Over the weekend my car wouldn't start.

[miketx]

I have an old 99 Taurus that I don't drive much, but it was cheap. Saturday I was going to do some stuff under the carport and I had to move the car out. Mr. Battery was dead, as a door nail. I guess I should have driven it more! So, I went to the garage and got my old battery charger out and hooked it up. It puts out six amps so it should have charged it that day. No dice. I called my son in law to bring his jumper box over and jump me off (my wife has ours) and he did. He hooked it up and when I turned the key to start, I could see a spark at the positive cable. That means you have a bad connection between the battery and the cable end. So I had some more work cut out. SIL had work to do so he left. I took of the battery cables and cleaned them and then connected my six amp charger, my trickle charger and my solar charger and around 6pm I went out to see if it would start. Nothing.
.
About this time the wife got home so I got the jumper box out and hooked it up and it cranked up. Soon as I took the jumper box off the battery, Actually about 30 seconds later, it died. This alarmed me because that can mean the alternator is bad. So I decided to check my chargers output and nothing! it was dead. At this point I decided I needed to get the battery charged so next day I went to the store and got a new 15 amp battery charger and hooked it up. I also checked the new chargers output and it showed over 15 volts. Good. It appeared to start charging so I left it for 4 hours.

I went out to check it and the new charger said it was fully charged, so I go to crank it and nothing. I checked the voltage at the battery terminals and it showed 10.4 volts and a fully charged battery should read 12.6 or higher. So, I need a battery. Today I went to the store and bought an el cheapo one for 56 dollars, half of what auto zone wanted. It is a brand called ever start and has a year warranty. Hope it lasts a lot longer. Anyhow, I got the new battery in, and it read 12.75 volts, and I cleaned the heck out of the terminals again. Got it in and it cranked right up! I checked the alternator output and it showed 14.6 volts so that means the alternator is working. Yay!

If anyone is interested, to check your alternator output with a volt meter do this:

Start the car and turn every thing on. High beams, AC, radio, wipers, EVERYTHING, and have someone rev the engine up and hold it at around 1500 RPM. If the voltage reading at the battery is not less than 13.5 volts you should be good.

The old battery was most likely shorted out, or it would have kept running without the jumper box on it.

 

[deannalw]

Yeah but... it would have been a way better story if you'd of added some zombies or gargoyles. Maybe a two headed shark.

 

[Moonglow]

I have one of them there jump starter chargers..

 

[miketx]

I have one of them there jump starter chargers..

If it's just a jump starter it's not a charger, it's just a battery to start your car.

 

[Skull Pilot]

 

[Moonglow]

I have one of them there jump starter chargers..

If it's just a jump starter it's not a charger, it's just a battery to start your car.

it will charge one also...

 

[Moonglow]

you fucked up in the first place and bought a Ford...

 

[miketx]

I have one of them there jump starter chargers..

If it's just a jump starter it's not a charger, it's just a battery to start your car.

it will charge one also...

That's cool. Mine is just a jumper.

 

[miketx]

you fucked up in the first place and bought a Ford...

Yeah, I know. The transmission has a problem that I do NOT want to fix so as long as I drive it around the area, it's ok.

What it does is on really hot days after a long trip of say 100 miles or so, something, probably the torque converter clutch is slipping and creates a lot of heat. Eventually the oil gets so hot it boils and sprays out the trans overflow vent and runs out of fluid.

 

[Moonglow]

you fucked up in the first place and bought a Ford...

Yeah, I know. The transmission has a problem that I do NOT want to fix so as long as I drive it around the area, it's ok.

What it does is on really hot days after a long trip of say 100 miles or so, something, probably the torque converter clutch is slipping and creates a lot of heat. Eventually the oil gets so hot it boils and sprays out the trans overflow vent and runs out of fluid.

That model is notorious for shitty transmissions...

 

[miketx]

you fucked up in the first place and bought a Ford...

Yeah, I know. The transmission has a problem that I do NOT want to fix so as long as I drive it around the area, it's ok.

What it does is on really hot days after a long trip of say 100 miles or so, something, probably the torque converter clutch is slipping and creates a lot of heat. Eventually the oil gets so hot it boils and sprays out the trans overflow vent and runs out of fluid.

That model is notorious for shitty transmissions...

I don't know. I worked on transmissions for 35 years and from what i saw, they were no more shitty than others.

 

[Cellblock2429]

I have an old 99 Taurus that I don't drive much, but it was cheap. Saturday I was going to do some stuff under the carport and I had to move the car out. Mr. Battery was dead, as a door nail. I guess I should have driven it more! So, I went to the garage and got my old battery charger out and hooked it up. It puts out six amps so it should have charged it that day. No dice. I called my son in law to bring his jumper box over and jump me off (my wife has ours) and he did. He hooked it up and when I turned the key to start, I could see a spark at the positive cable. That means you have a bad connection between the battery and the cable end. So I had some more work cut out. SIL had work to do so he left. I took of the battery cables and cleaned them and then connected my six amp charger, my trickle charger and my solar charger and around 6pm I went out to see if it would start. Nothing.
.
About this time the wife got home so I got the jumper box out and hooked it up and it cranked up. Soon as I took the jumper box off the battery, Actually about 30 seconds later, it died. This alarmed me because that can mean the alternator is bad. So I decided to check my chargers output and nothing! it was dead. At this point I decided I needed to get the battery charged so next day I went to the store and got a new 15 amp battery charger and hooked it up. I also checked the new chargers output and it showed over 15 volts. Good. It appeared to start charging so I left it for 4 hours.

I went out to check it and the new charger said it was fully charged, so I go to crank it and nothing. I checked the voltage at the battery terminals and it showed 10.4 volts and a fully charged battery should read 12.6 or higher. So, I need a battery. Today I went to the store and bought an el cheapo one for 56 dollars, half of what auto zone wanted. It is a brand called ever start and has a year warranty. Hope it lasts a lot longer. Anyhow, I got the new battery in, and it read 12.75 volts, and I cleaned the heck out of the terminals again. Got it in and it cranked right up! I checked the alternator output and it showed 14.6 volts so that means the alternator is working. Yay!

If anyone is interested, to check your alternator output with a volt meter do this:

Start the car and turn every thing on. High beams, AC, radio, wipers, EVERYTHING, and have someone rev the engine up and hold it at around 1500 RPM. If the voltage reading at the battery is not less than 13.5 volts you should be good.

The old battery was most likely shorted out, or it would have kept running without the jumper box on it.

/---- I miss stick shifts. Get them rolling and pop the clutch in first or second and they chug to life.. When I was too poor to buy a new battery, that is how I started my car every morning but I had to park on a hill. Eventually I saved up $19 and bought a Sears battery (this was i the early 70s)

 

[miketx]

I have an old 99 Taurus that I don't drive much, but it was cheap. Saturday I was going to do some stuff under the carport and I had to move the car out. Mr. Battery was dead, as a door nail. I guess I should have driven it more! So, I went to the garage and got my old battery charger out and hooked it up. It puts out six amps so it should have charged it that day. No dice. I called my son in law to bring his jumper box over and jump me off (my wife has ours) and he did. He hooked it up and when I turned the key to start, I could see a spark at the positive cable. That means you have a bad connection between the battery and the cable end. So I had some more work cut out. SIL had work to do so he left. I took of the battery cables and cleaned them and then connected my six amp charger, my trickle charger and my solar charger and around 6pm I went out to see if it would start. Nothing.
.
About this time the wife got home so I got the jumper box out and hooked it up and it cranked up. Soon as I took the jumper box off the battery, Actually about 30 seconds later, it died. This alarmed me because that can mean the alternator is bad. So I decided to check my chargers output and nothing! it was dead. At this point I decided I needed to get the battery charged so next day I went to the store and got a new 15 amp battery charger and hooked it up. I also checked the new chargers output and it showed over 15 volts. Good. It appeared to start charging so I left it for 4 hours.

I went out to check it and the new charger said it was fully charged, so I go to crank it and nothing. I checked the voltage at the battery terminals and it showed 10.4 volts and a fully charged battery should read 12.6 or higher. So, I need a battery. Today I went to the store and bought an el cheapo one for 56 dollars, half of what auto zone wanted. It is a brand called ever start and has a year warranty. Hope it lasts a lot longer. Anyhow, I got the new battery in, and it read 12.75 volts, and I cleaned the heck out of the terminals again. Got it in and it cranked right up! I checked the alternator output and it showed 14.6 volts so that means the alternator is working. Yay!

If anyone is interested, to check your alternator output with a volt meter do this:

Start the car and turn every thing on. High beams, AC, radio, wipers, EVERYTHING, and have someone rev the engine up and hold it at around 1500 RPM. If the voltage reading at the battery is not less than 13.5 volts you should be good.

The old battery was most likely shorted out, or it would have kept running without the jumper box on it.

/---- I miss stick shifts. Get them rolling and pop the clutch in first or second and they chug to life.. When I was too poor to buy a new battery, that is how I started my car every morning but I had to park on a hill. Eventually I saved up $19 and bought a Sears battery (this was i the early 70s)
View attachment 126773

Some older automatics could be push started. Not anymore though.

 

[Cellblock2429]

I have an old 99 Taurus that I don't drive much, but it was cheap. Saturday I was going to do some stuff under the carport and I had to move the car out. Mr. Battery was dead, as a door nail. I guess I should have driven it more! So, I went to the garage and got my old battery charger out and hooked it up. It puts out six amps so it should have charged it that day. No dice. I called my son in law to bring his jumper box over and jump me off (my wife has ours) and he did. He hooked it up and when I turned the key to start, I could see a spark at the positive cable. That means you have a bad connection between the battery and the cable end. So I had some more work cut out. SIL had work to do so he left. I took of the battery cables and cleaned them and then connected my six amp charger, my trickle charger and my solar charger and around 6pm I went out to see if it would start. Nothing.
.
About this time the wife got home so I got the jumper box out and hooked it up and it cranked up. Soon as I took the jumper box off the battery, Actually about 30 seconds later, it died. This alarmed me because that can mean the alternator is bad. So I decided to check my chargers output and nothing! it was dead. At this point I decided I needed to get the battery charged so next day I went to the store and got a new 15 amp battery charger and hooked it up. I also checked the new chargers output and it showed over 15 volts. Good. It appeared to start charging so I left it for 4 hours.

I went out to check it and the new charger said it was fully charged, so I go to crank it and nothing. I checked the voltage at the battery terminals and it showed 10.4 volts and a fully charged battery should read 12.6 or higher. So, I need a battery. Today I went to the store and bought an el cheapo one for 56 dollars, half of what auto zone wanted. It is a brand called ever start and has a year warranty. Hope it lasts a lot longer. Anyhow, I got the new battery in, and it read 12.75 volts, and I cleaned the heck out of the terminals again. Got it in and it cranked right up! I checked the alternator output and it showed 14.6 volts so that means the alternator is working. Yay!

If anyone is interested, to check your alternator output with a volt meter do this:

Start the car and turn every thing on. High beams, AC, radio, wipers, EVERYTHING, and have someone rev the engine up and hold it at around 1500 RPM. If the voltage reading at the battery is not less than 13.5 volts you should be good.

The old battery was most likely shorted out, or it would have kept running without the jumper box on it.

/---- I miss stick shifts. Get them rolling and pop the clutch in first or second and they chug to life.. When I was too poor to buy a new battery, that is how I started my car every morning but I had to park on a hill. Eventually I saved up $19 and bought a Sears battery (this was i the early 70s)
View attachment 126773

Some older automatics could be push started. Not anymore though.

/----- I didn't know that. Thanks

 

[miketx]

I have an old 99 Taurus that I don't drive much, but it was cheap. Saturday I was going to do some stuff under the carport and I had to move the car out. Mr. Battery was dead, as a door nail. I guess I should have driven it more! So, I went to the garage and got my old battery charger out and hooked it up. It puts out six amps so it should have charged it that day. No dice. I called my son in law to bring his jumper box over and jump me off (my wife has ours) and he did. He hooked it up and when I turned the key to start, I could see a spark at the positive cable. That means you have a bad connection between the battery and the cable end. So I had some more work cut out. SIL had work to do so he left. I took of the battery cables and cleaned them and then connected my six amp charger, my trickle charger and my solar charger and around 6pm I went out to see if it would start. Nothing.
.
About this time the wife got home so I got the jumper box out and hooked it up and it cranked up. Soon as I took the jumper box off the battery, Actually about 30 seconds later, it died. This alarmed me because that can mean the alternator is bad. So I decided to check my chargers output and nothing! it was dead. At this point I decided I needed to get the battery charged so next day I went to the store and got a new 15 amp battery charger and hooked it up. I also checked the new chargers output and it showed over 15 volts. Good. It appeared to start charging so I left it for 4 hours.

I went out to check it and the new charger said it was fully charged, so I go to crank it and nothing. I checked the voltage at the battery terminals and it showed 10.4 volts and a fully charged battery should read 12.6 or higher. So, I need a battery. Today I went to the store and bought an el cheapo one for 56 dollars, half of what auto zone wanted. It is a brand called ever start and has a year warranty. Hope it lasts a lot longer. Anyhow, I got the new battery in, and it read 12.75 volts, and I cleaned the heck out of the terminals again. Got it in and it cranked right up! I checked the alternator output and it showed 14.6 volts so that means the alternator is working. Yay!

If anyone is interested, to check your alternator output with a volt meter do this:

Start the car and turn every thing on. High beams, AC, radio, wipers, EVERYTHING, and have someone rev the engine up and hold it at around 1500 RPM. If the voltage reading at the battery is not less than 13.5 volts you should be good.

The old battery was most likely shorted out, or it would have kept running without the jumper box on it.

/---- I miss stick shifts. Get them rolling and pop the clutch in first or second and they chug to life.. When I was too poor to buy a new battery, that is how I started my car every morning but I had to park on a hill. Eventually I saved up $19 and bought a Sears battery (this was i the early 70s)
View attachment 126773

Some older automatics could be push started. Not anymore though.

/----- I didn't know that. Thanks

The way it worked is that the trans had two pumps, one in the front behind the torque converter and the other in the rearmost section of the trans. This rear pump had its drive gear splined to the output shaft of the trans so that whenever the output shaft turned, the pump turned. When the pump gears turn, it creates oil flow to the control valve assembly and when enough pressure is available, you could start the car. The procedure was that you had to push the car with the trans in neutral and when you got to around 25 mph, drop it into low range, causing oil to engage the low clutch or band and turn the input shaft. The oil pressure available would engage the clutches and cause the input shaft to rotate, spinning the torque converter which would turn the engine, and make it start if you had the key on.

The reason a car without a rear pump won't push start is that the trans output shaft and input shat are not directly connected to each other. So even if you pushed it and the output shaft turned, not pressure is created.