1988 Lincoln Town Car no start.

[JUSTIN CREDIBLE]

Make

Lincoln

Model

Town car

Year

1988

Miles

62,000

Engine

5.0

88 town car, (sitting in garage for a few months) doesn?t crank, replaced the starter and solenoid but still no luck. (Motor is not seized)

When you turn the key, you get just a clicking under the dash (glove box area) when you put the key in the start position.

Even tried starting car in neutral to no avail.

Any advice appreciated thank you

 

[grcauto]

How's the battery?

 

[JUSTIN CREDIBLE]

Dead as a doornail. But we were using a battery booster pack (which is fully charged) to start it.

 

[grcauto]

Sounds like the relay may be bad. Swap it with another and see.

 

[JUSTIN CREDIBLE]

When you mean relay, you mean the starter solenoid on the inner fender or something else?

 

[billr]

You aren't trying to "boost" the battery with that external pack, you are trying to replace it. The cable connections/clips may simply not be adequate. Can I assume the dead battery has been disconnected or removed? If not, then that dead battery would act as a short and make things even worse. If nothing else, check voltage right down at the starter while trying to crank.

 

[grcauto]

I think you should start with a good battery.
Do you have theft?
Here's the circuit.

 

[Mikerizer]

Like billr and grcauto said, start with a known good battery. My Mom had a 1997 Lincoln that, if it set for a few days (she didn't drive it frequently), the battery would drain. I had to use an amp meter, and wait about an hour after shutting it off. It was still drawing amps...I pulled relays one at a time until the amp meter went to spec (I forget the number, but it was just a few milliamps). Finally, I found the stuck relay, replaced it with a new one, and never had that problem again.