My 2001 Ford Taurus battery light keeps flashing, and yesterday while I was driving, the headlights, radio and heater fan shut off, but the car didn't die. Went to autozone and replaced battery, and today it's doing the same thing. Any ideas?

Comments

• No. 2. Read the owner's manual and know what warning indicators mean; I've never seen a gauge or idiot light that says "buy new battery" or buy anything.
  
  No. 3. Always have battery dealer/store "free" check the old battery before buying new battery. If male, take out the old battery, yourself, and carry it in. If female . . . the same or start batting your eyelashes and pointing your shoulders.
  
  Is certainly sounds like intermittant circuit break-make in a main lighting or higher level harness or connection/switch. The engine, by design for safety, remained running because its electrical supply is isolated from chassis electrical . . . so a blown light or intermittent ground fault doesn't cause you to crash and burn going 65. Because all those items would not be protected by a single fuse, I would imagine that power distribution box (smart fuse box or whatever it was called then)would be the first place a mechanic would check/test for the problem source. So you could check there, first, for blown fuse or fuses or breaker or disconnect or short. Good possibility a connection or wire is loose or shorting intermittently ... could be road vibration or as a result of wire or ambient engine compartment heat. Did you observe the engine warm up conditions when the problem occurs. A thorough inspection for loose or misplaced wires/connections is about all that most owners can do. I suspect the problem will be beyond AutoZone's scope as well. Another thing to check...
  
  If, as seems likely, you are running the heater (or even if not) make darn sure to keep floor and underseats and in front of heater outputs or cabin vents clear of all debris: blockage of heated air coming into the cabin though the floor (or console, dash, or package-shelf) outlets, or blockage of air venting to the exterior, could give rise to an overheat condition (inside the dash board panel) that might cause intermittent shutdowns (to prevent fire instead) as you describe. Keeping floor and underseat spaces clear is something covered in many, recent-model car owner manuals.

  • Report
  

  by fan_tom on December 28th, 2010