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Electrical Issues

H

homerjca

New CEG'er
Joined
Jan 2, 2007
Messages
25
Location
Port Dover, Ontario, Canada
Hi all. Car drove great as usual today (apart from the rear brakes, another story for another day). Went to go out tonight, turned the key and nothing. Heard a few strange noises, speedo jumped all over the place, clock reset, dash lights extremely dim etc. Never had a problem like this before, no battery light ever and the battery is less than 6 months old. I jumped the car and it started fine, but I noticed that the lights would dim when I used high beams, lowered the windows etc. After a few minutes the car dies again...buzzer sounds weird, dim dash lights etc. I haven't checked voltage or anything yet, just looking for some possible causes. I will check in the morning but was wondering if it could be the megafuse, an alternator or perhaps the dreaded wiring harness...don't think mine was done.
 
It sounds more like a fuse or a short to me, But i could be wrong i kinda new at all this. Id go for fuses. As far as i know alternators dont just die out that quickly, But check voltage to make sure.
 
Sounds like alternator or possibly megafuse. Your battery is discharged, the jump puts enough energy into the battery to start the car and run it for a while but it's not being recharged. It is possible for the alternator to go without a warning light. Check to see if the battery light comes on when you turn the key to "on" but before you start the car. If the light doesn't come on it could be a fuse (fuse is in engine compartment by battery, labeled Foglight) or the alternator. Check fuse first it's cheaper and easier!

Post results and we'll give next steps.
 
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Thanks for the replys so far. I thought it might be a fuse as when i got home from work, I stopped to get my mail, shut the car off and it restarted fine. It sat for a few hours and when I tried to go out, nothing. The battery had completely discharged. I also thought it could be the battery itself. I'm off check the battery first and then the fuses, I'll post results later.
 
i had my battery die on me. but it didn't happen that quickly. it took it about a month and a half for it not to be able to start my car, had 2 dead cells first then who knows how many by the end. doesn't sounds like a battery to me.
 
Sounds like exactly what happened when my girlfriends wiring harness went. Got a new harness and motor out of the deal (thanks Ford), but I think you are past the expiration date. Look where the main harness passes through the firewall. Hers would smoke there when I tried to jump it.
 
No smoke when I jump it, maybe that's a good sign :cool: . I still find it strange that my battery discharged itself in just over 3 hours. I have a friend looking at it now and he should report sometime soon. I think my wiring harness was replaced under the recall but am not 100% sure, I sure as hell hope it isn't that :cry: .
 
not strange that it discharged so quick. It was probably discharging and you didn't notice until it dropped below the threshold. A fully charged battery will discharge in about 4 hours with just engine and accessories and 2 hr with lights on.
 
Initial diagnosis is the battery is kaput. The alternator seems to be ok and the battery is still under warranty. A few more tests to go and I should be back on the road. Good new so far but I won't know for sure until the end of the day.
 
Still looking...busy this weekend so it will have to wait until Monday. From what I heard from a friend though, fuel injected cars can't run on just an alternator if the battery is shot.
 
Twocontours said a bad battery won't cause the car to go dead once it's started. I've had it happen to me. I think it involves an internal short in the battery or something. The current from the alternator essentially gets routed to ground through the battery.
 
Probably a bad battery or short somewhere rapidly draining the battery. I would disconnect the battery cables, clean the terminals, recharge the battery, check the voltage of the battery, hook up the negative terminal and check for current draw with the key shut off.
 
Hi all, turns out it was a bad battery cable that was causing a short...cable replaced (the insulation was cracked and peeling :shocked: ) and connections cleaned...all well. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and help. Glad it wasn't an alternator! :laugh:
 
This is happening to me right now and tomorrow I'm replacing the battery cable (frayed end).

Did the cable fix solve your problem or did it come back? I'll post back in the next few days.

Edit - I'm not sure how a frayed cable would drain the battery so I'm confused about this. I'm changing the cable anyway!
 
The SAME exact thing happend to me recently. The battery is tottaly fine. i took my car to ford to find the problem, but all they did was find my money,*sigh*, the car was dead; even with a brand new battery. surprisingly after like a week of just being stumped and fuse checking, all it turned out being was a dirty negative battery terminal. it was the last thing checked when it should have been the first. Car just came to life! hopefully the same is for you!!
 
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I just changed my positive cable because the end was totally frayed. I also cleaned the terminals and ground connetion with the battery plus the other visible grounds under the hood. So far it's been good today and fires up faster than it used to.
 
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