[oldeguy]

Okay, yesterday, the car died, as I have said. Replaced battery, car ran great. Today, again while doing some stuff, around 4:30 p.m. while driving, it just died. There is some battery power, the car won't turn overm but all the idiot lights turn on. The only thing is, the odometer is showing me no kilometers, just some long dashes and short dashes. I need some advice please :unsure:

[FocusGuy7476]

something with the alternator or maybe even ECU.

[coolsvt]

Check your battery cables.

[hardk0re]

Charge up the battery, old skewl way, remove the battery when the car is running... car should die. If so check alternator, and yeah possible to be cables.

[ZX5focused]

alternator for sure......the problem with our cars is that the voltage regulation is controlled by the PCM. Hope that it is just the alternator, but if the odometer is showing messed up things, it may be the pcm. When my PCM died, the odometer, gauges and lights would all die, but the car would still run. It would tell the alternator to send out higher than normal voltage which caused me to go through alternators faster than oil changes. I went through 2 batteries, 5 alternators (including stock), 1 set of battery cables and a pcm. Best thing to do if you can is to test the alternator while the car is running. (if anyone needs and alternator changed on the side of the road i can do it with 2 screwdrivers and a socket wrench lol :D)

o and dont worry about the PCM, it should be covered under the Ford emission control component warranty (or somehting like that) if that turns out to be the problem. I believe it is valid 8 years from in use date.

[Focus man. Focus.]

I went through the same thing earlier this year. I replaced my battery due to a no start issue. About 20kms down the road it quit again but not before a funky light show on the dash. Warning lights were going on and off. The needles were all over the place.

I had it towed to the dealer thru my extended warranty and it was the Alternator. After all that everything worked great.

[Tiketz]

That happened to me too...I wired up my rear euro tails and was going to move the car back into the garage, and the same thing happend

I tried to start the car and had the ------- WTF?....It eventually started

oldeguy,Nov 8 2007, 03:38 PM Wrote:Okay, yesterday, the car died, as I have said. Replaced battery, car ran great. Today, again while doing some stuff, around 4:30 p.m. while driving, it just died. There is some battery power, the car won't turn overm but all the idiot lights turn on. The only thing is, the odometer is showing me no kilometers, just some long dashes and short dashes. I need some advice please :unsure:
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[j3rt]

Is the car totally dead?
Recently, my batt died. Odd situation, it metered 14V but not cranking amps. What I suspect happened was the cables running into my hatch had all deterioated. The rear defrost/ wiper etc had all shorted out on each other. I'd check the black rubber hose connecting the trunk lid to the rest of the car. This is becoming common in wagon, and a few sedans have had the same problem.
Just something to check out if the other tests don't yeild any answers.

[oldeguy]

Just a small update. I haven't had time to work on the car, my wife is in the hospital. Today, I went out and just for a joke, I tried to start it. Eveything looked normal, all the idiot lights came on, the fuel pump primed....but then, the pump started to sound like it was going on and off, on and off as long as I kept the key in the accessory mode, or tried to start it. Also, the little red security light would blink, very very fast, while trying to start the car. The car, while I had the key in the on position, would try to start, and sounded like it wanted to start, but either wasn't getting any spark, or wasn't getting any fuel. If I get time tomorrow, I'm going to disconnect the battery, which seems to be holding, and see if I can reset the computer, and do the check of computer when it is reconnected.
I have just a couple of questions that maybe someone can help me with.
1) Is there a way for the do it yourselfer to check to see if the computer is fried? by using a scan tool. I don't want to take it to Ford unless I really have to.
2) Is the PCM and the ECM the same thing? The car's computer ( I know, it's a dumb question, but, if I was really smart, I would know the meaning of life )

[oldeguy]

Update number two. I disconnected the battery this morning, and did the "computer relearn" thing. Right now, the PCM/ECM is okay, all the idiot lights are working and the odometer is working as well. I ran the car for a couple of minutes and it died again, but all the electrics are fine. Tried to restart it, and it didn't restart, but it sounded like it wanted to start. Then, after a couple more minutes, it started. My neighbour the mechanic thinks it could be the fuel pump. Was there a recall on them, or is it a warranty issue?

[oldeguy]

Decided to bite the bullet and sent the dead car to the mechanics. He's had it for two days, car has been running like a dream. He's checked the ECU for codes, changed the fuel filter, he said it was dirty, but that shouldn't cause the problems so he says, tomorrow, he's doing a fuel pressure check. I hope the filter was it, ( yes, if that was the problem, you can all say something about it ) I'm presently driving my mother-in-laws Century....... at least it's running.

[snorcus]

You said that the theft light was blinking, it almost sounds like mabey its a PATS issue. Do you have a spare key to try. Sometimes if the key lost its programing it will still run for a few min but then shut down,,,,, just an ideal. The fuel pumps do have a recal on them. If you PM me your vin or call a dealer and they can run OASIS on it to see if your car has been done or not. I can do it for you bc I work at a dealer if you want and I wont give you a hard time. Or charge you.

[oldeguy]

snorcus,Nov 15 2007, 11:31 AM Wrote:You said that the theft light was blinking, it almost sounds like mabey its a PATS issue.  Do you have a spare key to try. Sometimes if the key lost its programing it will still run for a few min but then shut down,,,,, just an ideal. The fuel pumps do have a recal on them.  If you PM me your vin or  call a dealer and they can run OASIS on it to see if your car has been done or not. I can do it for you bc I work at a dealer if you want and I wont give you a hard time. Or charge you.
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I had it checked by a mechanic, not a Ford guy, they cost too much. He did everything he can. ran it for an hour ,did all the code checks, changed the fuel filter. I have two sets, can't really remember which ones I use the most, but, it could be a possibility that one set has lost it's programming. Is there a way to fix that? I called Ford, they said my pump was done in 2004, even told me the day and the dealer. Apparently the ECM repair is past for me too. I'm going to use the keys that the mechanic had until something happens. Buying CAA tomorrow.

[ZED_not_zee]

DOOOOOD it's your batery ground.. I'm telling you change your ground... and all will be well again.. get a new OEM ground from the batery down!\
same thing happend to me a couple yrs ago.. such a head ach such a simple solution

[drbadskwerl]

ZED_not_zee,Nov 15 2007, 11:22 PM Wrote:DOOOOOD it's your batery ground.. I'm telling you change your ground...  and all will be well again.. get a new OEM ground from the batery down!\
same thing happend to me a couple yrs ago.. such a head ach such a simple solution
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Do you have a multimeter? Check the voltage across the battery. It should be ~12.4V. If it's below this you're battery isn't holding a charge. Given the fact your battery is new I'd say alternator isn't giving it juice to charge it.

If you can, jump the car... unhook jumper cables and check the voltage on the battery. It should be 14-ish volts. If it's low, almost certain it's your alternator. You can check alterator output with a multimeter but it's a little more complicated.

Goood luck!

[snorcus]

Unfortunately if you only have two keys and one looses programing you will have to go to the dealer to get the key reprogramed. Hopefully you can figure it out.

[oldeguy]

Really dumb question..............how do you know when the key has lost it's programming?

[snorcus]

It usually won't start the car but if it does it will only run for a few min, or if the theft light flashes and the car only turns over.

[oldeguy]

snorcus,Nov 19 2007, 03:43 PM Wrote:It usually won't start the car but if it does it will only run for a few min, or if the theft light flashes and the car only turns over.
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I talked to my wife, and apparently one set of my car keys were washed :blink:

[COCHYN]

Sounds like alternator problem, common fault.