Car Half-Dead

[winstonthorne]

So the Merc died yesterday morning; the battery finally went (it was super old). I replaced the battery last night, and it started up OK, but the idle goes back and forth from really high to really low (almost stalling). I figure that's probably the fuel filter...when I drove it this morning, the turn signal doesn't blink (just stays on) and I can't run the radio with lights and a turn signal (it cuts out and goes dark when I try). The turn signal has always been slow, and my driver's side headlight blows out more than it should. Any ideas on what this electrical bug might be?

[p71towny]

What about your battery cables and alt wiring. Sounds like low power, or bad grounds. Check the simple stuff mang. Sometimes you cant even see the corrosion because its insinde the cables insulation.

[85crownHPP]

yeah, power isnt getting through... either your alternator is dying or you got some bad connections

[86VickyLX]

I had a bad voltage regulator, it was running off the battery so my battery would die frequently. Does your battery light come on? Even if it doesn't it might be going. Take it to a parts store and have it tested. I heard from somewhere that you have to let your year's car has to relearn the idle. When you put a new battery in, you have to run it without anything else on for five minutes. Or it will take longer for it to relearn the idle. I heard it from Crownvic.net. Hope you find your problem. Good luck.

[saiyaneye]

If you need new cables I would recommend some 1/0 cables , go to your local welding store and have them crimp ends on it for you if you don't have any thing to crimp cable lugs with (a vice will work). If you are having problems with your Alt, I would suggest upgrading to 3G alternator also

[gadget73]

Bad grounds is my vote. Make sure the cables are in good shape, and the connection from the battery to the rad support is present and in good condition. I would also pull the connections at the starter relay and clean them all.

1/0 is way overkill 99% of the time. Standard 4 gauge cable is plenty.

[86VickyLX]

Bad grounds is my vote. Make sure the cables are in good shape, and the connection from the battery to the rad support is present and in good condition. I would also pull the connections at the starter relay and clean them all.

1/0 is way overkill 99% of the time. Standard 4 gauge cable is plenty.

If you do clean the connections, make sure you hook them up in the correct order. Mark them. A mistake that I learned the hard way. (Except in my case it was vacuum lines.)

[gadget73]

You cant really hook them up in the wrong order. 500 wires go to the battery side of the relay, 1 cable to the starter side, and one thin wire. Just remove the connections from one terminal at a time and you'll be good. It is a bit of a pain in the ass getting it all crammed back on that terminal though. My car is especially bad, it has 2 extra connections for the tow package.

[winstonthorne]

Resolved

Looks like it was the alternator. I had to take it to a dealer; none of the independants in my area had anything available until next week, and the car's a daily driver. I hit 'em over the head for the labor though; they charged me 2 hours (criminal) but I made them replace the fuel filter and change the coolant at no additional charge, so I think I broke even.

[86VickyLX]

Good. Great to hear that it's fixed.

[gadget73]

2 hours labor to change an alternator on a box? good lord. I'd have been swapping to a 3g alternator for all that. Heck I changed an alternator with only one fully usable hand in less than 2 hours.