Pesky t-bird ignition problems

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frank wight - 03 Jan 2006 18:32 GMT

I have a '89 t-bird with v-6 automatic trans.

Last month the car stopped working and a ford diagnostic scope
revealed worn out spark plugs and a bad starter.

Last WEEK the dumb car died again. When I turn the key
I hear a pronounced *click* under the hood but nothing else.

According to the ol' chiltons manual my problem can traced to
only a few culprits:

1) Dead or worn out battery
2) Torn, loose or ground out wiring

The battery is fresh and charged. I repaired a small tear in
a wire that broke open its casing.

I am begining to think that
my shoddy battery cables ought to be replaced because of
their age, wear and tear and the fact that they're oily

It's been raining furiously lately and I haven't had a chance
to look under the car for connection problems at the starter
teriminal. My question is ....are there other reasons why the
car won't start that I don't know about?

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HLS@nospam.nix - 03 Jan 2006 18:42 GMT

You are sure that your battery is fully charged?

Dirty or bad battery cables, and the battery terminals, can cause a lot of
problems,
exactly like the ones you describe. All these connections and terminals
need to
be clean and firmly attached.

Fords also use a firewall mounted starter solenoid in the cabling to the
starter. If that solenoid is bad, it can click but fail to couple enough
power
to the starter to spin it up.

After that, you are down to the starter itself and the cable connections to
it.

Luckily, all this is pretty easy to troubleshoot and repair.

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JoeFields - 04 Jan 2006 16:25 GMT

Just a guess that you would have taken care of a loose or corroded
battery connection problem at the battery terminals before you wrote
this question. A Simple test for this the condition you described:
When you turn on the lights and attempt an engine start the lights will
dim some but should not go out. Attempt a jump-start with a good set
of jumper cables (not the cheapy-cheap kind), if the engine turns over,
it needs a new battery. If the starter will not turn the engine over
while set up for a jump-start your problem is in the wiring, relay or
solenoid.

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frank wight - 05 Jan 2006 23:00 GMT

Thanks for the information so far.

I wonder what a firewall-cellinoid looks like?
I guess I'll have to ask the parts store guy
show me since I don't have a T-bird repair
guide...I've been getting my general information
offa a Oldsmobile guide.

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Mike Romain - 05 Jan 2006 23:27 GMT

Just follow the main battery cable and clean both ends. The far end of
the positive cable will be the starter solenoid. They are cheap to
replace and famous for having dirty connections causing your symptoms.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
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> Thanks for the information so far.
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> guide...I've been getting my general information
> offa a Oldsmobile guide.

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