# Starter on a 2004 Ford Taurus with 135,000 miles v6, 3.0 L

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/starter-on-a-2004-ford-taurus-with-135-000-miles-v6-3-0-l/56954>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** ford, taurus\
**Created:** [October 29, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/starter-on-a-2004-ford-taurus-with-135-000-miles-v6-3-0-l/56954 "2010-10-29T15:55:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Womper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Womper](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Womper)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/starter-on-a-2004-ford-taurus-with-135-000-miles-v6-3-0-l/56954/1 "2010-10-29T15:55:22Z")

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How do I know if the starter is bad? My engine light goes on and it is a little hard to start. Should I replace it or should I wait until it does not start? Thanks.  
  
 womper

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**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/starter-on-a-2004-ford-taurus-with-135-000-miles-v6-3-0-l/56954/2 "2010-10-29T16:02:40Z")

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Nothing you’ve said has anything to do with a starter.

Explain this: “it is a little hard to start” in detail.

A bad starter will never turn on your engine light. If your engine light is on take the car to a major chain auto parts store and have them pull the error codes. Most do this for free. Write down the exact codes (like P1234) and post them here.

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**Author:** ![Womper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Womper](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Womper)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/starter-on-a-2004-ford-taurus-with-135-000-miles-v6-3-0-l/56954/3 "2010-11-02T03:52:56Z")

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When I say it is a “little hard to start” I mean that it does not turn over or start immediately. It takes about two or three seconds before it starts. The code was P0306. Thank you.

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**Author:** ![Cougar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cougar/32/21348_2.png) [@Cougar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cougar)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 10:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/starter-on-a-2004-ford-taurus-with-135-000-miles-v6-3-0-l/56954/4 "2010-11-02T10:33:02Z")

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Code P0306 is a misfire on #6 cylinder. I doubt that is causing the starting trouble you are having.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Womper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Womper](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Womper)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/starter-on-a-2004-ford-taurus-with-135-000-miles-v6-3-0-l/56954/5 "2010-11-02T14:35:54Z")

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I had the coil pack and all six spark plugs replaced. Could it be a defective coil pack or defective spark plugs? Thanks.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Cougar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cougar/32/21348_2.png) [@Cougar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cougar)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/starter-on-a-2004-ford-taurus-with-135-000-miles-v6-3-0-l/56954/6 "2010-11-02T16:30:40Z")

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The trouble could be with the plug or coilpack. You could try swapping or replacing the plug first to see if that makes a change. Make sure the plug gap is within specs. If that doesn’t help then you could try moving the coilpack to see if the problem moves with it. Doing a compression test may show up a problem also.