So I am now out of Ideas. My wife has a 2007 ford focus and after driving home from work, and trying to start the car the next day it will not turn on.

Long story short, I now have a new battery and a new starter and still cannot start the car.

I also checked:

verified power is getting to the starter
verified the battery has clean connections
Power works for everything, radio, highbeams..etc
Car still makes 1 click noise when turning the key.

I could not get to the starter relay as there is a steal cover blocking any access to it.

I've been messing with this car for a week now and still nothing. Did I miss something or is there something else I have not checked?

 

The anti theft system will disable the starter from working.
If you have another key , try the second key.
If that doesn't work , let us know what the theft lamp is doing when you attempt to start the vehicle.

 

thanks for your reply. I dont have another key, but when I try to start the vehicle with the same key the lamp is off.

 

Does the lamp come on at least during the bulb check when first turning the key on?

 

yes, it lights up.

 

Make sure the ground cable connection at the engine is clean and tight. Looking at it is not checking it! It has to be removed , cleaned and reinstalled.

 

I'll have to clean it tomorrow after work, hopefully this will help. Thanks!

 

Ok, so I cleaned the ground cable, it was visibly corroded, had blueish rust on the contacts. I used sandpaper on the screw, ground cable, and vehicle and made sure it was grounded properly.

I tried to start the car, and the first 2-3 tries resulted in a click, but the 4th try actually started the engine for a second, but then stopped. Any further tries afterward resulted in the same click after each turn of the key.

There was no strange abnormal sounds, smells, or anything to suggest anything else.

 

The issue has been resolved. I took it to the mechanic and it stumped them for 2 days. It turns out that the cause was the alternator burning out the starter. The pulley on the alternator has also seized.

The fix was a new alternator.

after towing, diagnostic, new alternator, and labor it cost me $645... Sucks but thankfully it is now working..

 

Thanks for the update !
It just goes to show you how important it is to start with the basics and completely ignored if the engine was free to move. Hope I remember to check things like this first !