Something In My ’98 Ford Taurus Electrical System. Mechanic Stumped.
Posted in Ignition Systems | Asked on Jan 13, 2011
My Taurus died completely. Turn the key and nothing…except…here’s what happened:
•Drove 25 miles. Left the car an hour. Got back in. Turned the key and got nothing. Just as if the battery was disconnected.
•With the key turned to the on position, I put the car in gear. Suddenly the electronics (radio, air conditioning) came on. When I turned the key further to start the car, everything when dead again. I was able to do this twice, and then it remained dead no matter what.
•With the key completely out of the ignition, there was a ticking sound (flasher?) coming from the steering column.
•During the tow, the emergency lights, which I had left in the on position, kept coming on (flashing normally) and going off again.
The mechanic has had it for two weeks. He has called his mechanic friends. Everyone is completely stumped. Obviously he had the steering column apart. EVerything there is fine. he’s gone over the car with a fine-toothed comb.
Has anyone ever seen anything like this?
Could you tell me how to describe this? I don’t even know how to google the problem.
What makes this so hard is sometimes everything is fine. For example, after the tow, the car could start. The next morning it didn’t again.
Which switch, Charles??
There are 3 Answers for "Something In My ’98 Ford Taurus Electrical System. Mechanic Stumped."
Check the battery and cables…..cud b bad battery or connection at the main fuse (under hood) or at the starter….. could also b a cracked starter solenoid…..ive had this happen b4 was cracked solenoid…but ive also seen similar problems with cables being burnt under main fuse block or a bad cell in the battery……not doubting ur mechanic but start with the simple stuff…and good luck
Your mechanic doesn’t know what he’s doing. He doesn’t have to go over the car with a fine tooth comb. Two minutes with a volt meter would tell him exactly where the power is being interrupted. There are very few things that can be wrong if everything is dead. Battery cables or the main fuse box connections. It’s one of those things where the worse it is, the easier it is to find.
Bad switch they were recalled becouse of fire check recalls