending college as a freshmen at Purdue University and have had my car parked at a fraternity on campus for several weeks now. The car has been having some starting trouble recently, more so when it's been left sitting for a few days. It seems to be able to be able to sit for about 1 week, before the battery almost completely dies and the vehicle struggles to start. There exists a problem with my door lights, in which they often stay on even when I've locked the car and walked away, and I've been told that this may be leading to slow draining of the battery, explaining why I have trouble starting it after a few days. Once the car is running, everything goes smoothly with no known problems, and it will shut off and restart with ease.
Now the car completely won't start though! I left it sitting for four days, opened the door, turned the key, and heard absolutely nothing. The interior lights still function, while the exterior lights don't. I attempted to get a friend to jumpstart it, thinking that the battery completely died on me, and it was unsuccessful, ALTHOUGH I did notice a slight change. When the battery was wired to his car (by jumper cable) there was a clicking noice when I turned the key that repeated 2 or 3 times per second.
The battery is relatively new, being perhaps 6 months old, and the car has been known to have trouble starting in the past, but never just dying. Any technical advice anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to view this.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Nov 2, 2006, 12:35 AM
Post #2 of 3
(4492 views)
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Re: 1996 Ford Taurus.. Battery/Starter??
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The mutiple clicks when starting is almost always because of low power from battery to starter. The failed jump is common as you don't always get a good connection or the cables are inadequate or broken. Try another set or two sets at once. That or leave a set on for ten minutes or more and you'll know by the brightness of lights that there is some connection from the donor car. Test that way and shut lights off.
If you have delay interior lights there could be a problem there. I hate that feature on one of my vehicles as I stand outside it and wait for them to go out
Look for the door jam push button switch that I think the car uses. Some cars do that inside the door at the latch. If so open that door and push the button in by hand as far as it will go. If that works some are adjustable and if not tape a penny or two where it strikes the door jam where it will leave a mark from years of use. If that works glue the penny(s) or whatever to that spot and it should last.
You also have an interior light over ride to keep them on. Make sure that's off.
If all fails find the fuse for the lights and remove it for now but make sure it's not linked to a safety item. Owner's manuals usually tell you.
Good luck and let us know what you discover, T
PS: I don't think it's your starter or battery right now
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steve01832
Veteran
Nov 3, 2006, 7:00 PM
Post #3 of 3
(4484 views)
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Re: 1996 Ford Taurus.. Battery/Starter??
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I agree with Tom. Let's get the parasitic draw fixed and the battery charged. One trick is to disconnect the negative battery cable. Hook up a test light between the battery post and the negative cable. If the test light glows, it shows a draw. Pull fuses one at a time until the light goes out. That fuse is the circuit the problem is on.
Note: Make sure all doors are closed, and the underhood light is disconnected before starting this procedure. They will give a false light and you will be chasing a draw that doesn't exist. That's why I don't drink on Sunday nights anymore. LOL
Steve
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