My daily driver has me stumped--No start/Slow start issue

[OldBlueDually]

I HATE admitting this, but I got a good deal from my father in law on a 2007 ford taurus with the 3.0 V6. So I thought it was a good deal, car was rust free, driven by his dad, low mileage, from californy. (Shoulda kept my 320,000 mile 2002 Impala 3800--it was lightyears ahead of this POS taurus). I have had AC lines blow out on this, wiring issues, blew the transmission out--and I drive this thing very nice! Anyhow.....

However, the last couple weeks sometimes it starts fine. Sometimes it cranks slow and starts. Sometimes it just "clicks" when you hear the solenoid engage the starter. When the engine is hot, it won't start, you just hear the click of the solenoid.

Here is what I have done: I did a load test on the battery, turned out good. I swapped around starter relays, still no change. I disconnected the battery and all grounds, cleaned them up & tightened back down, still no good. Cleaned the positive to starter, verified solenoid wire was clean/snug. Still no good.

So, I had my wife sit in the car with the key in the "start" position, I used a long 3/4 drive ratchet and nailed the starter with the handle, it engaged-cranked slow and started the engine. So I thought to myself ok this is the starter causing the problem, I will get a new one.

The following day I go to Orielly's in town here & pick up a reman starter and install it. Guess what happened when I went to crank it over? Yup--Click, click, click...then it cranked over (fast) and started.

My next test was going to be: Use jumper cables from my Suburban to this taurus and see if the car starts or not--Maybe this would indicate a bad battery even though it load tested fine???

Do any of you have experience with something like this & could lead me in the right direction? I hate this effing car.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Does it have a starter relay? If so, maybe it's going out?

On the other hand, sell it and get another Impala... https://www.carsforsale.com/2002-chevrolet-impala-for-sale-C138775

 

[Bextreme04]

Check voltage drop between legs to see if its a resistance issue between a connection. This will help you verify poor power or ground connections as well.

https://www.delcoremy.com/the-lates...ltmeter connected,battery and repeat the test.

Basically you use the voltmeter with one lead on one end of a wire and the other lead on the other end of the wire and have your wife try to start it. If it shows anything more than about .5v on a leg, you have a problem in that leg that is restricting it.

 

[Midnightmoon]

I'm sure that you already checked for this, but I've had battery cables corrode inside the insulation.

 

[Radiohead]

I'm sure that you already checked for this, but I've had battery cables corrode inside the insulation.

That was my first thought too. Been burnt by that before.

Finding quality cable is the fun part.

 

[fast 99]

I believe the neg ground on those attaches to one of the starter bolt/studs. Is it intact.

 

[OldBlueDually]

Does it have a starter relay? If so, maybe it's going out?

On the other hand, sell it and get another Impala... https://www.carsforsale.com/2002-chevrolet-impala-for-sale-C138775

Yes, it does. I swapped it out with a few other relays the car has that are the same. Nothing changed....Love those Impala's, I will probably have another for sure. So sick of this effing POS taurus. What a throw away car.

Check voltage drop between legs to see if its a resistance issue between a connection. This will help you verify poor power or ground connections as well.

https://www.delcoremy.com/the-latest/2013/june/tech-tip-checking-voltage-drops#:~:text=A voltage drop test will,the alternator and the starter.&text=1) With the voltmeter connected,battery and repeat the test.

Basically you use the voltmeter with one lead on one end of a wire and the other lead on the other end of the wire and have your wife try to start it. If it shows anything more than about .5v on a leg, you have a problem in that leg that is restricting it.

Thank you very much for this info, I will certainly do this.

I'm sure that you already checked for this, but I've had battery cables corrode inside the insulation.

The connections of the battery cables looked good, the overall length of the cables didn't look bad either. I even grabbed them and moved them around, nothing changed.

I believe the neg ground on those attaches to one of the starter bolt/studs. Is it intact.

Actually no, one cable goes to drivers side fender, the cable has some kind of split (I also plan to cut this open & check it) where the other leg of negative cable goes to the transmission bolt, which is near the starter. The only wires on the starter is one of the red power legs from battery, and one for solenoid.

When I get home I can post up some pictures of this after I try & check a few more things you guys have stated.

 

[fast 99]

Actually no, one cable goes to drivers side fender, the cable has some kind of split (I also plan to cut this open & check it) where the other leg of negative cable goes to the transmission bolt. The only wires on the starter is one of the red power legs from battery, and one for solenoid.

That will work. Some of then went to the starter bolt others went to the tranny. Just make sure it is clean and tight.

 

[OldBlueDually]

That will work. Some of then went to the starter bolt others went to the tranny. Just make sure it is clean and tight.

All those grounds, and power & very clean, and very tight. I took them all apart and cleaned them up.

 

[OldBlueDually]

I am honestly thinking I have a bad reman starter......

Tonight after work, my buddy and I had to tinker for over 30 minutes to get this mother-effer to start. All it did was "click, click click" loud....starter solenoid got hot during all of this. We even jumped his car to mine and nothing. We also used his jumper cables to run a ground from the battery negative to a spot on the engine, and still nothing. I had him hold the key while I rapped on the starter/solenoid with the 3/4 ratchet (some call them hammers) I had in the car and still nothing. Would not budge.

So after a while, one time it turned over & started. When I got home, I shut off the car, and tried starting it again multiple times....click, click, click....nothing.


Here are some pictures of this garbage some call an automobile.

Overall engine bay. Two reds & two blacks coming from battery. Fuse box toward front. Starter is below exhaust manifold, and right below the oil filter. Ya know you're supposed to oil your starter at each oil change--ford made that easy here...dumb@sse$.

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One ground wire from battery to fender.

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2nd ground located on transmission bolt.

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[OldBlueDually]

Here is the fuse box by the battery. One positive wire goes to the end of this (to the left) to a fused link. Arrows are pointing at starter fuse, and starter relay.

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Here is that fused link at the end of the fuse box.

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Here is the reman starter, upper arrow is 2nd positive battery wire, lower arrow is solenoid wire.

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[fast 99]

Yup. done a lot of water/PS pumps, ac compressors, starters, plugs and wires and radiators on those. Alts and starters are easy, other parts not so much.

 

[WP29P4A]

New/remaufactured = Plug and play.

Used/rebuilt = Plug and Pray

 

[OldBlueDually]

New/remaufactured = Plug and play.

Used/rebuilt = Plug and Pray

Here is the one I purchased for it;

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/bestest/alternators---starters/starter/dad3c6651e74/bestest-starter-remanufactured/ose1/v613357a/v/a/18978/automotive-car-2007-ford-taurus?q=starter&pos=2

 

[Bextreme04]

Here is the one I purchased for it;

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/bestest/alternators---starters/starter/dad3c6651e74/bestest-starter-remanufactured/ose1/v613357a/v/a/18978/automotive-car-2007-ford-taurus?q=starter&pos=2

I got an upgraded 97 amp alternator for my square from O-reilly. It was bad out of the box. Took it back and made sure they ran the next one they gave me to replace it through their tester before I would take it out of the store. It failed. They ran a third one(last one they had on the shelf) and it also failed. I told them I would take the third one just in case it was a problem with their tester while they ordered in more alternators. I put that one in and it worked for about 6 hours(kind of) before completely giving out. I took it back in and they had gotten two more alternators in overnight. They ran both of those through the tester and only one of them tested good. I took that one and put it in and it worked great for about 3 months, before just dying on me while I was out in the boonies hunting. Thankfully I have dual high AH batteries and was able to drive it all the way home about 1-1/2 hours and pull it. Took it in and sure enough, tested bad. They then pulled one off the shelf and it tested good. I put it in and it has been hanging on for about a month now just fine.

TLDR: Oreilly has a lot of Chinese "rebuilt" electrical components like starters and alternators that are complete junk right off the shelf. Always have them run it through their tester before you even leave the building with it.