2001 Tarus won't start

My son's Taurus had some starting issues. It would turn over but not start but when jumper cables were used it would start. Cause was that it had a loose wire on the positive battery cable connection. The battery connections were replaced and all was well for a couple of days. Now the car will turn over but it will not start. He drove the car home, shut it off and now it turns over but won't start. Any ideas what could be causing this problem?

WethCR

Welcome to AFs!

How old is the battery? How well is the engine turning over? The battery may be weak and not giving enough power for ignition. Have you tried to jump it?

Dan

Battery is 1 1/2 yrs old and checks out OK. Turns over great and we have tried jumping. We took out a spark plug and put it back into the plug wire. When we turned the car over we saw no spark. I have checked all of the fuses, in both panels and they are all OK.

When you checked for spark, did you make sure the plug had a good ground? Did you try more than one plug/wire and one from a different coil? Was the "Theft" or "Security" light on or flashing when you were checking for spark?

Did you replace the battery cable assemblies with molded cables for the application or did you use those temporary bolt-together ends with the old wires? If the latter, replace the cables with molded, fitted cables. Even if that's not the source of the current problem, it will reduce future headaches.

-Rod

Just checked the spark and made sure that I had a good ground (which I didn't yesterday) and there was spark. Yesterday I replaced the spark plugs (.044 gap). When I pulled a plug tonight it smelled like gas and was damp. While turning over and checking for spark the "theft" light stayed lit. What should I do next?

If you have another programmed key for the car, try it. Also, like Dan suggested, you need to check the battery voltage during the cranking event. Low battery voltage can cause the PCM to not function properly and the PATS system to prevent a start.

-Rod