Car Problem - Electric-ish - Exercise #327

Jurollo · #1 10-31-2005, 01:41 PM

Ok so I was driving my car the other night and the electricity started cutting in and out, turning my radio off and on in the process and my car seemed to hiccup as well when this happened, but continued to run. The digital temperature thing turned off as well. The next day I looked at the batteries and they were corroded but I cleaned the terminals and the car fired up. NowI got out last night and it won't start, no power. It gets sporadic electricity but doesn't have enough juice to start. It is a 1993 Ford Taurus SHO, good condition, has been serviced regularly. Could it be fuses? Should I look towards the battery again? Alternator? Thanks in advance.
~Justin

imported_The Vibesman · #2 10-31-2005, 01:42 PM

Probably your alternator. If you know how to remove/reintstall it you can have it tested at most parts stores.

Shajen · #3 10-31-2005, 01:45 PM

Hopefully it's just your battery, but the electrical stuff going out sounds like the alternator.

Take the battery out and get it tested at Autozone for free.

If it is the alternator, it will die fairly soon because it won't keep the battery's charge.

You can get an alternator fairly cheap, and they aren't hard to install yourself.

swede123 · #4 10-31-2005, 01:46 PM

The Vibesman is right on. What you describe sounds very much like a shot alternator. If you are somewhat handy you can replace the alternator fairly easily, usually only having to remove the drive belt. An alternator will cost you around a hundred bucks for a better one, or a bit less than that for a cheaper one.

Swede

ripdog · #5 10-31-2005, 01:48 PM

1993 Ford Taurus. My advice would be to push it off of a cliff. Seriously though, you have not provided enough information for anybody to give you solid advice. It could be anything. Get it into a reputable shop and have it diagnosed. You could take a quick look around the alternator to see if there are any damaged wires. You may need a battery but I doubt that it is the cause of your problems in this case.

jba · #6 10-31-2005, 01:50 PM

aren't there supposed to be hot chick pictures in here?

were the windshield wipers on when you first started having problems?

theweatherman · #7 10-31-2005, 02:00 PM

I hadsimilarproblems with my 96 altima. One thanksgiving it just died on the road andwouldn't start. Took a few tries but I finally jumped it and got to sears for a new battery, worked for a bout two days then thesame problem came. Everyone told meit was the alternator (except the test guys at autozone) Turns out all the connections to the alternatorwere corroded, even though the barrtery trerminals were fine.

Bottom line, two hours pulling out wires and sanding them saved me a $300+ alternator.

Jurollo · #8 10-31-2005, 02:23 PM

thanks folks.
~Justin

PokerGoblin · #9 10-31-2005, 02:38 PM

What you describe sounds like the alternator is failing intermittenly. On some cars they are easy to change, on a '93 SHO I am not sure, I actually think it may be a tad on the difficult side being a DOHC V6. A lot of the vehicle accessories are buried and difficult to access.

Best thing to do is jump it and take it to a local shop to have the charging system checked. Do it soon though. An alternator that is malfunctioning will cause the battery to have to work harder, and if you neglect it too long the battery will need to be replaced too.

PG

#10 10-31-2005, 03:29 PM

You said the battery was corroded, so if you haven't already done so, I would disconnect the battery and use a file to take off all of the corrosion. This may solve your problem. This happened to me before and it worked. If that doesn't work, then autozone is your key. They can test both the battery and alternator