It was pouring rain this morning and when I went to start my 98 Ford Taurus to bring my husband to the train, I got not even a sound. Nothing. I’m guessing it is the battery, but is there anything I can do? I remember once a long time ago drying something out with a towel and then the car - a different car - started.
This used to work on distributor caps. Dry them inside and out. It sometimes worked when the battery would crank the car but the engine wouldn’t fire. Most modern cars no longer have distributor caps.
If you truly have a dead battery, as you claim, no amount of drying will help. You would need a jump start.
Try removing both ends of the battery cables (both of them) and cleaning both the cable and where it goes very well and reattaching making sure they are secure.Do any of the accessories work? Radio , lights etc… If yes, you may or may not have a battery issue. If no then you do. Is the battery maintenance free? Or do you have to check the water level in the cells and top it off as needed?
If you have a volt meter you can place it accross the terminals on the batery and read the voltage. Make sure you are on DC volts and in the correct range if the meter does not have auto range. The voltage should be around 12.4 volts. If it is lower than this it is drained or dead if much lower. You will need a jump start and let it recharge.
After doing all or some of this and you believe the battery to still be the problem you can take it to Autozone or another parts store and get it load tested for free. This way you will know for sure.
Good Luck.