1989 Taurus GL starter solenoid chatter

[Vanhooton]

i have had my car parked for a month and a half, maybe more. i left the battery in, and temperatures got to around minus 25 to minus 30 Celsius. i know my battery is shot, because it was not charged when i parked it. so i plugged the block heater in for a day and i put a new battery in, the interior lights come on when i open the doors and such. when i turn the key to crank the engine, the starter solenoid chatters. i have had this problem before, caused by a low battery, and not enough power to crank the engine over. should i get another new battery? or is there any helpful hints out there?

[ABE]

Do not get another battery until you have checked out the rest of the starting system. I am not sure what you mean by "starter solenoid chatters" but the starter will chatter if the battery power is low or a poor connection. On my '93 the heavy solenoid is integral with the starter motor, but I suspect on the '89 it would be a separate component on the fender beside the battery. I will assume this layout.

You likely have one of four conditions:
1. New battery is weak or not fully charged;
2. Solenoid has burnt internal connectors;
3. Cables are broken internally or connections are dirty;
4. Starter motor failure.

Battery: Charge the battery fully and either get its specific gravity checked ($3 hydrometer for batteries) and it should be over 1.275 to about 1.3; or alternatively load tested. The battery must be fully charged for any further diagnosis.

Solenoid: Remove the protective boots from the battery and starter connection on the fender mounted solenoid. Use a heavy screwdriver to short across the terminals to bypass the solenoid. Does engine turn over quickly? If it does then the solenoid has probably failed (contacts burn and cannot transfer high amp load for starting) and needs to be replaced.

Connections: You will need to disconnect the neg battery cable and move it out of the way.
1. Check the connections at solenoid by removing and cleaning and replacing. Also check the small ignition starter wire on the solenoid has a good connection.
2. Check the wire from solenoid to starter and clean the starter connection;
3. Check the ground wire from the battery neg to the starter mounting bolt ground location. Remove the ground wire and clean it and the block mount. Replace wire and bolt and tighten;
4. Re-connect the neg terminal on the battery.

Now the starting system can be tested as a normal start. If engine will still not turn over then short out the solenoid connection bolts again. If engine turns over quickly replace solenoid. If still nothing then the starter needs to be replaced.

Hope this helps.

[Vanhooton]

thanks for the quick reply!! i will see if those steps get me thru this

[Vanhooton]

thanks for the reply, it was too cold to do anything with the wiring. haha... i had to clean the posts, and replace a terminal on the battery, boosted that battery with a little more juice, and it cranked over.

[ABE]

So you think the new battery was low on charge and is now OK? But the engine doesn't start?