2000 Ford Taurus won't start

"Blow the carbs out"? What does that mean? It does not have a carburetor if that's what he means, it does not need to be driven at 70mph ever to keep it functional, it does need to be driven to keep it lubricated among other things, but normal 'in town' driving will do, they used to say "take it out and blow out the gunk" for old, muscle cars, which this is certainly not. What leads you to believe there is something with the #4 coil? And the spark plugs turned black after attempting to start it and it didn't? Start that is?

That car has a 3.0 Liter V6, a very good engine, i did some research to see what might be going on. One thing that comes to mind, is sometimes for reasons unknown to me, older people will not keep gas in it. They drive it until the warning light flashes, then put in $10. If that is the case, condensation may have gotten water in the tank, Just a thought, there are a multitude of things...does it get spark at all? Is that why he is thinking coil?

Haha, I kind of thought that was funny that he said that about the carbs also. I didn't think it had a carburetor. He is no mechanic by any means, but he knows more than most non-mechanics. He also thought about water in the tank and has put some Heet in it. As for the coil issue, I do believe I heard him say that it wasn't getting any spark. I guess my main purpose for asking is in hopes that someone can confirm that there was some kind of issue with this car before we got it, since my Grandma seems to think it was fine and dandy before we took it. I also forgot to mention that she has been sick and the car sat for about 4 weeks undriven before we took it. I also don't think that she is one that would let the gas go to almost empty before filling it. As she has mentioned to me many times, she has picked up a few things by working for three dealerships in the past and had two brothers in the repair business.

Sitting parked for a month can cause a lot of problems. Since that's the case, Grandma does not know that it was 'just fine" she thinks so, and you are not going to convince her otherwise

Did any of you find out what was the problem with the ford taurus? Because I have the same problem. Also I put bad quality gasoline (arco) and it started shaking and the next week it would not turn on.

Carburetors?

WHAT? Blow the carbs out?? gotta agree that was a first. OK.. first of all if it doesn't start I wouldn't change the spark plugs/ wires ( they are not needed to start). The battery definitely helped. A lot of people don't keep their battery clean or don't know how many CCA are in a battery and buy a new one when they didn't need too!! I would have definitely tested my battery first AND my starter solenoid. The little solenoid is the one piece that people tend to overlook the most. The car can start with bad plugs/wires , or even the ones that are not gapped properly ( it sounds terrible so you know you would have to work on it anyway). HOWEVER when you mention the plugs were black this means that you are running too rich and an adjustment has to be made. I would definitely replacemy 02 sensors as well. if my spark plug is black, so is my 02. I would make that my 2nd priority AFTER getting it to start, then maybe think about plugs wires as the 3d task. If you think you should be getting a better performance out of that 3.0 motor ( mileage wise and acceleration wise) then replace your wires and plugs ( and gap the right gap of course...with a gap gauge). you may have to rent the kit to replace the 02 sensor but it can be done ( I had to do it this past year when I struggled to pass smog). I found out the problem and went from there.

Note to all who commented on carburetors: The phrase, "Blow the carbs out" has nothing to do with carburetors. Back in the great long ago, of which I am apparently a part, it meant to blow out carbon via running an engine hard enough or long enough to burn off carbon deposits which could build up on spark plugs, exhaust valves, etc.