91 Ford Tempo... Odd starting things and solenoids.

[tairee]

Hey. So I have a 1991 Ford Tempo that used to be a building inspector's on-sight car. It's always had some idling issues, but that seems to be a common theme with 90's Tempos. It's pretty old and has quite a few miles on it (this summer I drove it from Chicago to Seattle), so it's been through some wear and tear.

Just recently, my car started having trouble starting. When you turn the key, the engine wouldn't even attempt to turn over, but you can hear a sort of clicking that my dad said might be a problem with the solenoid connection, or the solenoid itself. I found that my car mainly has this starting problem when it is parked on a slant. Usually, to get it started, it helps to slam the car door really hard and pump the gas pedal as you turn the key, which makes me think it might have something to do with a connection problem.

So if any of these things sound familiar to you guys and you have an idea what I can do to fix it, lemme know. Or, if you know where the solenoid is located in a Ford engine, that'd be really helpful so I could check that out. My Dad taught me how to test the solenoid itself to see if that's the problem, I just don't know where to find it in my car (...do Tempos even have solenoids?). Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Terry

[jonmark1985]

That one is mounted on the fenderwell. Just follow the positive battery cable and you'll find it.



That is the one mounted on the starter.

I'd almost bet you have a bad battery cable.

[christian86]

no i see his faters point i had the same problem with my 94 except mine was slaming the shifter into park instead of slaming the door replaced the solinoid and it worked

[922.3]

i have a 92 and it did the same thing. thought it was the solinoid but it wasnt crawled under it and found a wire disconnected.