'87 won't start, killed the battery

[netjunkie]

Hi everyone. I have an '87 Grand Marquis that I recently purchased. I had to charge the battery overnight at that time, it wouldn't accept a jump start. Or we could replace the battery to get it started and then put it's battery back in it. We've had no problems since, until the other day. When the car was shut off, it would not start again. For a few turns of the ignition the buzzers and lights were working, then nothing except for a clicking noise on the drivers side of the engine. The battery and solenoid are on the other side. The solenoid was put in shortly before we bought it so it should be good. Now we can't even put another battery in the car to start it, it's just dead. Could it be the ignition switch? Or do you have any ideas on what it could be or where I should start? Thanks.

[kodiak]

Do you have interior lights? If you have a VOM or test light I would put in a charged battery and test for 12v (with key on) at the alternator/voltage regulator "I" terminal. If you don't have power there it could be the ignition switch or a fuse link. Pretty much all power comes off of the starter solenoid. You can use a pin or needle to pierce the wire insulation and check to ground after a fuse link to see if it's got 12v.

Sent from my '85 Lincolin Town Car

[85crownHPP]

So it wont even crank with a good fresh battery?

It could be a bad connection at your cables/clamps or a dead starter.

Give the cables a good wiggle/pull at each end. Remove each battery terminal clamp and clean the posts & inside of the clamps with a battery terminal brush. Posts/clamps can look clean as can be and still not make a good connection. If you have a test light, probe the thin red wire on the tiny push-on post of the starter solenoid on the fender. It should show + when you turn the key to crank.

Also check the negative battery cable where it attaches to the engine, if it's loose or corroded there it can cause troubles.

[netjunkie]

Do you have interior lights? If you have a VOM or test light I would put in a charged battery and test for 12v (with key on) at the alternator/voltage regulator "I" terminal. If you don't have power there it could be the ignition switch or a fuse link. Pretty much all power comes off of the starter solenoid. You can use a pin or needle to pierce the wire insulation and check to ground after a fuse link to see if it's got 12v.

Sent from my '85 Lincolin Town Car

I did have interior lights for a short time when it died. I will show him this thread and, fingers crossed, this will be it and the repair can begin. Thanks for the info.

[netjunkie]

So it wont even crank with a good fresh battery?

It could be a bad connection at your cables/clamps or a dead starter.

Give the cables a good wiggle/pull at each end. Remove each battery terminal clamp and clean the posts & inside of the clamps with a battery terminal brush. Posts/clamps can look clean as can be and still not make a good connection. If you have a test light, probe the thin red wire on the tiny push-on post of the starter solenoid on the fender. It should show + when you turn the key to crank.

Also check the negative battery cable where it attaches to the engine, if it's loose or corroded there it can cause troubles.

Hi. Nope, it won't even start with a fully charged battery. I will pass this info on and hopefully it will be this "easy" to fix. Thanks for the insight.

[gadget73]

If the lights go out, you have a bad battery cable or connection. If the lights don't go out, but it doesn't roll over, the relay or the starter may have failed. A test light will tell you, or whack the starter with a hammer and see if it goes. If it does, get a new one because its not long for this world.