Help, Car's Either Dead or Haunted

M

Muffin1259

LVC Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2005
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
Location
Providence
Hi All,

I've been having problems for about three weeks now. First Sirius Radio stopped working. The radio was plugged into the cigarette lighter. Changed the fuse and the lighter would work, but as soon as I plugged in the radio it would blow. Was waiting to have that looked into.

Then this past Tuesday the horn just started blowing by itself. Ran outside started the car and the horn stopped for a couple of minutes, then started honking right up again. The horn finally just stopped on its own. Drove to my mechanic and the horn wouldn't even work. We pulled the fuse just to make sure it wouldn't start going off in the middle of the night. He was going to look at it next Monday, as he was swamped with work.

Used the car all day yesterday. No problems at all. Today, I moved the car out of the driveway and went out using my Mom's car. We were gone for about 6 hours. I went out to move the car back into the driveway and it wouldn't start. Lights would go on, I was able to lock door with the remote. Just wouldn't start.

I went back out around an hour later to try one more time. Well, this time the car is completely DEAD!!! Couldn't use the remote to open the door. No lights. NOTHING!!!

Only thing out of the norm that did happen this week is the inside got a bit wet, as I left the sunroof open. Could this have caused a short somewhere?
Could it be the alternator or something more serious???

The battery is only 2 months old. Any help would be appreciated.

2001 Lincoln LS V8
78,000 Miles

Thanks in advance for the help!

Paula
 
Sorry for the long winded post. But, one more thing I forgot to mention. I did notice on start up that both the needles for the MPHs and RPMs went all the way to the right. Not sure, but I don't think that's normal.
 
Sounds like a dead battery. Is the alternator working?
 
Muffin1259 said:
Sorry for the long winded post. But, one more thing I forgot to mention. I did notice on start up that both the needles for the MPHs and RPMs went all the way to the right. Not sure, but I don't think that's normal.
Click to expand...

That means the battery is dead.. I would say that you may have a draw somewhere.. They only good way to find the problematic part is to put an ammeter on the battery (well in series with the battery) and start pulling fuses..

How wet are we talking?
 
Car was pretty wet on the inside. And, there was a lot of condensation inside the day after, after I had closed the sunroof. Can't see how it could be the battery, it's only two months old. I've also had the oxygen sensor replaced and the serpentine belt replaced in the past year. Crazy thing is how the horn just started going off by itself. I hadn't used the car in more than 36 hours if not more before it started blaring. The horn did die by the time I got it to the mechanic. But after he pulled the fuse it ran fine for a couple of days. Started the car this A.M. But, tonight it wouldn't start. Not even a click. Then an hour later everything is totally dead???

I'm wondering if my mechanic put a defective battery in. I'm pretty sure that the MPH/RPM needles have been going all the way to the right on start up since the new battery was put in. And, I'm pretty sure that isn't supposed to happen. Also, not sure if you guys know, but does it usually cost more than $200.00 for a new battery for these cars???

Not sure if I'm getting the business because I'm female??? I just want to get as much information as I can before I go back to him. Almost thinking about taking it to the dealership tomorrow, instead of taking it back to my mechanic on Monday. I know there are a lot of problems with these cars. I've had mine for close to 10 years, and I've had my share of all the usual issues. But, with only 78,000 miles, this is just plain crazy.
 
a new battery doesn't mean anything.
being new makes it more suspect because it might have a defective cell.
 
Muffin1259 said:
Can't see how it could be the battery, it's only two months old.
Click to expand...
just a thought, but what ever killed the old battery, mey be killing the new battery


Muffin1259 said:
I'm pretty sure that the MPH/RPM needles have been going all the way to the right on start up since the new battery was put in. And, I'm pretty sure that isn't supposed to happen.
Click to expand...
no, that sh!t is not normal at all.


Muffin1259 said:
but does it usually cost more than $200.00 for a new battery for these cars???
Click to expand...
from the dealer is bout $150-$190 anything over $200 and i'd say you might have gotten took, hell i paid about$ 180 for a yellow top, and i think thats almost too high.
 
I would wait for joe to post. He will know computer locations in regards to you letting it rain into your LS. Though you have a gen1 and his knowledge appears to be more detailed on gen2s.

I would be willing to bet the water invasion is screwing around with stuff. Especially if it is condensing days after the water appears to be dried up. That means there is still water inside. And alot of it. IE: under the dash.

I would first let it cook in the sun windows down for a day or two. Then start troubleshooting batteries and different electric components.
 
chris2523 said:
a new battery doesn't mean anything.
being new makes it more suspect because it might have a defective cell.
Click to expand...

Agreed.. If the needles have been reseting since the new battery has been but in there, I would have it tested.. Take it to a local Auto Value, Napa, Advance Auto, or whomever will do the test for free.. You should have 750 CCA

1LoudLS said:
just a thought, but what ever killed the old battery, mey be killing the new battery.
Click to expand...

Agreed.. Highly doubt that it would have killed it the first day.. Anything is possible..

Andrizzle said:
I would wait for joe to post. He will know computer locations in regards to you letting it rain into your LS. Though you have a gen1 and his knowledge appears to be more detailed on gen2s.

I would first let it cook in the sun windows down for a day or two. Then start troubleshooting batteries and different electric components.
Click to expand...

No love for me? :p

The FEM (Front Electronic Module) is located in the Driver's side A-pillar..

Could have gotten wet but my guess would be that the failing cell in the battery finally died.. Not allowing the car to start.. These cars are VERY sensitive when it comes to the battery and voltage levels..
 
My money is on the alternator, assuming (I know.....) most of the water saturation was confined to the carpet. If the alternator is bad you will kill every battery that gets installed.

IIRC, I paid ~$125 for the battery from the dealer. I installed it....
 
FASTLLS said:
The FEM (Front Electronic Module) is located in the Driver's side A-pillar..
Click to expand...
i would call that in the driver kick panel or foot well, the A pillar is much higher, and a completely different panel to take of to gain access

Muffin1259 said:
Is that $150 to $190 installed???
Click to expand...
if you pay $190 for a battery and they dont install it, you better start carrying around your own tube of lube because one day someones gonna be real rough with you and its gonna hurt.

you better check your invoice and see how much of what you paid was actually labor, because if it takes you longer than ten minutes to change the battery, it better be because you spent the first half an hour looking under the hood because you couldn't find it. its two bolts, two nuts, one hose, and one big lift, then reverse with the new one. then you can pick your man card back up from the cashier.

i dont care if its free, i'm not taking the chance of some dude not doing it right or stripping a screw somewhere.
 
1LoudLS said:
i would call that in the driver kick panel or foot well, the A pillar is much higher, and a completely different panel to take of to gain access.
Click to expand...

They must call that whole piece the A-pillar then.. Because I read that in the manual.. And I thought it was lower than that but I've never gone looking for it
 
FASTLLS said:
They must call that whole piece the A-pillar then.. Because I read that in the manual.. And I thought it was lower than that but I've never gone looking for it
Click to expand...

It's definately down in the foot well. It's a real b!tch to get out too! I had to stand on my head, wrap 1 leg around the seat, and the other leg around the door just to get a good angle to remove it.
 
The first thing I'd suggest is not leaving your Sirius unit (or anything else) plugged into the power point when the car isn't running. The 1st Gen LSes, in particular, are running on the raggedy edge of the alternator's capacity (that's why they have hydraulic cooling fans), so if you're leaving a current draw connected to the car's electrical system while it's not running, that means the alternator has to work that much harder while the car is running (it has to power everything, plus replace the drained charge). I have a Garmin GPS unit; if I leave it plugged into my '06's power point for a couple of days without driving the car, it'll drain the battery to the point that the car won't start and the electronic gremlins will start coming out of the woodwork. (FWIW, I solved that problem with an inexpensive Schumacher battery tender.)

Check the voltage at the battery--if it's less than 12.7V with the key off, you're going to have lots of funky things happen, and it's likely that your car won't start. At idle, it should be well over 14V (I want to say it's around 14.5V, but I'm not positive about that).
 
Battery

Low charge on battery, i know when my battery and/or alternator started to go, all kinda strange things would happen to the gauges, looked like a christmas tree, lights everywhere. The 01 is very sensitive to change.
 
1LoudLS said:
i would call that in the driver kick panel or foot well, the A pillar is much higher, and a completely different panel to take of to gain access

if you pay $190 for a battery and they dont install it, you better start carrying around your own tube of lube because one day someones gonna be real rough with you and its gonna hurt.

you better check your invoice and see how much of what you paid was actually labor, because if it takes you longer than ten minutes to change the battery, it better be because you spent the first half an hour looking under the hood because you couldn't find it. its two bolts, two nuts, one hose, and one big lift, then reverse with the new one. then you can pick your man card back up from the cashier.

i dont care if its free, i'm not taking the chance of some dude not doing it right or stripping a screw somewhere.
Click to expand...

This is a lady having a problem with her LS, just sayin'.
 
well then the man card statement has been taken back, however everything else still remains true. im not trying to be a jerk, but the reality of it is that a lot of places out there will take you for everything you got, so you better be able to do it yourself or find someone that wont smell the inexperience as soon as you walk through the door.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 172 (members: 0, guests: 172)
Back
Top