The Battery Cable Melted In My 1994 Mercury Cougar and Now It Won’t Start

Reader Question I have a 94 Ford Mercury Cougar v6 with 150,000 miles. I had noticed that my negative battery terminal had melted and got stuck to the battery. I had to get it off with a screw driver.i didn’t think nuthin of it.

My car worked for a while but now it wont start. It turned off on me while i was driving. I tried starting it but it would just turn over. I had it towed to my house and now it wont even turn over. the in-car clock wont turn on nor will any of the other electrical stuff. the powerlocks and interior lights still turn on but thats about it. what could be the problem? Thanks AJ

Hi there AJ

You probably have a bad starter motor. I have seen the battery cable melt due to a starter that would NOT shut off, and continued to run even after the engine was running. This drew too much current from the battery and melted the cable to the battery.

If this did not happen to you, you might just replace the starter motor. If you recall the starter motor sticking after the engine was running…you might want to replace the starter motor and the starter solenoid located on the passenger fender well under the hood.

A “shade tree mechanic” test for the starter would be to crawl under the vehicle and lightly tap on the side of the starter motor with a piece of wood or a rubber hammer while someone has the key turned to the start position. If nothing happens, you can also tap on the starter solenoid on the passenger fender well while someone has the key turned to the start position.

You can follow the positive battery cable from the battery to the solenoid.

MAKE SURE THE CAR IS IN PARK !!!!!!

Blessings,
Austin Davis