Diagnosis Help Please..

Hey guys, My car died yesterday.. I was wondering if you can help me out real quick. Here's the situation..

Went to start it, turned key, some gauge lights flickered but the starter never turned. I then tried ignition again, while being jumped from my friend's car, and the gauges all started flipping around wildly and the windshield wipers started going (they weren't on) and the starter started rotating very weakly. I jumped it for quite a while with the same response every time.

What are you guys thinking? Alternator or maybe a fuse? Thanks very much for the help, I greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Dylan

check battery voltage. Fords need a minimum of about 10.2 Volts to start. i bet your battery is dead. now possible reasons its dead: alternator could be bad and not charging it, or it just died (they only last so long) i doubt its the mega fuse seeing as how when you jumped it the starter did turn. take the battery to autozone (or equivilent) and have then test the battery. you will have to charge it first. if you charge it and then manage to start the car check battery voltage with the car running. it should be about 14 Volts. both readings should be done in DC volts. however since the alternator generates AC volts and its converted to DC you need to make sure your not getting too much AC voltage so check that as well at the battery. AC volts while running should be less than .5 volts (the less the better)

go check those things and tell us what you find.

You were right, it was the battery! All fixed, thanks for very much for the help. The tow truck driver said Ford batteries tend to short out which might explain all the electrical nonsense. I don't know how true that is, but I figure I'd throw that out there. Thanks for the help.

Ford batteries tend to short out?! wtf?

Glad you got it working.

AKA "Ford's Suck"

^^^ its true!!

Good thing it was the battery, getting the alternator out is a pain.

KerryKool said:

AKA "Ford's Suck"

^^^ its true!!

Good thing it was the battery, getting the alternator out is a pain.

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getting it out is a pain?

i dont know what your talking about. ive done mine twice. once while it was still hot. never had any problems getting it out. the hardest part was getting the lower drivers side bolt out and you can get that easily with a ratcheting wrench.

tedBalog said:

Ford batteries tend to short out?! wtf?

Glad you got it working.

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I agree, the motorcraft batteries are some of the better batteries that you can get, I am on my second one, think the first was original and never a problem ... although my mother had one short out internally, but that is one out of maybe a half dozen that we have had in the cars, new or replacement ...

I had one which lasted 3.5 years for the Contour and one for another vehicle which lasted 5.5 years. So it is hit or miss from my perspective. I had an Interstate Battery which lasted almost 6 years 9 months before I changed it (one month ago) as it showed some corrosion on the battery top holder. It was still showing 12.10 volts. I figured I had my money's worth and did not want to deal with cleaning corrosion off the top holder every few weeks or so.

Dylan said:

You were right, it was the battery! All fixed, thanks for very much for the help. The tow truck driver said Ford batteries tend to short out which might explain all the electrical nonsense. I don't know how true that is, but I figure I'd throw that out there. Thanks for the help.

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The more reasonable explanation for the electrical gremlins (and most likely the correct one) is a deteriorating wiring harness. According to your profile you're driving a '96, so you might want to start reading up on the harness recall info. Chances are you've got exposed wiring rubbing and shorting. The most susceptible portion of the harness is the short section that runs from the relay box to the battery. It runs out the bottom of the relay box and underneath the battery tray. You should also check any exposed wiring in the engine compartment for cracking/flaking insulation.

IRingTwyce said:

...The most susceptible portion of the harness is the short section that runs from the relay box to the battery. It runs out the bottom of the relay box and underneath the battery tray. ..exposed wiring in the engine compartment for cracking/flaking insulation.

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Found some "flakes" a few days ago on mine closest to the positive battery terminal. I used some "Liquid Rubber" from Home Depot as a temporary fix. Will have to decide if I want to replace the positive cable later (about $100 from Ford). The other end, below the battery and next to the Power Distribution Box was fine.