'93 ford tempo will not start

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Vic - 06 Jun 2007 22:46 GMT

My '93 Tempo has run fine for quite some time. It has a nearly-new
battery and terminals which look good still.
The last time I drove it it was fine, I parked it in my driveway and
turned it off.
When I tried to start it and it makes a loud "click" that seems to be
coming from somewhere near the battery. I suspected a small "relay"
looking barrel-shaped box was making the noise. It is pretty loud.
Well, that click is the only thing that happens. The starter does not
turn-over. The lights and power are strong. It clicks when in Park but
does not click if it is in gear (I did this to insure it was not a
neutral safety switch).

I wonder if this is the starter or if it is some sort of relay (if one
exists). Does anyone know:
1.) How I can isolate the issue to the starter or something else so I
do not spend a fortune on unneeded parts?
2.) if this issue sounds familiar to anyone or if anyone has any hints
what the cause could be?

Sincerely,
~Broke-down :)

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Larry W - 07 Jun 2007 00:34 GMT

> My '93 Tempo has run fine for quite some time. It has a nearly-new
> battery and terminals which look good still.
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> Sincerely,
> ~Broke-down :)

It could be the starter but a common problem is a bad wire connection on the
starter (the wire from the solenoid to the starter). You should remove and clean
the connection on the starter.

Larry

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Noozer - 07 Jun 2007 03:34 GMT

> My '93 Tempo has run fine for quite some time. It has a nearly-new
> battery and terminals which look good still.
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> I wonder if this is the starter or if it is some sort of relay (if one
> exists).

That clicking is the starter relay. There should be a couple heavy duty
wires on it, as well as at least one smaller wire.

To test the relay you can use jumper cables to connect one of the large
wires to the other large wire. You only want a connection for a second or
so. If the relay is bad, the motor will turn over when you jump the wires.

If that doesn't do anything, then there could be a few things to check...

- Bad battery. Have you tried to get it jumpstarted?
- Bad + battery cable. You could try to jump the "+" side of the battery to
one of the large wires on the relay to eliminate the wire clamped on the
battery. Connected to one of the big wires on the relay the motor will turn
over right away, on the other wire you'll still need to turn the ignition
key.
- Bad ground (-) battery cable. You could try a jumper cable from the "-"
side of the battery to then engine block to eliminate the wire clamped on
the battery.
- Bad wire from the relay to the starter. Again, jumper cables could be
used, but you need to be careful. Jumping from the heavy wire at the starter
to the wrong side of the relay will make the engine turn over right away.
Not a good idea to be under the car when that happens.
- Finally, the starter itself is no good.

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