1997 Taurus only clicking, no start

Started like the battery was low yesterday morning. Drove to work, no problems.
Went to leave work and wir, wir, wir, click, click, click. Dead battery I think, wrong, jumped it and no dice. Thought maybe the battery was bad (3 years old). Got a ride home and brought back a good battery. Hooked it up and same thing. No spark when putting cables to the battery. Is the starter bad? Solenoid should be good since it's clicking right? Tap on the starter and it will turn over for split second and then start clicking when I hit the key.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Jay

Might be a bad ground or bad cables. I'd check and see if the ables are connected good andin good shape.

Might be a bad ground or bad cables. I'd check and see if the ables are connected good andin good shape.

Cables are good and ground is good.

Jay

The bushings in starters wear and bind prevent the starter motor from turning. Have you tried tapping on the starter motor itself with a hammer.

mzx600 does mention "Tap on the starter and it will turn over for split second and then start clicking when I hit the key" but I'm not really clear what they mean. Tap on the starter, turn the key to start and it will turn over for a split second the start cliking? It shouldn't start to turn over before hitting the key.

If that is the case, I would agree that your starter motor is probably bad. What do the interior lights or headlights do when you try to start the car? Is the clicking clicking as long as you hold the key in the start position or just one click until you release the key and try again?

-Rod