wont start

[losmoore]

i have a 97 taurus that will not start in cold weather. any other time its okay, just when cold will not start. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum!

Which engine does your '97 have, the SHO, DOHC (Duratech), or 12V (Vulcan)? Also, what is the extent of "will not start?" Does the engine crank find, the engine just doesn't start? Is the cranking slow? Is there no cranking at all? If no crank, do you hear a single click or a series of clicks?

Have you verified the battery cables are clean and tight? Have you performed any checks such as battery voltage, spark plug condition? What seems to be the ambient temperature cutoff that will allow a start? When was the last tune up performed?

-Rod

[UsedtobeSmart]

Also on the list of things to check is if the battery is new or OE. I replaced an OE battery that tested clean because it was freezing solid when it got really cold last winter. It still tests at a clean 12v (more when the car was cranking, obviously) but after last winter, I wasn't going to risk it this year.