So you're late for work. You dash out the door, jump into the old Cougar, put the key in the ignition, give it the old twist....and you get a lovely clicking noise where the sound of the car starting should be. Power drainage, probably....right? Not necessarily.

All Fords need just about 100 percent voltage for ignition. Any power drop, or bad connections, and you won't start, period. The first thing to check is your battery connection. If there is any hint of corrosion around the terminals that's usually the problem. Sometimes you can't even see any gunk but it'll still cause the same problem. A terminal cleaner should be mandatory in any Ford owner's toolbox; that'll keep them clean and prevent this problem from occurring again. Also it's highly recommended that you keep the terminals protected from any future corrosion. Those $.99 red and green felt washers they sell everywhere really do the job great. Or, you can use terminal cleaner or even grease. Lastly, if your battery is not maintenance-free, make sure it has enough water (always use distilled water when filling, not regular tap water).

The next step in the line would be the starter solenoid, located by the strut tower nearest the battery. If you happent to overtighten one of the nuts on the terminals, chances are you can break the contact internally, and you'll get intermittent or no starting. This also happens over time naturally. But in a pinch, you can jump start your car from the solenoid alone. Turn the ignition switch on, then get two flat screwdrivers. Put the flat end of one screwdriver on on other side of the solenoid, then touch the screwdrivers together, and you have ignition (watch for the spark!). You can also use a battery jumper cable to do this as well. This is helpful when tracking down any problems in the ignition system. If this trick does not work, then the cause of your starting woes is your solenoid or your ignition switch.

Lastly, you could have a power drain, bad battery, bad voltage regulator, bad alternator, bad ignition switch, bad TFI module, bad starter motor....etc. But at least these tips will not you cost much to eliminate some possible causes.

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