brianvnt90
New LVC Member
I’m usually a lurker here and the past 2 months I’ve been researching and trying out many things to fix my car to no avail. It’s a 2006 LS with 56K miles and about as nice as one as you’ll find. I only drive it in no-salt/winter conditions, that said, it does sit for a while out in the Detroit weather during the cold months. I try to start it up every week or so to keep it from killing the battery, but it doesn’t always work (battery will go dead at times).
So, about 2 months ago, it had been a week since I started the car and this time battery was dead. Ok, charged it up and I go to start it and no crank, instrument cluster dead (except for airbag icon) and after trying numerous starts it would show cryptic symbols in the odometer and shifter position screen (note though in the past month of other things I've tried with the car, the cryptic symbols have not returned). I disconnected the battery, reconnected, then the car would crank and start, but then die after 1-2 seconds. Then it will crank endlessly, but not start. My guess is since there is some residual fuel pressure in the system, enough to run for a second, but then that’s it.
During this time we have had a ton of rain/snow/wet here. So I checked the interior if water is getting in. Nope, carpet all dry. But, under the dash on the power cable that goes thru the firewall, there was wet dew on that and some other wires. So I got a fan in there and got more of those desiccant packs. (I always keep 1 or 2 in the car, but I got more to make sure it stays dry in there). No change in anything after ensuring the car was completely dry inside.
I knew the battery was old (from 2013) but it cranked the started no problem, regardless, off to the Ford dealer and bought a new battery. No change. I know from last fall another one of the coils was going bad (I changed 4 of them last year) so I made this an opportunity to replace the remaining 4 coils and at the same time replaced the spark plugs with new denso iridiums. Nope, not it either. So I disconnected the battery and find more things to try.
Next I saw some posts on here about disconnecting the MAF. Well, did that, reconnected the battery, and car starts and acts normal, save for check engine light for disconnected MAF and that putting the car in ETC failsafe mode. So, given I put a K&N filter in it last year, well, maybe my MAF is dirty. Cleaned it with cleaner. Hooked it back up next day, put a regular air filter in it, and car is normal and I took it out for a good beat down. Car felt faster than its ever been (BTW, I had it at the drag strip once and it ran 14.80s stock as I have kept it).
So, I thought done, fixed. Then next day its no crank again among other symptoms I’ll mention in a bit. Disconnect the battery again. Came back a couple hours later, hooked up the battery and starts up all normal. WTF. Later in the day tried starting it again, no problem, normal. Then later again, starts, normal, then after running a bit, gauges go completely dead. Turn car off and will either no crank or crank with no start (or run 1-2 seconds). Dash is dead save for airbag light.
Next I went to the junkyard and picked up a used MAF from a 2010 Lincoln MKS (MAF is same part number and $20, what the heck, worth trying). Reconnect the battery, car starts runs normal. So I think I got it fixed again. Go back hour later to test again, dead, wont crank. Since then I have tried:
-rest fuel switch, nope not it
-a used 2006 FEM I bought on eBay. No change, car runs normal sometimes, car is dead sometimes
-a used 2005 REM I took from the junkyard. Nope, still not fixed. Not the issue
-a used DDR drivers door module. Not it either
-all different relays, I changed, swapped, every one of them. Not it either
-all fused are fine none blown thru all of this
-tried my other 2 PATS keys, no difference from the main key I use
-Note I have since put the original FEM/REM/DDR all back in the car
Here is a list of the curious symptoms:
-rear defroster doesn’t work when I can get the car running even though it indicates its on, and when the car is in its dead mode, the orange light for rear defrost wont even light up when pushing it
-When the car is in one of its dead fits, power windows do not work at all, neither does the power tilt steering wheel
-HVAC, heated seats and radio works fine even when car is dead.
- the headlights sometimes turn on themselves and are stuck on. Headlamp switch does nothing. Only way to turn off headlights is disconnect the battery. But when I do get the car running, headlights as with everything else is fine.
-I mentioned the gauges a few times, this is probably the easiest indicator if the car will start or not. Dead gauges = no start or no crank, or if gauges go dead while the car is running, then car will not restart/crank.
-power locks work, but sometimes when you lock with the door button, the power lock will automatically reopen the lock when I’m sitting there with the car off!
-key fob works fine
-Once the engine is running (at least past if it has the 1-2 stall symptom), it will never shut off on its own. As I know PATS does not shut down a running engine ever.
So it seems that disconnecting the battery can reset or clear something, allowing the car to behave normal. But this isn’t always the case. Sometimes it doesn’t work and car remains dead (for sure if disconnecting and reconnecting say within a few minutes). If disconnecting and waiting overnight or a few hours, it almost always will start and run normal, for a time at least (until the gauges go dead). Its like something gets warmed up and then either corrupts the network and causes all these issues.
Once weather here allows, I’m going to take out the rear sail panels and see if anything is messed up with the rear defroster (defroster not working was concurrent with all these other problems). Also going to get the car up on jackstands and check any grounds or wiring on the starter/etc. But like I said, this car has no corrosion like a normal Michigan car (actually this car was originally from Phoenix till I bought it in 2010). I attached a picture when it was giving me cryptic symbols and then an all normal running picture after an overnight battery disconnect/reconnect.
Anyone have any recommendations/comments on this cars behavior? Sorry for the length, but I have never had this extensive of strange car problems before. And I have a 95 Grand Marquis and a 98 Mark VIII also that I’ve had issues with, but never like this LS.
Appreciate any help! Thanks
So, about 2 months ago, it had been a week since I started the car and this time battery was dead. Ok, charged it up and I go to start it and no crank, instrument cluster dead (except for airbag icon) and after trying numerous starts it would show cryptic symbols in the odometer and shifter position screen (note though in the past month of other things I've tried with the car, the cryptic symbols have not returned). I disconnected the battery, reconnected, then the car would crank and start, but then die after 1-2 seconds. Then it will crank endlessly, but not start. My guess is since there is some residual fuel pressure in the system, enough to run for a second, but then that’s it.
During this time we have had a ton of rain/snow/wet here. So I checked the interior if water is getting in. Nope, carpet all dry. But, under the dash on the power cable that goes thru the firewall, there was wet dew on that and some other wires. So I got a fan in there and got more of those desiccant packs. (I always keep 1 or 2 in the car, but I got more to make sure it stays dry in there). No change in anything after ensuring the car was completely dry inside.
I knew the battery was old (from 2013) but it cranked the started no problem, regardless, off to the Ford dealer and bought a new battery. No change. I know from last fall another one of the coils was going bad (I changed 4 of them last year) so I made this an opportunity to replace the remaining 4 coils and at the same time replaced the spark plugs with new denso iridiums. Nope, not it either. So I disconnected the battery and find more things to try.
Next I saw some posts on here about disconnecting the MAF. Well, did that, reconnected the battery, and car starts and acts normal, save for check engine light for disconnected MAF and that putting the car in ETC failsafe mode. So, given I put a K&N filter in it last year, well, maybe my MAF is dirty. Cleaned it with cleaner. Hooked it back up next day, put a regular air filter in it, and car is normal and I took it out for a good beat down. Car felt faster than its ever been (BTW, I had it at the drag strip once and it ran 14.80s stock as I have kept it).
So, I thought done, fixed. Then next day its no crank again among other symptoms I’ll mention in a bit. Disconnect the battery again. Came back a couple hours later, hooked up the battery and starts up all normal. WTF. Later in the day tried starting it again, no problem, normal. Then later again, starts, normal, then after running a bit, gauges go completely dead. Turn car off and will either no crank or crank with no start (or run 1-2 seconds). Dash is dead save for airbag light.
Next I went to the junkyard and picked up a used MAF from a 2010 Lincoln MKS (MAF is same part number and $20, what the heck, worth trying). Reconnect the battery, car starts runs normal. So I think I got it fixed again. Go back hour later to test again, dead, wont crank. Since then I have tried:
-rest fuel switch, nope not it
-a used 2006 FEM I bought on eBay. No change, car runs normal sometimes, car is dead sometimes
-a used 2005 REM I took from the junkyard. Nope, still not fixed. Not the issue
-a used DDR drivers door module. Not it either
-all different relays, I changed, swapped, every one of them. Not it either
-all fused are fine none blown thru all of this
-tried my other 2 PATS keys, no difference from the main key I use
-Note I have since put the original FEM/REM/DDR all back in the car
Here is a list of the curious symptoms:
-rear defroster doesn’t work when I can get the car running even though it indicates its on, and when the car is in its dead mode, the orange light for rear defrost wont even light up when pushing it
-When the car is in one of its dead fits, power windows do not work at all, neither does the power tilt steering wheel
-HVAC, heated seats and radio works fine even when car is dead.
- the headlights sometimes turn on themselves and are stuck on. Headlamp switch does nothing. Only way to turn off headlights is disconnect the battery. But when I do get the car running, headlights as with everything else is fine.
-I mentioned the gauges a few times, this is probably the easiest indicator if the car will start or not. Dead gauges = no start or no crank, or if gauges go dead while the car is running, then car will not restart/crank.
-power locks work, but sometimes when you lock with the door button, the power lock will automatically reopen the lock when I’m sitting there with the car off!
-key fob works fine
-Once the engine is running (at least past if it has the 1-2 stall symptom), it will never shut off on its own. As I know PATS does not shut down a running engine ever.
So it seems that disconnecting the battery can reset or clear something, allowing the car to behave normal. But this isn’t always the case. Sometimes it doesn’t work and car remains dead (for sure if disconnecting and reconnecting say within a few minutes). If disconnecting and waiting overnight or a few hours, it almost always will start and run normal, for a time at least (until the gauges go dead). Its like something gets warmed up and then either corrupts the network and causes all these issues.
Once weather here allows, I’m going to take out the rear sail panels and see if anything is messed up with the rear defroster (defroster not working was concurrent with all these other problems). Also going to get the car up on jackstands and check any grounds or wiring on the starter/etc. But like I said, this car has no corrosion like a normal Michigan car (actually this car was originally from Phoenix till I bought it in 2010). I attached a picture when it was giving me cryptic symbols and then an all normal running picture after an overnight battery disconnect/reconnect.
Anyone have any recommendations/comments on this cars behavior? Sorry for the length, but I have never had this extensive of strange car problems before. And I have a 95 Grand Marquis and a 98 Mark VIII also that I’ve had issues with, but never like this LS.
Appreciate any help! Thanks
