starting issues

Hello all, I've experienced another problem with my car that I hope I can get some help with. I've done a search and found a few similar problems but there are so many possibilities that I'm hoping that I can narrow it down. My car is currently in the parking lot at work so I need to quickly do any work I can to prevent problems with the other tenants.

The Problem: Sometimes my car will not start. When I turn the key, I hear a click. The headlights will not dim nor will the dash lights. I've tried whacking it with a hammer with no response. I had this problem a few weeks ago and I resolved it by cleaning and tightening the battery terminals and clamps. I haven't had a problme until yesterday.Yesterday when it failed to start, I checked the terminals again and found that the positive one was somewhat loose but still clean. I attempted to jump start it but there was no improvement. I waited a couple of hours until I finished work and tried to jump start it again (I also tried hammer whacking it again) but with the same result.

Some possibly related issues: When the car does start, the "battery" light will come on when I put it into reverse. I'm assuming because of the current draw of the back up lights. Any other gear, no light. Sometimes at night, while going up hill, I'll get a little bit of a flicker of the "battery" light when it (Finally) downshifts. I only have the reverse "battery" light after the car has been sitting for some time, usually overnight. I'm currently in southern CA so the temps are not that cold (no less than 45 deg. F).

Again, I can't have the car being worked on for very long since it's in a parking lot. If you have any other questions regarding the situation, please ask. I've tried to give as much detail as possible.

DJ
'92 Taurus GL wagon 3.0 Vulcan Auto tranny

Do you have a multimeter? You should measure the battery voltage after sitting for a bit, again when the car won't start (with the key in the "Start" position), and also at the starter when the key is turned to the "Start" position. If the battery is above 12 Vdc after sitting, and above 10.5 Vdc during the start attempt at the battery and at the starter, then the problem is probably a bad starter motor assembly. It may be so bad that even a blow to the starter motor will not allow you to get one more start.

As for the battery indicator, that should be driven by the alternator output. If the alternator is not putting out enough current to supply the system with only the added draw of the back up lights, I would expect that the light would also come on when you use headlights and definitely when the headlights are on and you step on the brake pedal.

If you've verifed that the connections of the battery cables are clean and tight at both the battery and the other end (chassis ground and distribution panel) I'd suspect you may have a bad cell in the battery or just a weak battery. Your battery cables are molded ends and not the bolt-on temporary terminals that are prone to corrode, right?

-Rod

The connections on the starter motor end seem to be making good contact. The battery posts that I have are molded into the battery. The battery light will ONLY light up in reverse, regardless of what lights are on, even while stepping on the brake-which I found quite weird.

I've read about the transmission range selector switch causing some very odd electrical gremlins, but I believe that was mostly on newer Taurii ('96-'99ish). You may want to search the forum for "TRS" or "range."

As for the molded ends, I'm referring to the ends on the battery cable that clamp to the battery posts, not the battery posts themselves.

-Rod

The problem with the starting turned out to be the starter motor. I had to change it in the parking lot which was just a ton of fun but it's done. Regarding the battery cables, I currently have the molded ones but they are pretty boogered up so I'll end up changing them pretty soon. How would one check the gear selector? My taurus is a '92.

DJ

The problem with the starting turned out to be the starter motor. I had to change it in the parking lot which was just a ton of fun but it's done. Regarding the battery cables, I currently have the molded ones but they are pretty boogered up so I'll end up changing them pretty soon. How would one check the gear selector? My taurus is a '92.

DJ